to me, this a multilayered song using stream of consciousness. you have a man who's miserable, buried in shit, and all he wants is some form of happiness. he's faced with a number of choices, and the more desirable decision is left for the listener to decipher. i got this idea because the first half of each line of the chorus is sung by staley, and the second half by cantrell, symbolizing, to me, a type of confliction within the man's mind.
there's two ideas expressed in this song.
one is that the box, whatever it might be, is what makes him unhappy. he might live a sheltered, uneventful life, or his current lifestyle may be taking its toll. what he feels he needs as a change is to "feed my eyes"..i.e. experience life in a different way. he could also accept a diety as his savior, (jesus christ for example) thereby giving his life a purpose.
on the other hand, you have another frame of mind that may think the box is the only thing keeping him sane in modern society. instead of dealing with his problems directly, this guy may choose to sew his eyes shut and just block them out. he could also deny the existence of god, thereby alleviating any sense of divine resposibility. this side of the man's consiousness would actually prefer the sheltered lifestyle.
either way, this guy is weak, and instead of facing his problems like a man he decides to avoid the situation. either he hides inside the box, or feeds his eyes with distractions. therefore, my final conclusion is that even if he feeds his eyes, he is actually running from the root of his problem, and unknowlingly sews his eyes shut.
that's just how i interpretted it though, because i refuse to believe that a great lyricist like layne staley would write a lame-ass line that is telling jesus christ to deny his maker. i think my interpretation is a little more clever.
to me, this a multilayered song using stream of consciousness. you have a man who's miserable, buried in shit, and all he wants is some form of happiness. he's faced with a number of choices, and the more desirable decision is left for the listener to decipher. i got this idea because the first half of each line of the chorus is sung by staley, and the second half by cantrell, symbolizing, to me, a type of confliction within the man's mind.
there's two ideas expressed in this song.
one is that the box, whatever it might be, is what makes him unhappy. he might live a sheltered, uneventful life, or his current lifestyle may be taking its toll. what he feels he needs as a change is to "feed my eyes"..i.e. experience life in a different way. he could also accept a diety as his savior, (jesus christ for example) thereby giving his life a purpose.
on the other hand, you have another frame of mind that may think the box is the only thing keeping him sane in modern society. instead of dealing with his problems directly, this guy may choose to sew his eyes shut and just block them out. he could also deny the existence of god, thereby alleviating any sense of divine resposibility. this side of the man's consiousness would actually prefer the sheltered lifestyle.
either way, this guy is weak, and instead of facing his problems like a man he decides to avoid the situation. either he hides inside the box, or feeds his eyes with distractions. therefore, my final conclusion is that even if he feeds his eyes, he is actually running from the root of his problem, and unknowlingly sews his eyes shut.
that's just how i interpretted it though, because i refuse to believe that a great lyricist like layne staley would write a lame-ass line that is telling jesus christ to deny his maker. i think my interpretation is a little more clever.