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.
Last call, lights on
Pull your faces off the bar
Go to church 'cause you need a good cleansing
Of body, mind and soul
I never thought it possible
I think I fell in love with someone worse than me
And I love you to death
I don't think I like you anymore
The healing power of alcohol
Only works on scrapes and nicks
And not on girls in seedy bars
Who drown themselves in it
They say that scent is the strongest sense
It's tied to memories
The stench of this place is almost as bad
As the memory tied to it
Tried to forget that sickening stench
With everything I've got
You can't trust a heart that was cold from the start
You waste your time on it
The healing power of alcohol
Only works on scrapes and nicks
And not on girls in seedy bars
Who drown themselves in it
You could play all day
And tell your friends that everything's alright
The truth is that your heart collapsed
Two years ago tonight
Should thank your lucky stars
For all the times you've been ashamed
You'll learn more from the harder times
Than times that you've been vain
The lesson you learned is priceless
If you can take a spin
You threw away your friends
As if drinks were all the friends you need
The healing power of alcohol
Only works on scrapes and nicks
And not on girls in seedy bars
Who drown themselves in it
You could play all day
And tell your friends that everything's alright
The truth is that your heart collapsed
Two years ago tonight
The truth is that your heart collapsed
Two years ago tonight
Pull your faces off the bar
Go to church 'cause you need a good cleansing
Of body, mind and soul
I never thought it possible
I think I fell in love with someone worse than me
And I love you to death
I don't think I like you anymore
The healing power of alcohol
Only works on scrapes and nicks
And not on girls in seedy bars
Who drown themselves in it
They say that scent is the strongest sense
It's tied to memories
The stench of this place is almost as bad
As the memory tied to it
Tried to forget that sickening stench
With everything I've got
You can't trust a heart that was cold from the start
You waste your time on it
The healing power of alcohol
Only works on scrapes and nicks
And not on girls in seedy bars
Who drown themselves in it
You could play all day
And tell your friends that everything's alright
The truth is that your heart collapsed
Two years ago tonight
Should thank your lucky stars
For all the times you've been ashamed
You'll learn more from the harder times
Than times that you've been vain
The lesson you learned is priceless
If you can take a spin
You threw away your friends
As if drinks were all the friends you need
The healing power of alcohol
Only works on scrapes and nicks
And not on girls in seedy bars
Who drown themselves in it
You could play all day
And tell your friends that everything's alright
The truth is that your heart collapsed
Two years ago tonight
The truth is that your heart collapsed
Two years ago tonight
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The meaning of this song could probably be summed up in two lines brought straight down from the lyrics:
"You threw away your friends as if drinks were all the friends you need"
and
"The healing power of alcohol only works on scrapes and nicks."
Simple enough. Alcohol is a temporary replacement for real life. An all-too-short escape that's not worth the trouble in the first place.