A Perfect Circle – Sleeping Beauty

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  General Comment:i came here expecting everyone to have exploited my original thoughts on this song intot their own ideas but no one has so here goes: its about someone who fell in love with a conformist, and is stupid enough to believe he can save her. once he realizes this is impossible he is forced to cope with this fact. very similar to the beginning of the love story in 1984 except the author never gets to the point where he can be alone with her so instead of feeling like he has loved and lost the beginning also serves as an ending. also even if this is the case i dont feel right assuming that maynard is even comfortable writing his own explanation of the song in this many words so i also have to speculate that maybe this song serves as an example of how the widely accepted idea of unadulterated love is impossible and used as a tool used to control your mind and trap you into being distracted by someone who will never love you because they are also focused on this phantasmagoric fabrication and more comfortable with, and less aware of it than you will ever be

  Flag antics194on June 03, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:this song is so very sad and beautiful. I think everyone has been there at least once in their life. It's such a terrible feeling to love someone who, no matter how hard you try, doesn't love you back. That's what this song is about. so very sad...

  Flag iamthephoenixkingon May 18, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:this song is about his druggy ex-girlfriend.

  Flag hellinalifeon February 17, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:I think of a scene played out in my head every time i hear this song: It a starts off with this very bright scientist who used to work for a top secret project agency that dealt with biological weapons. The scientist experiment went terribly wrong and people become infected with a dying sickness still (not zombies)they slowly went mad and died.The infected a quarantined and kept away from the rest of the facility. one of them gets out and the whole facility soon becomes infected he is coursed by the agency to find a cure so that their experiments are not made public. One of the people infected in the underground facility was his 7 year old little girl. He quickly works one a cure, working recklessly he finds one the only downside is he needs someone young to extract antibodies from so that they are potent because the infected's antibodies die rapid speed. Left with no choice he uses it on his little girl unfortunately though she is put in a comatose due to the antidote. The test were thought of as a complete failure until they take a sample and find a cure but there is another problem the antidote was infected with the mutation in which it would only last a short time so the agency sees that it would be best to administer the chemical then freeze her to harvest a antidote. This could potentially kill her so the scientist deserts the facility with his daughter and goes into hiding....... Three years later the whole area goes to shit people all over get infected and start killing one another while The scientist works arduously to wake her out of the sleep.
  
  (sorry had to have some background to relate the story this is were the song picks up from)
  
  
  The agency soon finds where he is and he knows they are coming. he keeps trying to wake her but fails each time. He begins to feel desperate so he goes to the extreme and builds a escape unit for the two of them.he finally completes it just as the agencies men storm the place. he takes of to work in an abandoned unit they left in orbit with the hopes to finally find a cure. this gives him some time but the agency pursues him quickly. with little sleep and half alive from exhaustion he tries once more before he is on the run. As they cornered him quickly and no hopes of escape he is prepared to fly his craft into the sun before they capture him and his daughter. just as he reaches the atmosphere his daughter miraculously wakes up. she looks at him and says "daddy were are we" to which he replies "we are free angel" as he clenches to her as they fly to their doom.

  Flag whteflffyclds421on April 10, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Buddhists commonly refer to unenlightened individuals as "sleeping"
  
  Maynard is somewhat of an enlightened individual.
  
  When you are an unenlightened person, you identify yourself with your body, with your brain, with your ego. When you see the truth, you are free and "awake."
  
  He probably fell in love with a woman, and desperately tried to show her his beliefs and it simply didn't work. She was far too "poisoned" and "deluded" for him to bring her into a higher state of awareness.
  
  ... of course everything maynard writes is meant to be open and relative to each individuals life. However, when he wrote this song, he was coming from a place of spirituality and enlightenment. I'm surprised so many people have so much trouble interpreting many of these (seemingly easy) songs.

  Flag Mintyfreshon December 18, 2010   Link

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    just thought of it the same way you did

    Flag grungeboyon January 17, 2012  
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  General Comment:yea i agree with most of the comments... but it could be interpreted in many ways
  someone who wishes he could just magically cure his lover/friend/family member when she's mortally sick
  or
  someone who can't get through to a friend who might be addicted, drunk, or just living in a really messed up way and wants them to be the way they used to be, rather than "poisoned"... waiting for their "awakening"
  either way its an amazing song and really touching lyrics

  Flag GhostofPerdition13on November 21, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:This song (along with 3 Libras) was played at one of my dearest friend's funeral. I think about him a lot when I hear it, because he was a lonely person, and he had his addictions. In a way he is my sleeping beauty, because I wanted so badly to "save" him. I selfishly thought my relationship with him would give him something to live for, but he was too far away from the world. I miss the hell out of him.

  Flag megznbaconon October 18, 2010   Link

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  My Interpretation:I personally take it pretty straight forward. I think he is singing about someone he thought he could change and bring to life, as it were. I've been in a relationship like that when I was with a man who was a little tooo wild and bad. I thought perhaps I could change him and make him see sense, but he was far too gone to be changed. The lyrics really helped me understand my situations simply. I think Maynard is simply expressing how some people are just too set in their ways to be changed, and you can't change them. This song really helped me, I think it's beautiful.

  Flag kissthissuckeron February 22, 2010   Link

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  Song Meaning:It's about pitying people who lack self-esteem. I know this situation quite well I believe because I have a friend who thinks she is unattractive because she's a fatty and that's why she's always acting so defensive and has a vicious tongue I guess. But when she's drunk she opens up and shows you all her feelings and all the secrets and when she does, she kisses me, but she never remembers. And she's that sleeping beauty, but no matter how often I kiss her, I can't make it right for herself.

  Flag visionarysanctuaryon February 07, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:i think that it is about his mom. she has fallen into a deep 'sleep' so to speak because of her paralysis and any other medical condition. being bound to a wheelchair unable to walk is almost like a poison because of how much Maynard cares about her he probably feels he should also be bound. her 'demons' are all of the struggles she faces tryin to cope with her disability. i favor this song on this album because though his lyrics might be simple they have a strong meaning behind them. Maynard is a great artist.

  Flag pArArSeYcAeReNeLaMoRon June 13, 2009   Link

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