Say hello to the rug's topography
It holds quite a lot of interest with your face down on it
Say hello to the shrinking in your head
You can't see it but you know it's there
So don't neglect it

I'm taking her home with me
All dressed in white
She's got everything I need
Pharmacy keys
She's falling hard for me, I can see it in her eyes
She acts just like a nurse with all the other guys

Say hello to all the apples on the ground
They were once in your eyes but you sneezed them out while sleeping
Say hello to everything you've left behind
It's even more a part of your life now that you can't touch it

I'm taking her home with me
All dressed in white
She's got everything I need
Some pills and a little cup
She's falling hard for me, I can see it in her eyes
she acts just like a nurse with all the other guys


Lyrics submitted by XMorningxStarX21

The Nurse Who Loved Me song meanings
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36 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    A Perfect Circle covered this song in their album "Thirteenth Step" which some believe believe is a concept album about getting over an addiction.. (The 13th step being the first after the 12 step program.)

    This song is in there, and it almost seems like it fits perfectly, despite being written by Failure. I'm starting to wonder if APC didn't write their entire album around the concept of this song.

    stephiphanyon December 01, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    And as for the song's meaning?

    Appears to be about a mental patient who is deluded into thinking that the Nurse loves him.. "She acts just like a nurse, with all the other guys." Probably why he's in the place.

    "Why do I fall in love with every woman I see that shows me the least bit of attention?" - Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    stephiphanyon December 01, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    What a brilliant piece of music.

    In my opinion, like all the tracks off Fantastic Planet, the lyrics here are a metaphor for a stage of drug addiction (or addiction in general, all addiction is chemical on a biological level). The vehicle for the addiction here is obviously heroin.

    She's a all dressed in white (china white, heroin) because she's derived from morphine, and acts just like a nurse (she's a painkiler) carrying pharmaceuticals. She's falling hard for me, or more accurately I'm falling for her (because I'm becoming an addict) whilst for others she's painkiller, strictly medicine.

    Clever stuff man, one of the best tunes I've heard in a long time.

    halfordon February 04, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i prefer maynard's voice... but the guitar makes me feel better.. i don't know... maby both bands could make a version together... it'll be amazing xD

    chocheliuson August 04, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I sang this song to my girlfriend's tiny little chihuahuah Bella while cradling her, modifying the lyrics of course, and she fell asleep with tears in her eyes. That's how beautiful this song (and my voice) are. I heard the APC version first, then checked out the Failure version and LOVED it, which got me stuck on failure. Thanks Maynard and crew, for getting me hooked on such an amazing band.

    flashdrcon December 18, 2008   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    In my opinion, this song is about prescription drug use / addiction It also compares addiction to a romantic relationship

    The obvious "pharmacy keys" line - don't think i need to explain that one

    "She acts just like a nurse with all the other guys" - Referring to the difference of addiction and medicinal use

    I could interpret most of the lyrics but it would be too long.

    Such a beautiful song by my favorite band

    bloodflwron July 17, 2017   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Argh... looking at this song all in caps it's terrible, but still I always loved it and it still makes me cry.

    MDMasteron June 10, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    delusions, too

    nicoleon April 29, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    you guys are not looking deep enough, and jackrules is most definitly wrong. If there is a point illustrated by the album "fantastic planet" it is displaying the similarities between a romantic relationship and drug addiction. the songs stuck on you and nurse (also being the most famous on the album, stuck on you being a big failure single and apc covering nurse) point this out the most clearly. The verses of the song obviously refer to haulicinations and delusions via the abuse of drugs. the chorus is about the nurse whom he loves. this nurse isnt a person, it is heroin incarnate. greg was an addict and ken at least dabbled. they feel like they truly are in love with heroin, to everyone else, all the other guys, its just a habit, a meaningless addiction, a nurse.

    apc didnt write 13th step around this song. maynard and ken go way back. tool toures with failure, apc tours with year of the rabbit, maynard sang on silly love songs for the replicants. theyre buddies. the song certainly does fit though.

    mrpantson December 03, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Everyone is certainly entitle to their own opinions. But from a brief literary analysis, this song seems to be heavy on double-entendre and metaphor.

    It seems to be from the perspective of a disillusioned guy in an unhealthy relationship. He's been taken advantage of emotionally. The girl he's with leverages sex to get what she wants, and she doesn't seem to be faithful at all. This guy knows she's not faithful, but writes off all of her affairs as just physical, methodical, and simply as a fix -- comparing her to a nurse administering "drugs" to her patients (professional almost with no emotional ties). He believes he's the only one she truly loves. We all know that she's pulling one over his eyes, though.

    rog27on January 23, 2005   Link

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