How long, how long will I slide?
Separate my side, I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat, it's all I ever

I heard your voice through a photograph
I thought it up and brought up the past
Once you know you can never go back
I gotta take it on the other side

Well, centuries are what it meant to me
A cemetery where I marry the sea
A stranger thing could never change my mind
I gotta take it on the other side
Take it on the other side
Take it on, take it on

How long, how long will I slide?
Separate my side, I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat, it's all I ever

Pour my life into a paper cup
The ashtray's full and I'm spillin' my guts
She wanna know am I still a slut?
I've got to take it on the other side

A scarlet starlet and she's in my bed
A candidate for the soulmate bled
Push the trigger and pull the thread
I gotta take it on the other side
Take it on the other side
Take it on, take it on

How long, how long will I slide?
Separate my side, I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat, it's all I ever

Turn me on, take me for a hard ride
Burn me out, leave me on the other side
I yell and tell it that it's not my friend
I tear it down, I tear it down and then it's born again

How long, how long will I slide?
Separate my side, I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat, it's all I ever had
(How long) I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat, it's all I ever


Lyrics submitted by The Marine, edited by dygrvans, thomaswong

Otherside Lyrics as written by John Anthony Frusciante Michael Peter Balzary

Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Otherside song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

293 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    Amazing song. From the first time I've heard it, I never had any doubts that it was about drug addiction, although there are probably other themes and subjects woven in there as well. "How long how long will I slide Separate my side I don't I don't believe it's bad Slit my throat It's all I ever" For me, this verse is about him questioning how much longer he can go on like this and how much deeper he will sink ("How long how long will I slide"). He tries to justify his drug use to himself ("I don't believe it's bad") but this just causes self-loathing and suicidal thoughts ("Slit my throat"). I heard your voice through a photograph I thought it up and brought up the past Once you've gone you can never go back I've got to take it on the otherside In this verse, he mentions someone who was clearly important to him in the past but is no longer a part of his life ("I thought it up and brought up the past"). It seems that he misses this person, as he is looking at their photograph while thinking about them ("I heard your voice through a photograph"). Then he dismisses thoughts of this person and returns to speaking about his drug abuse. He says that it is impossible to stop taking drugs once you have started ("Once you've gone you can never go back") and must continue taking drugs to cope with your life ("I've got to take it on the otherside"). cont.

    marchingbandsofmanhattanon January 04, 2011   Link

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

Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
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”
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Blue
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.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.