One of the concequences from heroin, is depression. He took the drugs, the timely effect faded, and he feels so alone. He feels like no one understands him.
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angels
He feels like the city, L.A. (the city of angels) is his only friend. This is the place where he gets his drugs. His heroin is all he has at that moment, so his only friend is the city, where he gets that shit.
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
He feels alone, but he's not the only one who cries about it. The other bandmembers are also trying to deal with addictions and they mention that he's going trough hard times. To together they cry, altough he feels fucking lonely.
I drive on her streets
'Cause she's my companion
I walk through her hills
'Cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
He's talking about L.A. again. The city is his only friend. ''She knows who he is'' cause he goes trough the same streets every time, to the same place where he gets his drugs.
I never worry
Now that is a lie
He wants to say that he isn't worry, but in his head, he knows it's a big fat lie. He knows he's strongly addicted.
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
He NEVER wants to feel like he did that lonely day. He wants to go to the place he loves (he tells in an interview, ''the place he loves'' is making music with his friends, and to make out with some pretty women) So he wants to be taken all the way to that lovely place, without his addiction.
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way (yeah yeah)
Repeat of the songtext before this part.
It's hard to believe
That there's nobody out there
It's hard to believe
That I'm all alone
He talks again about his loneliness, and he thinks it's so hard to believe that he is all alone, there is just nobody out there. He feels so alone (it's still that concequence of the drugs whom he is addicted to - heroin.)
At least I have her love
The city she loves me
At least he has the city, where he gets his drugs. And when he took it again, he feels happy for a short time. Then again he starts telling about he lonely he feels after the drugs faded...
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
Again a repeat, and as I said, he talks about the loneliness.
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way (yeah yeah)
Ooh no (no no yeah yeah)
Love me I say yeah yeah
Chorus :)
Under the bridge downtown
Is were I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge, where he often shoot himself up with heroin, is where he drew some blood (the blood out of his syringes which he just used for shooting up) and he just could not get enough from it...
Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away (yeah yeah)
This place (under the bridge downtown in L.A.) is where he forgot about everything. He literally gave his life to his drugs. Heroin was controlling him all the time.
Ooh no (no no yeah yeah)
Here I stay yeah yeah
Here I stay
Here I stay is about the place he loves. The time which has come in the meantime, in which he makes music with his friends, makes out with pretty girls and in which he is not dealing with his addiction anymore.
1) I like most of your interpretation, so I have a question I'm hoping you'll be able to answer: what do you think he means by "she sees my good deeds and she kisses me windy" ? It's a sort of cultural expectation in the States (probably because of all the tax exemptions for the rich) that rich people (successful Hollywood types, CEOs of big corporations, rock stars (of course!), et al.) are supposed to give a lot to charity, but I have a certain hunch that it's not anything so literal.
1) I like most of your interpretation, so I have a question I'm hoping you'll be able to answer: what do you think he means by "she sees my good deeds and she kisses me windy" ? It's a sort of cultural expectation in the States (probably because of all the tax exemptions for the rich) that rich people (successful Hollywood types, CEOs of big corporations, rock stars (of course!), et al.) are supposed to give a lot to charity, but I have a certain hunch that it's not anything so literal.
2) There is one thing you got wrong, though...
ockquote>
"One of the concequences [sic] from heroin, is depression."
lockquote>
This is a common myth. Although depression can definitely be a result of H withdrawal ("discontinuation syndrome"), whether one is actually addicted or just pharmacologically dependent, it's not an effect of heroin itself, nor is it unique to drugs of abuse. (For example: if you discontinue antidepressants, too fast, you can get depressed too — this is also a discontinuation syndrome.) A lot of people start abusing drugs in an effort to self-medicate & often it's so successful at first they keep using it more and more (and of course, become addicted). So, depression is not really caused by heroin, but rather, heroin use is caused by depression.
As an example...I had a really close friend at university (he was a grad student, I was an undergrad) who died from H. (It wasn't really an OD, but he took Xanax with it, or shortly before or after, and the combo was what caused the respiratory failure and stuff.).
He'd started showing signs & symptoms of depression (which I recognised 'cuz I'd suffered from it myself). The fact that he had just been broken up with by this narcissistic sleazeball who abandoned him when he started getting depressed didn't exactly help. I tried to be there for him, even though I believed he was better-off being without the aforesaid sleazeball). He said that even though H didn't last very long, it did make the depression go away while it lasted. It was the greatest feeling in the universe (his words) to him. I tried to convince him that regular antidepressants would be more effective in the long run, but I didn't really make a great example: I'd had to try 4 or 5 of them before I found one that worked, and since it takes a month or so just to find out whether they're going to help or not, I ended up having to take off a whole year from school. He didn't want to have to go through that, even though I tried to convince him it's not that long for most people. He was also afraid that if he saw a psychiatrist, they'd refuse to help him until he got "clean." I said maybe he could hide it, since he didn't have track marks or anything (he was snorting it, like cocaine, not shooting up) and all the stereotypes were on his side (white, upper-middle-class, PhD student in physics at a top university, etc.). He also was worried about his advisor finding out about his mood and/or drug problems. I was speechless when I found out about his death. Besides the guilt, I felt...unfairly lucky, especially because he'd given me some H to try a couple months before, and I hadn't really liked it much, so I never did it again. I think the day I found out he'd died was the day I lost the last of what little innocence (really, naïveté is more like it) I ever possessed. Even though we lived in Boston (which has very little in common with L.A.!), every time I hear this song, with the baleful guitar and Anthony's melan-choly voice (he's so versatile!), and of course the drugs theme, I think of him.
Sometimes I feel Like I don't have a partner
One of the concequences from heroin, is depression. He took the drugs, the timely effect faded, and he feels so alone. He feels like no one understands him.
Sometimes I feel Like my only friend Is the city I live in The city of angels
He feels like the city, L.A. (the city of angels) is his only friend. This is the place where he gets his drugs. His heroin is all he has at that moment, so his only friend is the city, where he gets that shit.
Lonely as I am Together we cry
He feels alone, but he's not the only one who cries about it. The other bandmembers are also trying to deal with addictions and they mention that he's going trough hard times. To together they cry, altough he feels fucking lonely.
I drive on her streets 'Cause she's my companion I walk through her hills 'Cause she knows who I am She sees my good deeds And she kisses me windy
He's talking about L.A. again. The city is his only friend. ''She knows who he is'' cause he goes trough the same streets every time, to the same place where he gets his drugs.
I never worry Now that is a lie
He wants to say that he isn't worry, but in his head, he knows it's a big fat lie. He knows he's strongly addicted.
I don't ever want to feel Like I did that day Take me to the place I love Take me all the way
He NEVER wants to feel like he did that lonely day. He wants to go to the place he loves (he tells in an interview, ''the place he loves'' is making music with his friends, and to make out with some pretty women) So he wants to be taken all the way to that lovely place, without his addiction.
I don't ever want to feel Like I did that day Take me to the place I love Take me all the way (yeah yeah)
Repeat of the songtext before this part.
It's hard to believe That there's nobody out there It's hard to believe That I'm all alone
He talks again about his loneliness, and he thinks it's so hard to believe that he is all alone, there is just nobody out there. He feels so alone (it's still that concequence of the drugs whom he is addicted to - heroin.)
At least I have her love The city she loves me
At least he has the city, where he gets his drugs. And when he took it again, he feels happy for a short time. Then again he starts telling about he lonely he feels after the drugs faded...
Lonely as I am Together we cry
Again a repeat, and as I said, he talks about the loneliness.
I don't ever want to feel Like I did that day Take me to the place I love Take me all the way I don't ever want to feel Like I did that day Take me to the place I love Take me all the way (yeah yeah) Ooh no (no no yeah yeah) Love me I say yeah yeah
Chorus :)
Under the bridge downtown Is were I drew some blood Under the bridge downtown I could not get enough
Under the bridge, where he often shoot himself up with heroin, is where he drew some blood (the blood out of his syringes which he just used for shooting up) and he just could not get enough from it...
Under the bridge downtown Forgot about my love Under the bridge downtown I gave my life away (yeah yeah)
This place (under the bridge downtown in L.A.) is where he forgot about everything. He literally gave his life to his drugs. Heroin was controlling him all the time.
Ooh no (no no yeah yeah) Here I stay yeah yeah
Here I stay
Here I stay is about the place he loves. The time which has come in the meantime, in which he makes music with his friends, makes out with pretty girls and in which he is not dealing with his addiction anymore.
@Esmeetje Two things:
@Esmeetje Two things:
1) I like most of your interpretation, so I have a question I'm hoping you'll be able to answer: what do you think he means by "she sees my good deeds and she kisses me windy" ? It's a sort of cultural expectation in the States (probably because of all the tax exemptions for the rich) that rich people (successful Hollywood types, CEOs of big corporations, rock stars (of course!), et al.) are supposed to give a lot to charity, but I have a certain hunch that it's not anything so literal.
1) I like most of your interpretation, so I have a question I'm hoping you'll be able to answer: what do you think he means by "she sees my good deeds and she kisses me windy" ? It's a sort of cultural expectation in the States (probably because of all the tax exemptions for the rich) that rich people (successful Hollywood types, CEOs of big corporations, rock stars (of course!), et al.) are supposed to give a lot to charity, but I have a certain hunch that it's not anything so literal.
2) There is one thing you got wrong, though...
ockquote>
"One of the concequences [sic] from heroin, is depression."
lockquote>
This is a common myth. Although depression can definitely be a result of H withdrawal ("discontinuation syndrome"), whether one is actually addicted or just pharmacologically dependent, it's not an effect of heroin itself, nor is it unique to drugs of abuse. (For example: if you discontinue antidepressants, too fast, you can get depressed too — this is also a discontinuation syndrome.) A lot of people start abusing drugs in an effort to self-medicate & often it's so successful at first they keep using it more and more (and of course, become addicted). So, depression is not really caused by heroin, but rather, heroin use is caused by depression.
As an example...I had a really close friend at university (he was a grad student, I was an undergrad) who died from H. (It wasn't really an OD, but he took Xanax with it, or shortly before or after, and the combo was what caused the respiratory failure and stuff.).
He'd started showing signs & symptoms of depression (which I recognised 'cuz I'd suffered from it myself). The fact that he had just been broken up with by this narcissistic sleazeball who abandoned him when he started getting depressed didn't exactly help. I tried to be there for him, even though I believed he was better-off being without the aforesaid sleazeball). He said that even though H didn't last very long, it did make the depression go away while it lasted. It was the greatest feeling in the universe (his words) to him. I tried to convince him that regular antidepressants would be more effective in the long run, but I didn't really make a great example: I'd had to try 4 or 5 of them before I found one that worked, and since it takes a month or so just to find out whether they're going to help or not, I ended up having to take off a whole year from school. He didn't want to have to go through that, even though I tried to convince him it's not that long for most people. He was also afraid that if he saw a psychiatrist, they'd refuse to help him until he got "clean." I said maybe he could hide it, since he didn't have track marks or anything (he was snorting it, like cocaine, not shooting up) and all the stereotypes were on his side (white, upper-middle-class, PhD student in physics at a top university, etc.). He also was worried about his advisor finding out about his mood and/or drug problems. I was speechless when I found out about his death. Besides the guilt, I felt...unfairly lucky, especially because he'd given me some H to try a couple months before, and I hadn't really liked it much, so I never did it again. I think the day I found out he'd died was the day I lost the last of what little innocence (really, naïveté is more like it) I ever possessed. Even though we lived in Boston (which has very little in common with L.A.!), every time I hear this song, with the baleful guitar and Anthony's melan-choly voice (he's so versatile!), and of course the drugs theme, I think of him.
@Esmeetje I agree with you, This was a good commentary for this song
@Esmeetje I agree with you, This was a good commentary for this song