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My guilt and my shame always sell me short, always feel the same
And my face and my soul always wear me thin, always under control
But the longest hours you'll have in your life
Are the ones you sit through to know if you're right
So I'll wait, but I pray that I'm wrong
Because I think I know what's going on
So let me get this straight, the only will is my own
I do whatever I want and stay alone
All my decisions make it untouchable and tainted
I'm gonna suffer for the rest of my life
But I will always find a way to survive
I'm not a failure, but I know what it's like
I can take it or leave it, or die
[Chorus]
Stay, you don't always know where you stand
Till you know that you won't run away
There's something inside me that feels
Like breathing in sulfur
My life is undone, and I'm a sinner to most but a sage to some
And my gods are untrue, I'm probably wrong, but I'm better than you
And the longest hours I've had in my life
Were the ones I went through to know I was right
So I'm safe, but I'm a little outside
I'm gonna laugh when I'm buried alive
[Chorus]
Like breathing in sulfur
[Chorus]
Like breathing in sulfur
And my face and my soul always wear me thin, always under control
But the longest hours you'll have in your life
Are the ones you sit through to know if you're right
So I'll wait, but I pray that I'm wrong
Because I think I know what's going on
So let me get this straight, the only will is my own
I do whatever I want and stay alone
All my decisions make it untouchable and tainted
I'm gonna suffer for the rest of my life
But I will always find a way to survive
I'm not a failure, but I know what it's like
I can take it or leave it, or die
[Chorus]
Stay, you don't always know where you stand
Till you know that you won't run away
There's something inside me that feels
Like breathing in sulfur
My life is undone, and I'm a sinner to most but a sage to some
And my gods are untrue, I'm probably wrong, but I'm better than you
And the longest hours I've had in my life
Were the ones I went through to know I was right
So I'm safe, but I'm a little outside
I'm gonna laugh when I'm buried alive
[Chorus]
Like breathing in sulfur
[Chorus]
Like breathing in sulfur
Lyrics submitted by F.r.o.g.
Track duration: 04:38
"Sulfur" as written by Corey Todd Taylor, Sidney George Wilson, Nathan Jonas Jordison, Paul Dedrick Gray, Christopher Michael Fehn, James Donald Root, Craig Alan Jones, Michael Shawn Crahan, Mickael Gordon Thomson
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Sulfur is a chemical substance that most of its compounds are toxic so its harmful.
This song is about a confused and uncertain BUT YET arrogant and selfish person. Someone very stubborn. Someone who thinks he is right, and even if he fails nad he realises he has made a mistake or anything, still he sticks to his attitude no matter what, even if the consequences are so costly. even if he cracks all together, he would not still regret insisting on his wrong thoughts.
So let me get this straight, the only will is my own ( i make choices without listening to others, only my own thoughts)
I do whatever I want and stay alone ( i dont want any to share ideas with me, i wanna be alone and do things only in my way)
All my decisions make it untouchable and tainted --> i dont make mistake - but he is not that certain to next line he says:
I'm gonna suffer for the rest of my life ( i know i could be wrong, but i will take its aftermath but the joy of being self driven)
But I will always find a way to survive ( possibly in past he has made mistakes and experiences hardship so now he knows what to do each time he fails and he manages to find a rescue route)
I'm not a failure, but I know what it's like
I can take it or leave it, or die
( he obviously does not always flop, but he has experienced both victory and defeat so he knows how everything is, and he takes it no matter if the result turn out to be good, bad or terrible )
HERE is another part:
And the longest hours I've had in my life
Were the ones I went through to know I was right
( ( he previously mentioned this in the first verse but he said to the listener and kind of says "yeah you people are always thinking whether you are right or wrong, but me? every time i come to this conclusion that i was right" which shows despite the mistake he thinks he chose the right way)
So I'm safe, but I'm a little outside ( So i am safe because I make the right decisions but - in a cheeky and at the same time realistic way - I know i am still prone to make mistakes)
I'm gonna laugh when I'm buried alive
( even if i make the worst mistakes ever, when I am getting buried, i wont cry or regret, i will keep laughing and praising myself for the decisions i made)
And my Gods are Untrue - Im probably wrong, but Im better than you" -- I think that he has different views that most people don't agree with, so he's struggling with making the choice for himself, "So Let Me Get This Straight the only will is my own" - breaking away from the chains of religion, his will is the one that determines what happens, he's not blaming any supernatural force.
The chorus, "stay, you don't alway know where you stand.." Is about facing the consequences without running away. And the use of "breathing in sulfur" adds to the religious note, seeing as how classically Hell has always been said to be made of fire/brimstone, and sulfur.
That's my interpitation :)
I get the feeling that this song is about someone embracing either Atheism, or just a less mainstream view of religion.
"My Guilt and My Shame always sell me short - always feel the same"
- As stated by some above, at this point in the song the singer seems to have an idea that is causing guilt/shame (two concepts often associated with Christianity...and many religions tbh)
"And My Face and My Soul always wear me thin - always under control"
- Here it seems the singer is keeping his ideas masked away from society at large, he also appears to take a jab at his former viewpoint (likely Christianity, but I could be mistaken..it could easily be something else) that his "Soul is always under control" likely by society at large, or by a "pope"-like figure.
"But the longest hours you�ll have in your life
Are the ones you sit through to know if you�re right
So I�ll wait, but I pray that I�m wrong
Because I think I know what�s going on"
- Here it seems as if some "major" incident happened to the singer...and made him seriously doubt the existence of God (or God as he knew it)... it also sounds like he's not overly thrilled with his gut feelings now... and he'll "pray" (ironic, love the use of it here), that he's wrong.
"So Let Me Get This Straight� the only will is my own
I do whatever I want and stay alone
All my decisions make it untouchable and tainted
I�m gonna suffer for the rest of my life
But I will always find a way to survive
I�m not a failure, but I know what it�s like
I can take it or leave it� or die"
- I won't elaborate as my post is already getting quite long... but essentially he takes a very "Darwinian" approach here... the only will is his own, there is no god, he can do whatever he wants...but life is about "struggling to survive". He states it quite plainly at the end of this statement... he take take "it", leave "it".... or die. Very minimalist (naturalist if you will), and very akin to the themes of Darwin (or at least to the themes attached to Darwin... Evolution itself does not disprove the existence of God, only of Genesis and other creation tales being literal).
"STAY - You don�t always know where you stand
�Til you know that you won�t run away
There�s something inside me that feels
Like Breathing in Sulfur�"
- I agree with what was stated above, he's basically saying that sometimes you don't realize where you stand until enough is enough and you stand your ground. I think the "breathing in sulfur" line refers to his comeback to Christians (or at least Abrahamic faiths) who will shun him... essentially "I'd rather burn in hell than believe something I don't"
"My Life is undone - and I�m a sinner to most but a sage to some
And my Gods are Untrue - I�m probably wrong, but I�m better than you
And the longest hours I�ve had in my life
Were the ones I went through to know I was right
So I�m safe, but I�m a little outside
I�m gonna laugh when I�m buried alive"
- Clearly states here that he's a "sinner" to most... aka to those who believe in Christianity, but a sage to some.... those who have left Christianity (or such faiths) and embrace a more naturalistic view. He says his "Gods" are untrue, that his views could very well be wrong (and likely are) but he's not causing any damage in this world with his views....unlike some other hardliners. He then throws the question onto others.... telling them that their time will come when they face the sad truths in this world and can not reconcile the complete 1) goodness, 2) power, 3)all-knowing natures of God.
- He says he'll laugh when he's buried alive... I am still not entirely sure what this means.... likely some reference to the "Day of Judgement"... but I'm not entirely certain. Thoughts?
Anwyays... amazing song...with adeptly deep lyrics. Anyone else agree? Or have another take?
Still Tryin To Figure Out What It Meens.
!!SLIPKNOT RULEZ!!
"My gods are untrue, I'm probably wrong but I'm better than you."- Meaning he doesn't believe in religion, and even though it may be the wrong beliefs he sticks by it unlike most people who say they're religious but pratice otherwise.
This whole album is the first to me to seem to have a theme to it and all the songs were writen around that theme, "All Hope Is Gone".