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Baby's black balloon makes her fly
I almost fell into that hole in your life
And you're not thinking about tomorrow
'Cause you were the same as me
But on your knees
A thousand other boys could never reach you
How could I have been the one
I saw the world spin beneath you
And scatter like ice from the spoon
That was your womb
Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
Or are you someone's prayer
You know the lies that they always told you
And the love you never knew
What's the things they never showed you
That swallowed the light from the sun
Inside your room
Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
Or are you someone's prayer
And there's no time left for losin'
When you stand they fall
Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you grow colder
All because I'm
Comin' down the years turn over
And angels fall without you there
And I'll go on to bring you home
All because I'm
All because I'm
And I'll become
What you became to me
I almost fell into that hole in your life
And you're not thinking about tomorrow
'Cause you were the same as me
But on your knees
A thousand other boys could never reach you
How could I have been the one
I saw the world spin beneath you
And scatter like ice from the spoon
That was your womb
Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
Or are you someone's prayer
You know the lies that they always told you
And the love you never knew
What's the things they never showed you
That swallowed the light from the sun
Inside your room
Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you get colder
Or are you someone's prayer
And there's no time left for losin'
When you stand they fall
Comin' down the world turned over
And angels fall without you there
And I go on as you grow colder
All because I'm
Comin' down the years turn over
And angels fall without you there
And I'll go on to bring you home
All because I'm
All because I'm
And I'll become
What you became to me
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The guy likes a drug addicted and is nearly dragged into her world. I guess the "black balloon" could be a symbolism, like she's getting high but going in the direction of death (Baby's black balloon makes her fly, I almost fell into that hole in your life).
He also states that they are alike but she's weak and reckless (You're never thinking about tomorrow, 'cause you were the same as me but on your knees).
He stands in awe of the fact that he could get her attention, since she's so out of this world because of the drugs (A thousand other boys could never reach you, how could I have been the one?). He tells her that he saw the way she was being destroyed (I saw the world spin beneath you) and that he knew she was using the drugs as a form of scape, the spoon being her womb because it was her protection, like a womb is a protection to a baby (And scatter like ice from the spoon that was your womb).
The guys is suffering because of her death and lacks the reason to continue living but still goes on (Coming down, the world turned over and angels fall without you there. And I go on as you get colder or are you in someone's prayer?)
In the second part, he's trying to figure out why that happened to her. If she was lacking something or if someone hurt her or told her things that made her feel like there was no point in trying to live her life (You know the lies they always told you, or the love you never knew. Was the things they never showed you that swallowed the light from the sun inside your room?)
Then he makes his decision not to continue living without her (And there's no time left for losing). He says the years had passed but he hasn't forget her (Comin' down, the years turn over) so he's going to do something (kill himself) to be with her once again and become to other people what she became to him, just a memory (And I'll go on and lead you home and all because I'll become what you became to me).
That's just what I think the song is about and it makes total sense to me. But like all songs there could be a million different meanings.
...Scared
As for the meaning, I think the songwriter's saying he almost became an addict himself "I almost fell into that hole in your life", "'cause you were the same as me....but on your knees" - they were the same kind of people, and he probably struggled with drugs himself, but he wasn't as deep in it as she was, and he was able to pull out of it and recover (like me), while she was in too deep and wound up dying from it. And maybe the line about "are you someone's prayer" means him - she's HIS prayer. He misses her, and talks to her in his mind, even though she's gone. Maybe he asks her to give him strength to deal with it all. I think the part about "angels fall without you here" may be about him too. Like, even though he's gotten out of that lifestyle, her death has hit him hard, and he's being tempted to go back to drugs.
One last thing - "coming down the world turned over" - this is not just talking about how she has to return to reality after being high. The truth is that, for someone with a drug problem, when they come down, life DOESN'T feel how it feels to normal people, it feels like total hell. My bf used to say however good it is, that's how bad it's gonna be after. That's the biggest reason people remain addicts, actually, because everything feels so horrible when they're not using, and it feels bad for a lot longer than it felt good, because it takes months or even a year for a person's brain chemistry to return to normal. Drugs deplete the chemicals in the brain that normally help people deal with stress, and help them feel "okay", so it's like going through sheer hell for a long time.
I just signed on to this site and started with the oldest comments from 2002 and then realized you could change preferences to newest comments first. I really wondered if anyone had commented this recently...and was pleasantly surprised to find they had. I was surprised to see that in 10 years people are still questioning if this song is about drugs. I just guessed at the time it came out that "black balloon" and "ice from a spoon" were drug references....but this song is not JUST about drugs, it's also a beautiful love song just like "Iris"....and I wouldn't be terribly surprised if John Rzeznik was in love with a girl names Iris and this song is more about her than the song Iris is. Interesting that in the movie "City of Angels", Nicholas Cage was an angel and had to "fall" to leave his life as an angel and become mortal (for love).
I thought right off that the line "angels fall without you there" was like a supreme compliment to someone you are in love with, because you consider them an angel and even more....like the best (head) of the angels that is so important that the other angels would "fall without you there". Iris gives either the power or just the inspiration for the other angels to fly....as if they might not even care about flying without Iris being there. This is, to me, similar to another high compliment that I'd only heard and begun to understand just a few years ago: in someone's eyes this person "hung the moon". By the way I could never sing along (in my car by myself), with this line "angels fall without you there", because I would be crying so much by the time it came up (every single time)! So, don't feel sorry for getting so personal (it was inspiring)....or carried away.....Carry On!!
Interesting thoughts about "Iris". I'm going to go back and read the lyrics to that one again with what you said in mind.
I think a lot of the interpretations people have posted are pretty out there, but that's always the way it goes. The song is definitely about drugs, and more obviously than most songs dealing with the subject. But yes, I think the deeper meaning gets lost - that it's also a love song.
I may send another message because I'm feeling quite a bit like you did right after....and anymore than that I don't feel like sharing with everyone and anyone. Please check your Inbox.....and feel free to say Bug Off!! or I don't need this right now....or whatever.....
But do read the first one from a day or so ago, because in my first reply I didn't say everything I was thinking about your tragedy.
Baby's black balloon makes her fly
--black balloon is a name for something that looks like a black balloon in which heroin comes in. "makes her fly" refers to her getting high
I almost fell into that hole in your life
--whoevers prospective the song is sung by maybe almost tried it
And we're not thinking about tomorrow
--the girl isn't thinking about how terrible heroin can effect her future and how much it really is hurting her
Cause you were the same as me, but on your knees
--she wasn't that different from him besides the fact she used heroin. she was still a perosn with interests and hobbies and what not,although she was "on her knees" as in she was suffering
A thousand other boys could never reach you, how could I of been the one
--He is so happy that she choose her because many couldn't get her
I saw the world spin beneath you
--He was there when everything went down, when her addiction started
And scatter like ice from the spoon
--This line means 2 things-its a description/visual of what happened with her life but also how they make heroin
That was your womb
--This can either be figurative or she was really having a baby but it died inside of her because of her addiction
Coming down, the world turned over
--This referring to when she would "come down from her high", she became a totally different person and it was all a bad experience.
Angels fall without you there
--This mean that she died unfortunately
I go on as you get colder
--Her life gets worse and he has to continue to live his life and move on even though it is hard as he watches her
Or are you someones prayer?
--This means is somebody out there praying for you to live or is it too late?
You know the lies they always told you
--This refers to the drug dealer telling her that heroin is good or it won't hurt her, while in reality those were all lies
And the love you never knew
--This refers to some many people who supported her during the dark stage of her life, but she didn't realize and didn't want to listen to their help because she thought she was fine
Whats the things they never showed you
--This also reffering to the lies and just everything about heroin and also what some family/friends never showed about their love for her and how much they cared, and with these things hidden, it could of been what killed her
That swallow the light from the sun, inside your room
--The addiction took out all of the good in her life, and made her go through a real dark period of her life. "Inside your room" is just stating it wasn't the world going through a dark starge but her in particular
(chorus again)
And there's no time left for losing
--This is him telling the girl she has to stop using heroin before it is too late and she dies from it
When you stand they fall
--This is about how her actions are really hurting people
chorus yet a little different;
Coming down the years turned over
--She died yet too early, you would think she would be much older but she was too young to die
And angels fall without you there
--Same meaning from before, referring to her dying
I'll go on to bring you home
--He wishes he could of done something else to help her, he wishes he could of brought her back to the old her that he fell in love with (pre-heroin)
All because I'm..All because I'm
--This line is the only one that confuses me, I guess its up for interpretation. I think of it as he is trying to say something, yet he can't quite figure out what he is trying to say because he is always going to be devastated by her loss. He can't finish his thought because its too hard to get out, that why he never completed the sentence.
I'll become, what you became to me
--he wants/wish he became the most important thing in her life, because she was the most important thing is his own life. I love this line, its really deep and perfect. It's so simple..yet means so much.
I hope I explained it well. I love this song so much, its my favorite song ever so as crazy as it seems, I don't have it on my iPod. I have 30+ GGD songs that I love on it, but not the studio version of this(I have the live--I originally bought it because I thought I liked it better but now I realize the studio version is perfect once you know what the meaning is. The studio version really tugs at my heart) This song is way too good for it because I only listen to it every once in a while opposed to everyday like the other GGD songs, simply because I want to preserve it. But I'm not worried--a song this beautiful, the beauty isn't going away.
I also think the line about her womb isn't referring to her actual womb. It's figurative, and as many people have mentioned, is talking about how drugs become a person's refuge from the world.
Too scared to address the underlying fears that creates this pain.
So scared that he can't or doesn't want to even finish the sentence.
What is he scared of? I think bohemianbanshee can answer that better than me.
Overwhelmed is a form of fear.
Also, scared mostly rhymes with "there", but not enough of a rhyme to actual use it in the song. Clearly, the song is perfect as is.