You're moving through the rough waters, motel boy
And swimming in your sleep
How could I be so blind, mis-sighted
Not to see there's something wounded deep?
Anyone could scratch your surface now
It's all amphetamine
You're blasting yourself into the present
To blur some past indignity, say that

You say that you hate it
You want to re-create it

I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hills
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel

You're drinking raw adrenal, baby
And do-si-do, saddo
You're eating cartilage, shark-eyes, shark-heart, all present tense
And boy, your blood is running cold
Listen! This is now, this is here this is me
This is what I wanted you to see
That was then, that was that that is gone, that is past
You cast yourself, cast passed by, thrown down fast

You say, you say that you hate it
You want to re-create it

I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hills
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel

You love it, you hate it
You want to re-create it
Now! This is here, this is me
This is what I wanted you to see
That was then, that was that, that is gone
That is what I wanted you to feel

You love it, you hate it
You're spitting out the bitter pill

I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hills
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel, whoa
I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hills, whoa
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel
I've been around, I've been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hills, whoa
You're coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can't even feel


Lyrics submitted by Nelly

So Fast, So Numb Lyrics as written by Peter Buck Bill Berry

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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So Fast, So Numb song meanings
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    General Comment

    Yeah, pretty sure this is about the drug-induced demise of River Phoenix - who was often said to be the James Dean for a new generation. The title of the song sounds like a play on the saying: "Live fast, die young" often associated with Dean.

    In any case Phoenix was a good friend of Michael Stipe's - however you want to interpret that - and Stipe was reportedly so devastated by the young actor's death that he sunk into a deep depression and experienced writer's block for a period of five months. R.E.M. also dedicated their "Monster" album to River.

    The first verse seems to reference the (alleged) abusive treatment Phoenix claimed to have suffered as a child at the hands of the quasi-religious cult his parents were involved with - which in turn may have led to Phoenix's later drug use (in order to numb feelings of pain).

    Ex: "How could I be so blind, mis-sighted, not to see there's something wounded deep. Anyone could scratch your surface now, it's all amphetamine You're blasting yourself into the present to blur some past indignity".

    Lantaon August 21, 2010   Link

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