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You insult me in my home, you're forgiven this time
Things go well, your eyes dilate, you shake, and I'm high?
Look in my eyes deep and watch the clouds change with time
20 hours won't print my picture milk carton size
Carton size, carton size
Call me up congratulations ain't the real why
There's no pressure besides brilliance let's say by day 9
Endless corporate ignorance lets me control time
By the way, by the way, by the way
Once again you see an in, discolored skin gives you away
So afraid you kindly gurgle, out a date for me
Now the body of one soul I adore wants to die
You have always told me you'd not live past 25
I say stay long enough to repay all who cause strife
Once again you see an in, discolored skin gives you away
So afraid you kindly gurgle, out a date for me
(spoken in backround)
"I bear true and an existing witness
to this barrel of monkeys.
A self proclaimed immoral success,
perfected by each whereof
individually deadly and equally so
and spread about the surrendered troops,
for even thousands of miles will not
tear apart their communication, or the lack thereof.
Vultures, liars, thieves, each proclaim their innocence
In no suggestion or rhyme, your weapon is contained in
the wrecking of the keeping the desired effect.
The breaking of the spirit thwarts the whole being.
Your weapon is guilt, your weapon is guilt, your weapon is guilt.
Guilt."
Things go well, your eyes dilate, you shake, and I'm high?
Look in my eyes deep and watch the clouds change with time
20 hours won't print my picture milk carton size
Carton size, carton size
Call me up congratulations ain't the real why
There's no pressure besides brilliance let's say by day 9
Endless corporate ignorance lets me control time
By the way, by the way, by the way
Once again you see an in, discolored skin gives you away
So afraid you kindly gurgle, out a date for me
Now the body of one soul I adore wants to die
You have always told me you'd not live past 25
I say stay long enough to repay all who cause strife
Once again you see an in, discolored skin gives you away
So afraid you kindly gurgle, out a date for me
(spoken in backround)
"I bear true and an existing witness
to this barrel of monkeys.
A self proclaimed immoral success,
perfected by each whereof
individually deadly and equally so
and spread about the surrendered troops,
for even thousands of miles will not
tear apart their communication, or the lack thereof.
Vultures, liars, thieves, each proclaim their innocence
In no suggestion or rhyme, your weapon is contained in
the wrecking of the keeping the desired effect.
The breaking of the spirit thwarts the whole being.
Your weapon is guilt, your weapon is guilt, your weapon is guilt.
Guilt."
Lyrics submitted by Ice
Track duration: 04:37
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It's no huge secret that he and Demri were heroin users together. Although he(Layne) tried several times to quit Demri would not. He would beg for her to go to rehab and get clean. She refused and would start fights with him saying he was a drug addict himself. Layne paid for her addiction because she would guilt him into it. They would break up and in moments of weakness he would take her back. Love is blind or at least near sighted. In October of '96 she died of a bacteria called endocarditis, brought on from long time heroin use. Layne never got over it and blamed himself even calling her parents crying and saying it was his fault.
Now the lyrics talk about someone insulting him in his own home but they are forgiven this time. Things go well, your eyes dilate you shake, and I'm high?
Even discusses her coming back again and again finding a way back into his life, until finally the one he loves wants to die.
Endless corporate ignorance lets me control time": i read in the highly recomended book "everybody loves our town", about it. It´s more literal than we thought. It was something like Layne taking time off in the country to get detox, and some asshole from the label called him to say that something about the album had to be done before the ninenth day of that month.
"So afraid you kindly gurgle, out a date for me" seems to be the narrator inducing SLUDGE symptoms in an unaware victim, bringing on a sort of catatonic hypnosis which results in every reply being a "gurgle”. There’re also various references to time here- 20 hours, day 9, control time, age 25.
“Vultures, liars, thieves, each proclaim their innocence in no suggestion or rhyme, your weapon is contained in the wrecking of the keeping the desired effect.”- This line is perhaps the most interesting. Layne seems to be saying that under this type of SLUDGE hypnosis/sickness, the person inducing the hypnosis can tell if the victim is lying by the way they speak- “Your (guilt) is contained in the wrecking of keeping the desired effect.” Since thieves and liars proclaim innocence without rhyme, this suggests perhaps those telling the truth will tell it in a certain rhythm/rhyme. Pretty scary stuff.
First two lines show how layne is a forgiving person,but how a person insistently attempts to point out flaws in him because of their own guilt. 'you insult me, in my home-youre forgivin this tim' 'things go well youre eyes dilate you shake and im high?' Obviously hes getting high with a friend who reflects themself on him because they shake and then state layne as the affected one. This next line (very meaningful if u can understand what it means) 'Look in my eyes DEEP and watch the clouds change with time'('dont idolize a being for simply being'-me) This is Layne explaining how this person shouldnt reflect his guilt to others with lies and gossip about others. how always watching his(laynes)every move wont do anything but change the time gradually,then the milk carton reference is to show how none would worry about him when he needed help, or attention. The next stanza goes on about corp. ignorance-this stanza is about someone reconnecting with himand how he sees them going down the same path he warned to stray from. The 'by the ways' are to show that hes told them numerous times(to change from ignorant lack of care) but still they refuse to see his point.Endless ignorance refers to earlier stanzas 'look in my eyes deep..' because he knows how to be while their ignorance simply redirects them to something new in life worth congrats hence why its said.'call me up congratulations aint the real why'.The chorus is about this flaw they have to layne, how they see an opportunity to gain but their stained character brings them ruinand allows for others to TAKE from them what they want. in this case it may be an actual reference to a situation layne was in such as: a long forgotten friend shows up and is in music bizz then interviews layne, seeing dicolored skin and having experience with heroin as well he would then judge laynefor that because of his own guilt over this drug many years ago, how layne is caught off guard and must reveal the time of his next album, rehab or something unclear.Then goes on about how this same music bizz boi is down in the gutters, reminiscing in their past together, layne advises to move on by saying to gain revenge on those who defamed him. (Which would be by living happily cuz its simply the greatest revenge to any enemy)Of course there is sort of a problem this person hurt their new advisor(layne) so now layne has forgiven and helped him at least twice with the next chorus as proof of how his friend still betrays him on and on.The ending backround talk is laynes most deepest thoughts on this persons inner works(which are clearly bad in nature)explaining how there are others like this everywhere all equally f'd up and how their fixation with their own imperfections(and others) keeps them from properly communicating with others because its revealed in their talk at some point.Then whoever is trying to forget the imperfect things (layne in this case)is affected by the person exposing all of them so greatly that they too soon succumb to acknowledging flaws helplessly and hopelessly and how this is a constant cycle globally and he knows it. So basically this masterpiece is about the media, or people acting as media, -watching any one persons move and unrelentingly judging till they break under pressure and lose sight of who they are.This song speaks great volumes of truth that everyone should learn from because no one likes to feel judged by any and everyone over something so juvenile such as drug addiction(in staley's case) "But majority rule, so ignorant people will continue to be and live unable to see their own image in the mirror."_-_ME
There's no pressure besides brilliance let's say by day 9"
About Layne's father. After Facelift broke, Layne's deadbeat dad who ran out on the Staleys when Layne was a kid, reconnected with Layne, but it soon turned into the "father", if he can be called that, would be mooching money off Layne to buy drugs, and they ended up doing drugs together. In fact, I heard Layne had been trying to get clean, but his dad caused him to fall off the wagon again. That line makes me think of Layne's dad calling up Layne for the first time and pretending to congratulate Layne, but end up asking for shit money.
Fuck Layne's dad.
The first verses, it seems like he's being used by someone for drugs. This relates to the line "Once again you see an in, discolored skin gives you away."
In the next couple verses.....in this case, he's being used by the record company - they're not really calling to congratulate him, their calling about the next project (no pressure besides brilliance lets say by day nine). This could relate to the line "So afraid you kindly gurgle out a date for me." Meaning the date to get the work done by.
The author feels like a "sludge factory" because people use him for what they need.
This is my first post EVER - ANYWHERE, so errm here we go...
I get the feeling the song is more about Layne trying to explain why he keeps relapsing and using heroin again, so yeah its about drugs and the damage they do and how hard they make it to deal with the sh*t in life when you already know there's something just around the corner that will make it all go away, whatever the cost.
So the first verse I think would be someone turning up trying maybe to shame him into rehab by pointing out how he's in a bad state - the insult in his own home, Things go well and he cleans up. I'm guessing that the person advising him he's f*cked up and needs help has all this time been carrying on with his own cocain habit, maybe trying to hide it (unsuccessfully) from Layne, yet still all the time questioning Layne's sobriety - Your eyes dilate, you shake, and I'm high? Look in my eyes deep and watch the clouds change with time - this is pointing out while the coke addict is obviously wasted, Layne's eyes show that he's clean. Off the back of this it seems he is excusing himself a quick relapse just 20 hours of getting wasted again and he'll be back sober again before anyone starts checking up or worrying about him, everyone else seems to be doing their drug of choice around so why shouldn't he.
Verse 2 - This to me is obviously a dig at the record industry, calling with empty congratulations on his sobriety, but just wanting to know when he'll be making them some more money, suggesting to him, lets say by day 9. Endless corporate ignorance lets me control time sounds like he knows that ultimately he knows that he can make them wait, as he knows they'll kiss his arse while they wait for the next big hit. Writing new material gets put by the way, the pressure is on...
Once again you see an in, discoloured skin gives you away, so afraid you kindly gurgle out a day for me - this would probably be refering to him ending up in the company of old junky friends (or his Dad) for whatever reason, them promising they are due to clean up and are on their way to sobriety like him, but just wanting to hook up with him to get money to score smack. I am damn certain any junky would walk a mile on hot coals to run heroin for a rock star who is willing to pay so they don't have to get caught by the 'adoring press' scoring themselves.
verse 3 - On top of all that, One soul he adores wants to die, I would guess that this was about Demri, its been fairly well documented that he loved her dearly, sounds like she was convinced that she was sure to die young, maybe also an addict. He knows shes sick and feels like she's giving up, trying to persuade her if she has nothing else left to hang on for, at least stick around repay the ones who caused strife.
More pain to deal with another weak point and the relapse - Once again you see an in etc....
The spoken bit at the end to me seems to be saying that he's been honest about his short fallings, there have been reasons for them and he's admitting to them in the main body of the song. Most likely mainly directed at the less than sensitive media/press who seem to love nothing more than to kick a rock star when he's down...
A self proclaimed immoral success, basically reporting what sells and makes money no matter how true, hurtfull, damaging or otherwise it may be with no regard to the effect it may have, the surrendered troops is probably people, believing everything they read without question and swallow it all willingly every morning over a cup of coffee. Thousands of miles is saying it doesn't matter where you go its pretty much everywhere. The next bit seems to be less personal, to me suggesting that he veiws the media in general as a weapon, to control and keep order. They'll break a persons spirit to make a few extra bucks... And we are left feeling guilty when the people at the top who benefit most from it all are perpetuating a corrupt, selfish and unjust system.
Alot of this has been said before in the previous posts i know, and as AIC have said the songs are about whatever you think they're about when you listen to them, whatever it is that speaks to you. I enjoyed reading all the interpretations above so just thought I'd post take on it too.