Scary's on the wall
Scary's on his way

Watch where you spit
I'd advise you wait until it's over
Then you got hit
And you shoulda known better

And we die young
Faster we run

Down, down, down you're rollin'
Watch the blood float in the muddy sewer
Take another hit
And bury your brother

And we die young
Faster we run

Scary's on the wall
Scary's on his way

Another alley trip
Bullet seek the place to bend you over
Then you got hit
And you shoulda known better
Faster we run
And we die young


Lyrics submitted by Ice

We Die Young song meanings
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29 Comments

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  • +8
    General Comment

    Directly from the linear notes of the Music Bank box set (written by Cantrell):

    "I'd just temporarily moved in with Susan Silver because Sean and I had just had a fight. So I was riding the bus to rehersal and I saw all these 9, 10, 11 year olds with beepers dealing drugs. The sight of a 10 year old kid with a beeper and a cell phone dealing drugs equalled 'We Die Young' to me."

    HeihachiMushroomon April 22, 2004   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    "We Die Young is about gang violence. That was something that was happening in Seattle, something that kinda opened our eyes. It just seemed like things were getting out of hand. Incidents where kids were getting shot, and getting their tennis shoes ripped off their dead bodies. It just seems like these kids are dying at younger and younger ages and getting involved in gang activity."

    Layne Staley, 1991

    RIP Layne

    xstatic1221on March 07, 2006   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    it's pretty much about young,punk kids that are like 9,10,11 and up gettting into gangs and dying at early ages,thus the title

    aicguy22on May 08, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    altho i believe this is about violence and murder/death at an early age, i think 9-10yrs is pushing it. ALOT. drugs or drug wars also seem to be a part of it: "Take another hit And bury your brother" Seems to be that no matter how many people die, or how close they are to you, it seems worth it for that hit.

    Diabl02kon September 10, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    ok heres what i think, this song is the proggression of life, starts off and goes on through and the title "we die young" explains the abrupt ending, i mean it just stops, signaling death at a young age

    Coldfrontcoryon November 26, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Please keep in mind this is my own personal interpretation of this song, but I feel like this is a song about war. The guitarist, Jerry Cantrell, had a father who was a veteran in a war, and was highlighted in the video for their later song "Rooster". Although the guitarist himself said the song was about underage filth and crime, maybe the images of the brave men fighting for our country (who were also very young) tied in with his image of the drug use he saw (There were also a large number of soldiers who abused narcotics in Korea/Vietnam). Suppose an image of deja vu came over him, something clicked, and this song was born. But, again, this is my own interpretation, this is how I see the song. Either way, it's still an incredible portrayal of violence, and the horrors for which it bestows. (I had a pretty wild take on this song at first. I thought "Scary's..." was a modified word in place of "Gerrie's..." (not sure on spelling) as what soldiers called the enemy in war. I was almost convinced it was this until I began to read what others wrote, then I changed my opinion. All in all, I think a song is your own personal meaning, how you take it.)

    andyw513on May 31, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I saw on a Muchmusic they said this song was about kids dying on the streets in gangs and stuff like that.

    Muzzyon March 22, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    violence im guessing anyhow great song by a good band

    Rocklovinggirlon April 28, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i agree with gang violence

    ANSon April 14, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    THIS SONG IS NOT ABOUT DRUGS. it IS about gangs and gang violence.

    TransparentSunChildon April 15, 2004   Link

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