Seven Caged Tigers

I am going to take a crack at this one, let me start by saying that this song is COMPLETELY ABOUT DRUG USE and his interpretation of how his life is almost meaningless in some ways because of it.

Pass the time kickin' as time rips by (kickin as when you take that first hit...you wait for it to "kick" in, time rips by cause for a junkie it feels like forever) Neither goose nor the gander fly (babble) Buy a minute spend an hour burnin', burnin' (It takes a minute or so to tie off but for a junkie it feels like that heroin is burning on the spoon for hours before it can be put in the syringe)

Take a peek as the model earns it, earns it (now he is high, and horny, but he wants nudity "earning it") Walk a mile as it keeps crawlin', crawlin' (when you are on h everything can feel like a crawl) Clean the politician, wash with everpure (now he is high and he needs "everpure" to cleanse his insides as well" (get more fucked up)"

So the answer gets harder, harder (he cant find that first high) And the truth's getting farther and farther (now he has to turn to other drugs to help him) And the bottle keeps churnin' and churnin' (at least alcohol never lets him down) Seven caged tigers fly (this is a double reference, he "sees" seven caged tigers fly cause he is messed up but also this refers to him feeling like a "tiger" but being caged up 7 days of the week by the h"

Wastin' time chasin' those cows that fly (now he cant sleep so he counts cows, but his fly) Churnin' out all that butterfly sugarboost (butterfly sugarboost refers to coffee) Track the blade as it sweeps downward and onward (he is cutting because he has no other answers) Take a pill it'll kill at the martyrs, martyrs (martyrs as in his doctors who tell him to take his meds so he doesnt have to deal with these problems) Passin' time rippin' as time kicks by (now he is doing heroin but he either cant inject or snort anymore cause he has done too much) Pass the umbilical cord down for this fly by (umbilical cord refers to now he has to shoot it all or snort it all, and this fly by means this push) Take a sneak while the model earns it earns it (a sneak means he can barely stay awake now) Hike a mile as it keeps crawlin' on crawlin' on (deep down inside he feels like he can hike a mile, but he knows that he can barely crawl....)

see what i mean

This song is so incredibly great for a slow tune...even though I can't make much sense out of the lyrics, the melody sends shivers down my spine

this is STP's best song!!!

all of STP's closers have become classics among fans... atlanta, KW&CB, where the river goes and this song is no exception

i really dont think the verses has a true meaning ... i do agree with the fact that scott probaly wrote this song after being bored and just started throwing around words until he got the melody that he wanted

now the chorus

So the answer gets harder, harder - scotts been let down... hes accomplished his dream to finally become a rock musician but he gets no respect

And the truth's getting farther and farther - living life as a huge rockstar makes you forget about reality

And the bottle keeps churnin' and churnin' - as a rockstar all you do is get fucked up. drunk/high

Seven caged tigers fly - yes you are all right. scott was realy fucked up and saw 7 cats

tiny music could have sold so much more if scott had not been in jail and was able to tour the album more

this song deserves more recognition

This song is about being the traditional American rock band loser.

"Pass the time kickin' as time rips by" -he is lazy, but he is kicking (not enjoying it)

"Neither goose nor the gander fly" -no one/nothing else is doing anything either

"Buy a minute spend an hour burnin', burnin'" -smoking lots of weed, he thinks it buys him time (good stoner logic)

"Take a peek as the model earns it, earns it" -probly spends time looking at models/pornography but only if they "earn" it

"Clean the politician, wash with everpure" -he kinda burys his problems/mistakes with everpure which is probably alcohol

"So the answer gets harder, harder And the truth's getting farther and farther And the bottle keeps churnin' and churnin' Seven caged tigers fly"

-he realizes his life is going in the wrong direction but changing his lifestle "the answer" is "harder"

"Track the blade as it sweeps downward and onward" -probably either cutting himself or doing coke

"Take a pill it'll kill at the martyrs, martyrs" -he is superstitious so he takes some pills

"Pass the umbilical cord down for this fly by" -at this point he is dependent on drugs (his umbilical cord)

So yeah thats pretty much it i think. Its a pretty pathetic life actually. But I still love the song.

legend has it scott wrote the title of this song after seeing 7 cats while he was real fucked up... but is there any proof or an interview or article where he actually says that? id like a link to it if anyone knows

This song is about confusion and coping. Weiland uses substances to find answers. So, he is so whacked out from drugs and booze that he "sees" seven caged tigers fly by. Its all internal conflict.

This is one of the favorite STP songs. It sounds like a "this is the end of the road" type of song.

I bet he was trippin' when he came up with this in his head. But in some say, it all makes sense. Because this whole world's insane... why not write/sing about its insanity?

Because really... we all share this insanity he sings about. "Confusion and coping." I like that.

The last part of the song is eerie. I like eerie.

There are numerous obviuos drug references as always...

"wastin time kickin as time rips by.." a reference to writhing around on the floor after using heroin, perhaps.

"buy a minute spend an hour burnin, burnin" buying a fix of heroin, takes a minute, burns through your veins for alot longer than a minute.

"chasin those cows.." likely a reference to how junkies are always chasing the feeling of that first high.

All in all , I think it's a song about using drugs to fuel the creative process and the conflict that causes within Scott (ruins his relationships with EVERYONE, ruins his health, but its how he creates and is successful at what he does).