Walking away
It's not the same as running
Is it to you now
That you've run this in the ground

And you say, "Take this,
This medicine is just what you deserve.
Swallow, choke, and die."

And this bitter pill is leaving you with such an angry mouth
One that's void of all discretion, such an awful tearing sound
With it's measure only equalled by the power of my stare
Glaring over you and over you this feeling of despair is never wearing out

It's wearing off
And it's leaving you
With such a heavy heart
And a head to match

The bottle is waiting
The cap is twisted begging to be used
And so are you

And this bitter pill is leaving you with such an angry mouth
One that's void of all discretion, such an awful tearing sound
With it's measure only equalled by the power of my stare
Glaring over you and over you this feeling of despair is never wearing out

Wearing out
Wearing out
Wearing out
Wearing out
Wearing out


Lyrics submitted by oofus

This Bitter Pill Lyrics as written by Christopher Andrew Carrabba

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

This Bitter Pill song meanings
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112 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    Several points I'd like to make:

    1. Dashboard Confessional is not punk. Black Flag is punk. Minor Threat is punk. DC is not emo, either. Ever heard of Sunny Day Real Estate? Jets to Brazil? Texas is the Reason? sigh Please quit throwing around those labels because they're incorrect.

    2. I was too impatient to read all four pages of interpretations, but from what I DID read, no one seemed to realize that a "bitter" pill is an idiom. A "bitter pill" is something difficult to accept. Put that into the context of the song and it makes things a bit more obvious.

    My interpretation is as follows: The person he's referring to in the song has spent a whole lot of time avoiding the consequences of a mistake he/she made, and instead of accepting defeat, he/she lashes out and shifts the blame to other people. Eventually this denial begins to "wear off," leaving this person deflated, remorseful, and lonely. As for the "begging to be used..." part, I'm not entirely sure, but assuming the bottle is filled with pills, I think this person is probably too scared to actually "use" the bottle - instead, he/she will resort to the other forms of self-destruction associated with a complete and utter loss of hope.

    1. I liked Dashboard more before he got the full band. The predominantly solo stuff is more honest, I think.

    2. Oh, and this is a beautiful song.

    UHmericanKitschon October 25, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    when i saw DB live a few yrs ago, he was crying when he sang this song and it touched everyone in the room. (not very much people in there though). I went again last month, he looked at the crowd and laughed and said "last time i came here, barely anyone knew about me..what happened?" but anyways the reason why i like DB so much is cause in his songs, you know exactly how he felt when he wrote it and expresses it well when he sings...he is the real meaning of emo.

    X.kRystLe.Xon January 06, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    that's why i like dashboard... and the lyrics in this song..you're right, this is truely emo.

    weezerific:cutleryon January 09, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree that this song is extremely emotional, but how can you classify it as emo? Do you really know the roots of emo music? If not I think you are rather mistaken. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE Chris, but this is not "truely emo" as you say.

    Duffmanon March 06, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree that this song is extremely emotional, but how can you classify it as emo? Do you really know the roots of emo music? If not I think you are rather mistaken. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE Chris, but this is not "truely emo" as you say.

    Duffmanon March 06, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i swear, i've always wondered how artists can sing sad songs and never cry. you'd think they'd be even more worked up, because they personally REALLY DO know what the songs are about. so i love how he cries at the end. i mean, it makes me feel bad, but you know.

    So_Impossibleon April 11, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ohh lord. his voice at the end i can't even explain. i get chills everytime i hear it. i play it on repeat everytime. once i start i can't stop....it's just amazing. you feel the emotion behind that ending just deep in your soul. it sounds corny but it's definitely hits you right in that place where all amazingly emotional songs hit you.

    bluekitty2on April 12, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ohh lord. his voice at the end i can't even explain. i get chills everytime i hear it. i play it on repeat everytime. once i start i can't stop....it's just amazing. you feel the emotion behind that ending just deep in your soul. it sounds corny but it's definitely hits you right in that place where all amazingly emotional songs hit you.

    bluekitty2on April 12, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ahhh. speaking of listening to it on repeat, this will be my 7th time for right now listening. ohhhh it just hits me. you can actually FEEL his pain and it like tears at me inside when i hear it. i want to just cry with chris cause you can completely hear his pain in the ending....i just imagine how he feels and how personal that was to him....lordie begordie.

    on a side note, chris used to babysit my boyfriend when he was a baby and his mom is best friends with my boyfriends mom. yes chris was like, 9 at the time, but hey it's cute all the same :)

    bluekitty2on April 12, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Oh man, whenever i hear this song, i wanna cry. Chris is so amazing. I just went to a DC concert last week, and it was the best night of my life. this song is just so great... i love it

    Duranie147DCon April 14, 2002   Link

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