Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Where do I take this pain of mine?
I run but it stays right my side
So tear me open, pour me out
There's things inside that scream and shout
And the pain still hates me
So hold me, until it sleeps
Just like the curse, just like the stray
You feed it once and now it stays, now it stays
So tear me open but beware
There's things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me, until I'm clean
It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, so hold me
Until it sleeps (until it sleeps, until it sleeps)
So tell me why you've chosen me
Don't want your grip, don't want your greed, don't want it
I'll tear me open, make you gone
No more can you hurt anyone
And the fear still shakes me
So hold me, until it sleeps
It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, holds you, holds you
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps, until it sleeps
I don't want it
I don't want it, want it, want it
Want it, want it, no
So tear me open but beware
The things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me 'til I'm clean
I'll tear me open, make you gone
No longer will you hurt anyone
And the hate still shapes me
So hold me, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
I run but it stays right my side
So tear me open, pour me out
There's things inside that scream and shout
And the pain still hates me
So hold me, until it sleeps
Just like the curse, just like the stray
You feed it once and now it stays, now it stays
So tear me open but beware
There's things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me, until I'm clean
It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, so hold me
Until it sleeps (until it sleeps, until it sleeps)
So tell me why you've chosen me
Don't want your grip, don't want your greed, don't want it
I'll tear me open, make you gone
No more can you hurt anyone
And the fear still shakes me
So hold me, until it sleeps
It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, holds you, holds you
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps, until it sleeps
I don't want it
I don't want it, want it, want it
Want it, want it, no
So tear me open but beware
The things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me 'til I'm clean
I'll tear me open, make you gone
No longer will you hurt anyone
And the hate still shapes me
So hold me, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Actually bechtel is right, suicide is a method of escape for fools and cowards.