Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Bury me softly in this womb
I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In a tomb, in bloom
Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart I decorate it like a grave
You don't understand who they thought
I was supposed to be
Look at me now a man
Who won't let himself be
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly, but my wings have been so denied
Down in a hole and they've put all the stones in their place
I've eaten the sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more of my feelings beneath
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly but my wings have been so denied
Bury me softly in this womb
Oh I want to be inside of you
I give this part of me for you
Oh I want to be inside of you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers in a tomb (oh I want to be inside of you)
Oh I want to be inside
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, outta control
I'd like to fly but my wings have been so denied
I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In a tomb, in bloom
Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart I decorate it like a grave
You don't understand who they thought
I was supposed to be
Look at me now a man
Who won't let himself be
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly, but my wings have been so denied
Down in a hole and they've put all the stones in their place
I've eaten the sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more of my feelings beneath
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly but my wings have been so denied
Bury me softly in this womb
Oh I want to be inside of you
I give this part of me for you
Oh I want to be inside of you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers in a tomb (oh I want to be inside of you)
Oh I want to be inside
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, outta control
I'd like to fly but my wings have been so denied
Lyrics submitted by Ice, edited by virtuallypainless, hbabe65, 50tbt, kurtstaley
Down In A Hole Lyrics as written by Jerry Cantrell
Lyrics © ROUND HILL CARLIN, LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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!
More Featured Meanings
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms.
“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.
While I know that Cantrell has gone on the record saying that this song is about his girlfriend, I believe he's fibbing for personal reasons. I believe that, just like "Rooster" is Jerry's song for his father, "Down in a Hole" is Jerry's song to his departed mother, who died of cancer just before Facelift came out.
"Bury me softly in this womb I give this part of me for you"
Jerry's mother speaking. This is a reference to childbirth. The mother carries the child in her womb, and goes through the intense pain and suffering associated with childbirth. The mother gives herself away so that the child can be born.
"Sand rains down and here I sit Holding rare flowers In a tomb...in bloom"
Jerry's mom continues by saying that now she lays in a grave, lifeless.
"Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved See my heart I decorate it like a grave"
This is Jerry speaking to his mother (although Layne is singing, Jerry wrote the lyrics). He feels lost without the guidance of his departed mother. He is saddened by her loss and is deeply depressed by her death, hence his heart is "decorated like a grave." Her grave. It has been documented that during the recording of this album Jerry was suffering deep depression from his mother's loss.
"You don't understand who they Thought I was supposed to be Look at me now I'm a man Who won't let himself be"
Jerry's explaining to his mother that he regrets not being able to spend more time with her growing up. He's torturing himself over her loss, constantly second-guessing.
"Down in a hole, feeling so small Down in a hole, losing my soul I'd like to fly, But my wings have been so denied"
His cry to his mother. An infant bird must at some point learn to fly by watching its mother/father. But that bird must also be nurtured by its family before it can reach that point. Because his mother isn't there he feels like he is "malnourished," unable to reach his fullest potential. Basically, there's a deep void in his life.
"Down in a hole and they've put all The stones in their place"
Again referring to the fact that she has died.
"I've eaten the sun so my tongue Has been burned of the taste"
This is his bitterness with success. Despite reaching "rock star" status, he is somewhat "burned" by the problems fame can bring.
"I have been guilty Of kicking myself in the teeth I will speak no more of my feelings beneath"
He regrets his current stature, and would rather his mother be alive then him be famous. More than likely, he received a large sum of money after his mother died, and that money probably went towards equipment/promotion in the pre-Facelift era. For what he has now, the problems that come with fame, he would trade all of that in to be with her but he can't, so he'll speak no more of it.
Lastly, the refrain...
"Bury me softly in this womb Oh I want to be inside of you I give this part of me for you Oh I want to be inside of you Sand rains down and here I sit Holding rare flowers (Oh I want to be inside of you) In a tomb...in bloom Oh I want to be inside..."
Pretty obvious. Again his mother is speaking to him, but Jerry interjects with "I want to be inside of you." He wants to be with his mother again. He wants to retreat from reality and go back inside of his departed mother's womb so that he can again be with her.
It's worth noting that while the entire band was going through major drug and alcohol issues during the recording of this album, Jerry was taking Xanax to treat clinical depression which he had been suffering since his mother died. Since many of these wrongs were written while the band was touring for Facelift, it's likely that when this song was written, the death of Jerry's mother was still fresh on his mind.
I honestly believe that a lot of these songs that Jerry claims to be about "break-ups" and "girlfriends" aren't really about what he says they are. He's clearly a sensitive and intuitive guy, and I doubt he would want to publicize the true meaning of a song with subject matter as deep as this.
Discuss.