Wilco – A Shot in the Arm

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  General Comment:I've always thought this song was about two people in a relationship who are addicted to drugs, then one of them (her) wants to get clean, so she is getting ready to leave him. The references to walking by the sea and falling into the sea seem pretty clear to me, that is often how heroine addicts describe the feeling of getting high.

  Flagged bigwilcofanon November 28, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:contrary to many peoples idea of a sort of heroin addiction theme, a "Shot in the arm" can also mean a spot of encouragement or a pep talk. What he may have been thinking is that he needs encouragement, now, to love the woman, even though she has drastically changed from the girl he fell in love with to the restless, more guilty, and nervous woman that she is now. This song always makes me think of "I'm Looking Through You" by the Beatles, which is also about a girl who changed, perhaps this song gave some inspiration to Wilco's "A Shot in the Arm?"

  Flag QueenPoon May 28, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:There is nothing bloodier than blood. It is an impossibility. The singer is contemplating whether he needs something that he can not possibly have. He may think he needs something more than he is, but becoming something more than you are isn't done by a simple injection. The change has to come from the inside.. Oh you've changed. If the change is from a shot in the arm it is not usually a good one. If it is from struggling through the bad times without reaching for that shot, it is probably good. This is just my take on this song. I am sure I am way off from Tweedy's vision, but I wonder if his original intention for this song has changed over time...

  Flag ynotboron March 07, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:This track always brings back "Off he goes" (by Pearl Jam) from the depths of my mind. There's a line that's in the same vein (pun not intended) as "You've changed, What you once were isn't what you wanna be anymore", namely "He's been taken...where, I don't know Off he goes with his perfectly unkept hope There he goes".
  
  Additionaly the "we fell again into the sea" signifies recidivism. I also really like how Tweedy tackles the murderous effects of hard drugs: "something in your veins, bloodier than blood".
  
  On a purely aesthetical level I digg the lines "And you finally slept While the sun caught fire", this simply sums up insomnia for me, simply put but purely distilled truth.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Flag iattbyhon February 13, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I relate to this song as it is about the distorted/delusional perspective one can adapt in a relationship. The relationship can be with a person, a substance, a compulsive behavior, that seems to have lost its "touch," that you've lost/changed your passion for. I can say from personal experience that when people you were once so close to or in love with can change, and you seek some sort of quick fix to put off the final break up or fight that ends the relationship.
  
  Favorite lines: "The ashtray says you were up all night." Up all night smoking cigarettes, alone, thinking.
  and "We fell in love, in the key of C." Like someone said earlier. The key of C is natural, pure, basic, easy to "fall" into. The reference to the key of D though in the following stanza, I don't know, but then after that falling back into the "sea" (but sounds like "C." Great audio-trick!
  
  I like how listless Tweedy sounds, like he's helpless about what to do with this "you" that once was what he/she/it doesn't want to be anymore. ...
  I hope I'm not too vague.

  Flag AmericanAquariumDrinkeron November 25, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:There is a bootleg version of this (or a very live version, at least) that I own and it is amazing. Tweedy forgets all of the lyrics and tries to make the crowd sing along with him. It is pretty hilarious. Does anyone out there know what I am talking about?
  
  To me a shot in the arm is a dose of whatever you are addicted to. Of course it could be a person!
  
  "What you once were isn't what you want to be anymore." Yeah. I understand that. We all change a lot and go through things that make us grow and sometimes it is hard to recognize who you were originally.

  Flag Althea6on July 27, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:I am not a heroin addict, and I can relate to the song.
  So who cares if it is about drugs, there are many other things that can be addictive, with the good and the bad things that come with being a "junkie"
  
  "Oh, I've changed"

  Flag jjeton July 27, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:This song about what it's like just to be a kid. You should have fun as a kid.

  Flag boywiththorninsideon July 10, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:Disturbing that stoners tend to relate/limit their interpretations on the superficial level of drugs, perhaps cleansing oneself of drugs (DARKEST MIND) may lead to clearer views of reality and happiness?...drugs always seemed to muddy the waters and steam the windows distorting/dimming the light as the "SUN CAUGHT FIRE"...yoga/meditation may have similar comforts one searches for in drug use but without the negative side affects i.e. you can be serene and satisfied yet wide awake and full of energy!

  Flag ray_killeenon October 31, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:well, i have only been a fan of wilco for about 3 months, but my research on jeff tweedy has filled my mind with enough information to let you know that he never was a heroin addict. i also have thought this song was about a heroin addiction. it is pretty straight forward with the whole shot in the arm thing. but i know thats incorrect. jeff tweedy was never addicted to heroin, so lets rule that out. he was addicted to painkillers. anyone who knows about painkillers know that some painkillers are synthetic forms of heroin. that is the only way you could relate heroin use to this song. i was thinking that maybe he would crush of pills and boil them, then of course shoot them into his arm. thats very unlikely, but yeah its a possibility. "bloodier than blood"...that could mean so many things. heroin is a very nasty substance that could be compared to blood, but yeah i dont think thats what he means in this song. many of you have said this song is about love and all that good stuff, which is probably true. but still, i listen to this song with the idea hes fighting a heroin addiction.

  Flag summernuhtson August 05, 2008   Link

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