| Nine Inch Nails – Gave Up Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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I came across a version of this song recorded from a live show and it resonated with me, particularly, the chorus. This song is someone that's been either in a negative, abusive or manipulative relationship or was committed to something. They tried, repeatedly and gave up just as many times, because it's something they glorified, like a prize, or something to aim for in life, and just kept throwing themselves at it regardless. Coming out of it, it took that person or experience to realise it was all fake, the persona that manipulative thing moulded them into, all the lies they were told, the perspective suddenly shifts. Everything they were thinking becomes false, their sanity was built on lies, and start questioning themselves. Their integrity or the confidence they had in that person or experience is the next thing to go, with trust eroded they have to distance themselves. All that's left is what remains of themselves, the false image of a person they were taught to be, without a moral compass to guide them, they no longer know which way is up, so they end up just getting rid of that persona entirely, because there's no other way to deal with it. Then, in the end, they feel guilty, they feel like they were given an opportunity and threw it away, and end up hating themselves for stepping away, even though it is the right thing to do. It's a hard thing to describe, having to rebuild yourself from the ground up, coming out of a traumatic experience like that. But this song puts those thoughts and feelings into a wall of noise that accurately describes how "all over the place" a person would be. That is fitting considering the album is titled "Broken", but this is my interpretation of it. I have also heard alternate theories due to a leaked album film that wasn't released that was graphically disturbing, involving a brutal murder to the tune of this song, though apparently it wasn't released due to it "overshadowing the musical message". |
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| KoЯn – The Darkness Is Revealing Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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I think this song is all about the hurt a person feels, maybe during depression, loneliness or sadness. The first verse paints a picture of a dark thought or feeling that's continously feeding on that pain, a feeling that used to be hidden deep down. The pre-chorus is maybe a scene of a literal or figurative sunset, the sun or light disappears and everything goes dark, leaving them with only the hurt they feel and the dark thoughts that surround it. The chorus is then the person trying to decipher what this feeling actually is. Now that they're alone with these thoughts, they can try to attempt to deal with them somehow, though not knowing how to confront it. While coming to the realisation that they do need to confront the harsh feelings in order to move on, that being alone with the thoughts is the help they need to do so. The second verse is this person attempting to self-reflect, while trying to deal with the thoughts, all they find is old scars, and they have to confront these too, by figuratively ripping the band-aid off and facing those feelings. The bridge sort of represents how vulnerable this person is while in this state of dealing with their feelings, they don't know what they're meant to be feeling, or doing. The second bridge is the apex of this experience, going through the motions of confronting the feelings, healing in the process, and that they don't want these feelings because of the thoughts they create. The outro then leaves us with the emotional stress built by facing these feelings, getting somewhat desperate to be rid of them. |
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| KoЯn – The Ringmaster Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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I think this song has a very angry and resentful undertone behind the lyrics of the first couple verses. Almost as if talking to someone or something that would try to manipulate you. Though at the same time trying to be inviting, like a dark thought. Especially the line: "I'm the one that makes it, oh so, so much better.", tempting you into giving in to dark thoughts as dealing with them is painful, reciting it almost sarcastically. The chorus to me builds on this idea, of a presence of a feeling or a person that overshadows your thoughts, almost to the point of dominating, and wanting to not deal with it altogether. Verse 2 goes even further into the depressive psychology, leveraging change as a healthy thing, and that you'd go out of your way to suffer rather than deal with the dark thoughts, going so far as to suggest that wanting to get away from it isn't going to help, easier to give up than continue struggling. The bridge then gets to a point where the feeling or person you're dealing with overwhelms your thoughts and actions to a stressful breaking point, your own head effectively "poking" and "yelling" at you to see that these are actually dark thoughts that need dealing with, or to find a way out of the situation. Then it moves to the final chorus, basically confirming that the thoughts are still there, almost tortured by never getting to the truth of how they felt, never finding a reason or opportunity to confront the truth. The title pretty much gives it away, the ringmaster as a thought orfeeling or person that controls everything you think or feel. |
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