My favourite song from the new album, I love the lyrics, it's all about the spiralling self-destruction we can bring upon ourselves, especially when we become intoxicated.
“Don't touch the sleeping pills, they mess with my head”
Sleeping pills become dangerous when mixed with other substances so there’s a clear implication of a hangover here.
“Dredging the Great White Sharks, swimming in the bed
And here comes a Killer Whale, to sing me to sleep
Thrashing the covers off, it has me by it's teeth”
There’s a great juxtaposition between the typical peace of sleeping in bed and the singer’s intoxicated state, creating this whirlpool of chaos in her mind as she tries to sleep. The water is used throughout as representing the indulgence and consequences of drinking.
“I can't help but pull the earth around me, to make my bed”
My favourite line in the song. There’s a slightly more superficial implication that when you’re drunk you can end up unconscious outside and any location on this earth could be your bed and blanket. But it’s also an emphasis on the destructive and selfish nature of becoming intoxicated, destroying everything around you and believing you’re the centre of the world, with this use of “I can’t help [it]” when the singer clearly can help it by not overindulging.
“And oh my love remind me, what was it that I did?
Did I drink too much?
Am I losing touch?”
Forgetting the night before and losing touch with reality due to drinking too much.
“Did I build this ship to wreck?”
The consequences of her self-destructive behaviour, having the stable aspects of her life battered and broken down by the water. The ship that is being destroyed is the singer’s possessions, her relationships, other people’s trust in her and her life as a whole.
“What's with the long face? Do you want more?
Thousands of red-eyed mice, scratching at the door”
The long face is the disapproval of others as the singer remains ignorant of this fact. The thousands of red-eyed mice are a possible reference to her desire to completely lose control as they are all scratching at the door in her mind to be released at once.
“Don't let the curtain catch you, cause you've been here before
The chair is an island darling, you can't touch the floor”
Being caught for previously causing trouble whilst drunk. The chair being an island again uses water as symbolic of how becoming intoxicated has isolated her from others. Being unable to touch the floor shows how deep the problem has become.
“And good God, under starry skies we are lost
And into the breach we got tossed
And the water's coming in fast!”
Possibly lost simply because she can’t find her way home at night, but also lost in a sense that the singer’s lost control over the direction of her life. The vicious cycle of self-destruction is sudden and deadly, she’s tossed in and the water comes at her before she has time to realise how much damage this will cause.
I think the final repetition of the chorus ends the song on a positive note, as the repeated rhetorical question shows the first step being taken in fixing the cycle of self-destruction – that is, acknowledging the problem exists.
My favourite song from the new album, I love the lyrics, it's all about the spiralling self-destruction we can bring upon ourselves, especially when we become intoxicated.
“Don't touch the sleeping pills, they mess with my head”
“Dredging the Great White Sharks, swimming in the bed And here comes a Killer Whale, to sing me to sleep Thrashing the covers off, it has me by it's teeth”
“I can't help but pull the earth around me, to make my bed”
“And oh my love remind me, what was it that I did? Did I drink too much? Am I losing touch?”
“Did I build this ship to wreck?”
“What's with the long face? Do you want more? Thousands of red-eyed mice, scratching at the door”
“Don't let the curtain catch you, cause you've been here before The chair is an island darling, you can't touch the floor”
“And good God, under starry skies we are lost And into the breach we got tossed And the water's coming in fast!”
I think the final repetition of the chorus ends the song on a positive note, as the repeated rhetorical question shows the first step being taken in fixing the cycle of self-destruction – that is, acknowledging the problem exists.