Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
I walk the streets alone
On feeble bones I ride
My sins are etched in stone
I got no place to hide
Well, I was unshakable
In what I did believe
I feel so breakable
But have I been deceived
You showed me your paradise
And your carnival of souls
But my heart keeps telling me
That ain't the place to go
Well, I'm not invincible
So I want you to leave
Well, I'm so convinceable
But have I been deceived
I take your words and try them on
Yeah, it's a perfect fit, boy
You tell me one size fits us all
Yeah, like an old straight jacket
Well, tell me why I'm so afraid
All my words are spoken (3 x's)
In a stolen prayer
I remember yesterday
When things were black and white
Never thought I'd get confused
On what was wrong and right
Well, I'm not unbreakable
With armor on my skin
Well, it's not unthinkable
I could be fooled again
I take your words and try them on
Yeah, it's a perfect fit, boy
You tell me one size fits us all
Yeah, like an old straight jacket
Well, tell me why I'm so afraid
All my words are spoken (3 x's)
In a stolen prayer
You steal another minute from my life
You cut a little deeper with your knife
You steal a little breath from my air
And you don't care
And even though I'm chokin'
All my words are spoken
I take your words and try them on
Yeah, it's a perfect fit, boy
You tell me one size fits us all
Yeah, like an old straight jacket
Take this world and try it on
Man, you're lookin' good boy
Stick your neck out on the block
So you won't miss nothing
Stretch your finger, grab your hair
Don't you feel like screaming
Feel the blood rush from your veins
Now you're a perfect zombie
Now I'm down on my knees
All my words are spoken (5 x's)
In a stolen prayer
On feeble bones I ride
My sins are etched in stone
I got no place to hide
Well, I was unshakable
In what I did believe
I feel so breakable
But have I been deceived
You showed me your paradise
And your carnival of souls
But my heart keeps telling me
That ain't the place to go
Well, I'm not invincible
So I want you to leave
Well, I'm so convinceable
But have I been deceived
I take your words and try them on
Yeah, it's a perfect fit, boy
You tell me one size fits us all
Yeah, like an old straight jacket
Well, tell me why I'm so afraid
All my words are spoken (3 x's)
In a stolen prayer
I remember yesterday
When things were black and white
Never thought I'd get confused
On what was wrong and right
Well, I'm not unbreakable
With armor on my skin
Well, it's not unthinkable
I could be fooled again
I take your words and try them on
Yeah, it's a perfect fit, boy
You tell me one size fits us all
Yeah, like an old straight jacket
Well, tell me why I'm so afraid
All my words are spoken (3 x's)
In a stolen prayer
You steal another minute from my life
You cut a little deeper with your knife
You steal a little breath from my air
And you don't care
And even though I'm chokin'
All my words are spoken
I take your words and try them on
Yeah, it's a perfect fit, boy
You tell me one size fits us all
Yeah, like an old straight jacket
Take this world and try it on
Man, you're lookin' good boy
Stick your neck out on the block
So you won't miss nothing
Stretch your finger, grab your hair
Don't you feel like screaming
Feel the blood rush from your veins
Now you're a perfect zombie
Now I'm down on my knees
All my words are spoken (5 x's)
In a stolen prayer
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More Featured Meanings
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
i have the cornell demo of it, its got a quite distorted vocal and guitar. Very well written, easy to play over a basic chord progression. love it.