I've lost the plot again
Tell your friends to sharpen their teeth
There's a few quid to be made

And my soul's a sorry state
So come on down, you're empty lovers.
Worms come out of the woodwork
And the snakes start to sing.

Do you feel the chill,
Clawing at the back of your neck?
I start to spill,
Did you really think that you could fix me?
They'll sell your bones for another roll.
We'll sharpen your teeth.
Tell yourself that it's just business.

Worms come out of the woodwork.
Leeches come from out of the dirt.
Rats come out of the holes they call home,
I fall apart.
And the snakes start to sing.

Don't say I'm better off dead,
Cause heaven's full and hell won't have me.
Won't you make some room in your bed?
Well you could lock me up in your heart,
And throw away the key.
Won't you take me out of my head?

I'm just a would've been, could've been,
Should've been, never was and never ever will be.
We'll sharpen your teeth.
Tell yourself that it's just business.
Would've been, could've been,
Should've been, never was, and never ever will be.
Worms come out of the woodwork,
And the snakes start to sing.

Worms come out of the woodwork.
Leeches come from out of the dirt.
Rats come out of the holes they call home,
I fall apart.
And the snakes start to sing.

If you can't soar with the eagles
Then don't fly with the flock.
Are you still getting high?
Did you catch your own reflection,
In the knife my mother held?
Or the hell in my father's eyes?

If you can't soar with the eagles
Then don't fly with the flock.
Are you still getting by?
Was I your knight in shining armor?
The apple of your eye?
Or just a step to climb?

If you can't soar with the eagles
Then don't fly with the flock.
Are you still getting high?
Did you catch your own reflection
In the knife my mother held?
Or the hell in my father's eyes?

If you can't soar with the eagles,
Then don't fly with the flock.
Are you still getting by?
Was I your knight in shining armor?
Or the apple of your eye?
Or just a step, a fucking step, to climb!


And the Snakes Start to Sing song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

14 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    So in the live DVD at Wembly, Oli started this song off by saying to the crowd, "This song's about bastards."

    The entirety of Sempiternal is about Oli during his rough times, and there are a few about how there were people in his life that did not come to his aid when he really needed it, which proved they were only his friends for his fame/money and not because they cared about him. I think this can also be traced to lovers he had or whatever.

    Though a lot of the album is about anger at oneself and self-reflection on past deeds, there are some songs about how the toxic/"fake" people made it worse.

    iredpoeton April 06, 2016   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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.