Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
You're movin' through rough waters motel boy,
And swimming in your sleep
How could I be so blind, mis-sighted,
Not to see there's something wounded deep?
Anyone could scratch your surface now,
It's all amphetamine
You're blasting yourself into the present
Learn some vast indignity, say that,
You say that you hate it,
You want to recreate it
I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill,
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
You're drinking the raw Drano baby,
You do-si-do, saddo
You're you in cartilage, shark-eyed, shock horror, all present tense,
And boy your blood is running cold
Listen, this is now, this is here, this is me,
This is what I wanted you to see
That was then, was that, that is gone, this is past,
You cast yourself cast, passed by, thrown down fast, you say
You say that you hate it
You want to recreate it
I've played this round, I've played your lover
I've played it out to the hilt
You're comin' on with something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
You love it, you hate it
You want to recreate it
Now, this is here, this is me,
This is what I wanted you to see
That was then, was that, that is gone
That is what I wanted you to feel
You love it, you hate it
You spit it out, the bitter pill
I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
I've played this round, I've played your lover
I've played it out to the hilt
You're comin' on with something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
You played around, you played me lover,
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill
You're moving so hard, so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
And swimming in your sleep
How could I be so blind, mis-sighted,
Not to see there's something wounded deep?
Anyone could scratch your surface now,
It's all amphetamine
You're blasting yourself into the present
Learn some vast indignity, say that,
You say that you hate it,
You want to recreate it
I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill,
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
You're drinking the raw Drano baby,
You do-si-do, saddo
You're you in cartilage, shark-eyed, shock horror, all present tense,
And boy your blood is running cold
Listen, this is now, this is here, this is me,
This is what I wanted you to see
That was then, was that, that is gone, this is past,
You cast yourself cast, passed by, thrown down fast, you say
You say that you hate it
You want to recreate it
I've played this round, I've played your lover
I've played it out to the hilt
You're comin' on with something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
You love it, you hate it
You want to recreate it
Now, this is here, this is me,
This is what I wanted you to see
That was then, was that, that is gone
That is what I wanted you to feel
You love it, you hate it
You spit it out, the bitter pill
I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
I've played this round, I've played your lover
I've played it out to the hilt
You're comin' on with something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
You played around, you played me lover,
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill
You're moving so hard, so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
In any case Phoenix was a good friend of Michael Stipe's - however you want to interpret that - and Stipe was reportedly so devastated by the young actor's death that he sunk into a deep depression and experienced writer's block for a period of five months. R.E.M. also dedicated their "Monster" album to River.
The first verse seems to reference the (alleged) abusive treatment Phoenix claimed to have suffered as a child at the hands of the quasi-religious cult his parents were involved with - which in turn may have led to Phoenix's later drug use (in order to numb feelings of pain).
Ex: "How could I be so blind, mis-sighted, not to see there's something wounded deep.
Anyone could scratch your surface now, it's all amphetamine
You're blasting yourself into the present to blur some past indignity".
Anybody that's been through it know's what I'm saying.
Sometimes, instead of "it's all amphetamine" i hear "its so unfair to me" though either of those lines work but i would say that instead of "you spit it out, the bitter pill" its actually "i'm spitting out the bitter pill."