| Alice in Chains – Nutshell Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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In my opinion this is one of a few Alice in Chains songs that *isn't* about heroin addiction, so much as it is about stardom. >We chase misprinted lies >We face the path of time Stardom is a false dream, sold to us all and ultimately a futile pursuit for most--even those who achieve it. On a long enough timeline, everyone fades into obscurity. >And yet I fight, and yet I fight this battle all alone >No one to cry to, no place to call home No matter how famous or loved you may be, as a writer you are alone. You may have a million fans, but none of them really know you: they know what they interpret from your writing, which is not you. >My gift of self is raped >My privacy is raked The writing that sells the best is what comes from the heart; what's real and true and *you*. A writer tears of pieces of himself and sells them to the people; it's not necessarily therapeutic. >And yet I find, and yet I find repeating in my head >If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead Just like heroin, writing is addictive. Music is addictive. Ask any serious musician, they can't stop; they wouldn't know who they were if they did. Creators *have to* create, even if it hurts; even if it compromises their sense of self. |
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| Marilyn Manson – Long Hard Road Out Of Hell Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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Some of this has already been covered very well in previous comments, but I love this song so much I can't help but add my two cents. >I want to fly into your sun When Icarus flew too close to the sun, lost his wings and drowned in the sea, it was the enjoyment of flying that led him to folly. This protagonist however, has a conscious desire for this. Love is like this, a folly that can burn and drown us and yet also pursued with intent. >Need faith to make me numb >Live like a teenage christ >Im a saint, got a date with suicide That is indeed a reference to Marx, but also the way many young people are raised to believe they must project and internalize the image of normalcy and perfection their parents, peers, and perhaps even teachers and religious leaders expect of them--which can lead to disastrous consequences when it comes to bear that this is not who they are. >Oh Mary, Mary >To be this young is oh so scary >Mary, Mary >To be this young im oh so scared Coming of age can be a terrifying time for anyone. So much uncertainty. So much confusion. Your body and your mind go through changes no one can prepare you for, not the least of which is establishing your social identity. Complicate that with the notion that you might not be the kind of person you're "supposed" to be, and you get real horror. >I wanna live, I wanna love >But its a long hard road, out of hell Sometimes I just want to scream these lyrics out at the top of my lungs, anywhere, any time. If you've ever had to dig your way out of depression, you may know how I feel. That desperate need to get your feelings out and to be an actual person when all you can do is curl up in a sad little ball of darkness. Although the rest of the song is clearly about coming of age, this part is as timeless as depression is incurable. >You never said forever, could ever hurt like this This part I don't really get; it matters who the protagonist is addressing and we can't really tell who that might be, nor what is "forever", it also doesn't align with the coming of age theme in the rest of the song, unless the protagonist is contemplating living a life to the end of their days that is not true to who they are, which does align with the following lyric. >Spin my way out of hell, theres nothing left of soul to sell "Spin spin sugar" was a contemporary Sneaker Pimps hit, and this might be a reference. It's also the protagonist saying they faked their way out of the depression and identity crisis they are experiencing, probably pretending to be the person others want them to be and losing themselves in the process. >Live fast and die fast too >How many times I do this for you? Again, we don't know to whom this is addressed, nor what in particular the protagonist does for them. Perhaps the protagonist is lamenting the things they have to do to keep up their fake persona and how it's killing them from the inside out, which may have something to do with the last line in the song. >Sell my soul for anything, anything but you Perhaps "you" is not another person, but another self. It may be that the protagonist is the internal identity of a person who's depersonalized their fake, social identity. This identity is desperate to get out, to assert control over their life, loathes the person they have to be in public, and yet also has very little self-worth because of all the fakery and the internalization of society's condemnation for who they wish they could be. |
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