The lights are bright in the circus
The geeks and the freaks all light cigarettes
And laugh at your misery
While the weight of the curtain closing crushes your heart
The inertia of loneliness tears your flesh apart

[CHORUS:] It's a long slow slide
It's a long slow slide
It's a long slow slide...down

Once the neon is gone
There is still that golden splinter at your side
His manners are charming, but who are you fooling
You are nobody's bride
While Bukowski's widow haunts each empty seat on the Ferris wheel
Ghoulish lovers collide
In a collage of kisses that they steal

[CHORUS]

And outside the window
The circus crackles and lurches with rings of smoke
You laugh half-heartedly at the punchline
Not realizing they've made you the joke
Inside my heart a war is raging
In regions still untamed
The worst fear I can imagine
Is for the mystery to be tamed
The mystery to be tamed

[CHORUS]

It's a long slow slide
It's a long slow slide
It's a long slow slide...down


Lyrics submitted by starpatroller

Long Slow Slide Lyrics as written by Jewel Kilcher

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Long Slow Slide song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

5 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think the person is trying to find perfect love, where all the pieces fit together. He or she has found some pieces, but they never make a whole, so the person is never truly complete in the way other people "the geeks and the freaks" (who think they are truly in love) are. To me, the weight of the curtain is symbolic of life, and in this case, almost like an hourglass, like time is ticking, the curtain is slowly falling and you aren't even complete yet, and there's a chance you may never be. Maybe you aren't ever truly complete with out someone else to compliment and vice versa.

    SIDE NOTE: Jewel compares "Bukowski's widow" to this perfect love. Bukowski was a famous poet and literary icon. He died years ago but his wife to this day, still feels a missing part, like half of her is gone. She was even quoted in August of 2000 in the Long Beach Press for saying "Every day I don't get over it, every day I cry. It's almost absurd. It's like when somebody loses an appendage. What do you do? The other half of me is gone."

    cruel_dayzon November 05, 2006   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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.