Rest My Chemistry

"I haven't slept for two days I've bathed in nothing but sweat"

This, to me, is speaking of withdrawal symptoms of trying to quit. For most addicts, the half the habit is to prevent getting dope sick. The withdrawal symptoms for drugs like cocaine, heroin, and prescription pills can be some of the roughest and nastiest and sometimes unbearable stuff a human can be put through. Although its dependent on the tolerance, amount, and how long someone has used.

"And I've made hallways Scenes for things to regret"

This, to me, is simple to explain, as others have touched upon it. For a recovering addict, there are many things that will trigger thoughts of their past and past drug use. Its been scientifically proven that if an addict is used to listening to a particular song while getting high, simply hearing that song again (while clean) will trigger the brain to release dopamine. Which is one of the chemicals that gets overloaded and released when doing most drugs. Dopamine is the chemical that makes you happy. Messing with this balance can make quitting so hard (depression and generally the brain not firing on all pistons, if you catch my drift). As the lyric implies, something as subtle as a hallway, could trigger the memories of where he could have used or a particular hallway he would walk down to buy drugs. It produces nothing but regret because of constant the reminder. For long time addicts, everything can trigger regret.

"My friends they come And the lines they go by"

You would be surprised how addicts gravitate to one another and are basically fake friendships. The only real common trait between them is this thought process, "he does drugs, he gets me, we use together, etc." Line after line of drugs just go by. Then the friendship is pretty much over until the next time.

"I live my life filled in the cocaine Just some rage and three kinds of yes"

Three kinds of yes- How does an addict want his drug? three kinds of yes, snorting, smoking, injecting.

"Oh, those days in the sun They bring a tear to my eye"

Thinking of happier times. Could be when he was a child, or a good teenager, but clean nonetheless.

"But you're so young You're so young You look in my eyes You're so young, so sweet, so surprised You look so young Like a daisy in my lazy eyes"

This, could have several meanings. It seems to be about a girl, who is his motivation to get clean. Realizing that in his world of hell, she is the only "clean" thing he has in it. That support could be there for him.

I, personally, think its him staring in the mirror, as one user commented above. Addicts generally are "stuck" in life. They never progress, mentally or in generally life. Every day from waking up until sleep they are thinking of how am I going to get the next high? Where am I going to get the money for it? So and so is all out, who is has some that I can buy off? There is no progression in life or the emotions or mental maturation. The mental part is important. An addict who started at 17 and quits at age 35, will usually have the emotions and mental state of a 17 year old. Psychiatrists, and Psychologists generally agree about this.

The part that says, you look so sweet, so surprised. I take it as looking in the mirror, surprised that he has reached this level of addiction and pathetic. Addicts never realized how bad their behavior gets. It just progesses and progesses to the pits of hell.