Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek

Actually, having personally known alot of rape victims, I think that's what this is about, the after effects on one's personality. The first verse hints at that well enough, whereas the last line could almost be sarcastic. I know I've heard constantly of attackers with close relationships to victims trying to calm them during the act. The second stanza seems to hint at sexual addiction, which is a common behavior after the fact, as is the self mutilation that kind of seems to come through in the third verse. I haven't figured out if it's from the point of the victim or the observer though. It kind of seems like the fourth verse could be saying that the person that did this to the speaker had it happen to them too. Since Justin usually writes about psychological traumas and such, this makes sense to me, but IDK if it will to anyone else.

well, the song is about sex with someone he shouldn't be having it with, that devolps into a bad relationship. Something that started as sex without strings- "Moving every inch around you/to diffuse your private bomb"

uh, can you say orgasm? but he cares for her- "I stretch my self surrounding/And protecting you from harm"

it's some kinky stuff, but he takes care of her "I use a wallet for your mouth/So when you bite you will not bleed" her biting down on her lip to keep quiet, to keep them from being discovered

"I drilled a wire through my cheek/And let it down and out my sleeve/And now you’re pulling out the best of me/Yeah which never ever comes/This wire is all that’s left of me/And it's hooked within my gums, within my gums"

she wants more. and even though he knows he should stop, he's attaching them with the wire.

So drill it, so drill it, so hard i feel it…it’s Okay now (x2)

suddenly his 'no strings' sex comes with attachments, and he's using the pain as a way to feel something.

he's ashamed he's leading her on, but he's quite addicted to the sex.

"I hate to show I'd bleed for this/I cut myself to shame" he's starting to really enjoy the pain of their 'relationship'. he tells himself he's teaching her a lesson about life and love- "To get to know who this masochist/Who’s stolen my first name/Pretending he’s a teacher/Holding all my weight at ease"

he's torn about what he should do and can't make a decision, because he knows he'll wind up hurt either way- "But the teacher seems to split in two/Destroying both his knees"

“And now crawling I position myself /Below your broken wings/I lift your feathered left arm/Where you hide your heart from me”

he broke her. And now he’s taking the last thing she has left, her heart. And on a morbid side note, spread ribs look like the bones in a bird’s wings.

“I never noticed it was swollen/With a touch of brutal pain/I never knew a heart could live inside/The rust from all your rain, all your rain” he’s been oblivious to how much he was hurting her. so much so that she’s been crying on the inside, ‘rusting’ the heart that he thought was so strong it was like metal. Dented, but never broken.

“Myself and i we share This barely beating heart of hurt”

he feels bad about what he’s done to her, and he’s arguing with himself about whether he shoould leave her alone but-

“And when the hurt comes there’s an argument /A fight to save a smile/A small attack on human tears/To dry them for a while”

the whole situation is so absurd, that he can’t help but smile.

he’s dreaming about them having a functional relationship- /A dream we all should count on /Yeah a vision I believe /And where confidence is found /Attached to wires on a sleeve/And where loneliness is history/Told to pack its shit and leave

Or a world where they don’t have to hide, and can show all their emotions, not just pain and lust.

“And when guidance is a fortune/Told to help in time of need/And where crying isn’t secret/It’s the art of how we grieve”

but in the in end… he can’t move beyond what he knows. He’s stuck in a cycle, and she’s dying on the inside. But he tells he that’s it alright, and she pretends to believe him.

“And lessons are the key/To every goal I will achieve, I will achieve/ So drill it, so drill it, so hard i feel it…it’s Okay now” It’s just my rather long intepretation. but this is an amazing song. def my favorite.

Here's my psycho-analytical summary... which will probably only make sense if you've experienced it personally or are close to a person that has a personality disorder:

Often, clinically depressed people, especially those with personality disorders (Bipolar, Borderline, etc...) push everyone that cares about them out of their lives as they isolate themselves. [Possibly like Justin?]

However! Many will hold on to one person (usually a lover) that they view as their salvation. That they DESPERATELY try to keep, protect and show their love to. But they are in so much internal pain they usually only end up smothering and desperately controlling them (so they won't lose them)... and subsequently just end up hurting that person unintentionally.

Which starts a viciously painful cycle: The more they hurt that person, the more desperate they become to show that person how much they love them so they won't lose them and be alone... and the cycle starts to repeat.

Very similiar to abusive relationships where the abuser (after having abused the other person) will become the nicest, most loving, sincere, apologetic person to keep the abused from leaving them. Staring a cycle of abuse.

It's all about the author being in pain and recognizing the Dr Jekyl/Mr Hyde aspect of the cycle and blaming himself for hurting her...

I would bet this song relates to "Hate Me" when later he finally leaves her to stop hurting her.

Hmm, interesting song. To me its saying that someone has taken everything that they ever liked about themselves away and all that is left for them is the pain to make them feel alive. Hence the line:

"But to get to know this macicist Who has stolen my first name"

it is that thats the only thing that gives them any satisfaction anymore. Without pain they are dead to the world.

Any other views?

Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October is indeed a Schizophrenic. The Wire Drilled through the cheek is a metaphorical wire connecting the little devil on his left shoulder with the little angel on his right. He tries to grab hold of them as one entity and destroy it to put his personality in check and understand himself better. All of the stuff that sounds sexual in the song to 0bsol33t is showing the deepness of the relationship with himself and how he hates and wants to understand himself.
In Christ, The Happiness Salesman

I think it's about the person singing it is trying to help a friend (with benifits) going through a hard time probably going through some drug problem and having withdrew syndrum, (the wallet part) she's like going crazy cause she needs her hit, and he's trying to stop her, laying his body on hers to keep her still, and he's finding something good with in him self, wich he finds (wich never ever comes) so he likes it and want's to ceep that goodness in him , soo drill it so drill it.. and he's looking at her from all angels and sees all the puncher wonds from all the needles and he realizes that it's not right do do this.. you get where I'm going with this?

"So drill, so drill it, so hard I feel it" =Very awesome line. This is one of my favorite Blue October songs by far. I think its about having a split identity or multiple personalities.

It's obviously an addiction to a harmful behavior:

"And where crying isn’t secret It’s the art of how we grieve"

-taking pain and escaping through behavior... drugs, sex, whatever.

"And when the hurt comes there’s an argument A fight to save a smile"

-not a split personality, but a war waged against himself to quit or continue his addiction.

"And where confidence is found Attached to wires on a sleeve" -although he may find solace, there are strings attached to the way he copes.

Here's my psycho-analytical summary... which will probably only make sense if you've experienced it personally or are close to a person that has a personality disorder:

Often, clinically depressed people, especially those with personality disorders (Bipolar, Borderline, etc...) push everyone that cares about them out of their lives as they isolate themselves. [Possibly like Justin?]

However! Many will hold on to one person (usually a lover) that they view as their salvation. That they DESPERATELY try to keep, protect and show their love to. But they are in so much internal pain they usually only end up smothering and desperately controlling them (so they won't lose them)... and subsequently just end up hurting that person unintentionally.

Which starts a viciously painful cycle: The more they hurt that person, the more desperate they become to show that person how much they love them so they won't lose them and be alone... and the cycle starts to repeat.

Very similiar to abusive relationships where the abuser (after having abused the other person) will become the nicest, most loving, sincere, apologetic person to keep the abused from leaving them. Staring a cycle of abuse. [Physical abuse is just one further aspect of emotional abuse.]

It's all about the author being in pain and recognizing the Dr Jekyl/Mr Hyde aspect of the cycle and blaming himself for hurting her...

I would bet this song relates to "Hate Me" when later he finally leaves her to stop hurting her.

to me this song is about justin's desparate fight to dave his heart. there are two sides to him; the side that feels and loves and hurts and the side that has been created out of the contant slashing by society. this side is the side that shows the most. it is his shell. hard as a rock, it protects him from being abused and judged and let down. his better half felt too much when it was constantly cut in half by the lines that socioty drew through it. it needed a shield. but the shield insnt really him. so he rebels against the monster he has created. he tries to make him self feel again so he attacks his shield. but he does it gently because he doesnt want to kill the shell that has protected him for all these years. he want a balance between his shield and his heart. thats why hes drilling the wire; to set the balance right again cuz latley his worse half has been prevailing. he says in the song that 'confidence is found atached to wires on your sleeve.' it means that the more battles won within yourself makes you stronger. the more times you dare to hurt the better of a person you are. he doesnt care how much it hurts anymore; hes sick of the destruction he causes and even more sick of how it doest effect him. hes dareing to feel again. to be himself and to wear his heart on his sleave and even if it doesnt come at least he has those wires as proof that he tried and one day he might succeed in becomeing a person he can be proud of.