Alice in Chains – Angry Chair

General CommentI created this account just to clear up some confusion. I'm highly disappointed and appalled at how much crap and how little sense is in these comments. First, props to who nailed it- Drink the Poison pretty much nailed it, and Got Me Wrong gets a 4 out of 5 from me, but everyone else is too distracted by pornography to use more than three braincells.

In General: This song provides a glimpse into the mind of a heroin addict. It is not about the drug; it's about the person and his struggles. Unlike most other AIC songs, the music AND lyrics were by Layne Staley. This is a major distinction from the other songs written by Jerry Cantrell. And what an amazing song it is.

"Sitting on an Angry Chair"- The chair that Layne sits in when he's on smack. **NOT** a childhood timeout chair (who the fuck sings about being in timeout??), nor an electric chair. Was Layne ever on death row? NO!

"Angry walls that steal the air"- Also heard as "stills the air". Layne's surroundings are quite hostile, and there seems to be a sense of timelessness (probably induced by the drug). Even though he describes the chair and walls to be angry, Layne is the angry one, presumably angry with himself.

"Stomach hurts and I don't care"- His stomach pain is excruciating, but he deals with it because it comes with the high.

"See myself molded in clay. Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid"- These lyrics are cryptic, but in general, think of it as a confrontation with himself, perhaps in a dream. It's creepy to see yourself, and even worse if you're made of clay and staring back at yourself.

"Changing the shape of his face"- too creepy to explain. This lyric is so dark.

"Candles red, I have a pair, Shadows dancing everywhere"- This is too simple to fuck up. He has two red candles on his chair. The dancing shadows are the flickering flames of the candles, which means there's no other light in the room. Can you connect the dots? Can you put together a good picture of what's going on? Don't forget the angry walls and no air...... very dark and gloomy lyrics, and the music matches this.

"Burning on the Angry Chair"- The riddle here is this: what's burning, the candles, or Layne? (use your noggin- answer it for yourself)

"Little boy made a mistake. Pink cloud has now turned to grey. All that I want is to play."- His mistake was using heroin for the first time, and the price was lost innocence. Layne uses the word "boy" several times in this song (why? use your noggin). On a related note, Layne reprises the "Pink cloud has now turned to grey" lyric in the song "Artificial Red" with Mad Season.

"Get on your knees, time to pray"- Cryptic lyrics again, but this definitely refers to religious and/or demonic pressures.

"I don't mind, yeah(x4), Lost my mind, Can't find it anywhere, but I don't mind"- This part of the song is the first break from the harsh stinging guitar riff. Basically, Layne feels like he's gone crazy, but there's a lot more to this...

"Corporate prison we stay, I'm a dull boy work all day, So I'm strung out anyway"- If you don't listen to these lyrics with the music, you'll never receive the full intensity of the message. This has nothing to with drugs, this is simply the same corporate pressures that we all can relate to, and he's just sick of it. Cantrell's solo that follows this line is loud, fast, and sick.

"Loneliness is not a phase, Field of pain is where I graze, Serenity is far away"- This has to do with deep depression. As someone who has experienced clinical depression where my body physically hurt for no reason, I relate to these lyrics, and can actually recall the same feelings by listening to this song and remembering that time in my life.

"Saw my reflection and cried, So little hope that I died"- What does it take for a man to cry? These lyrics mean whatever meaning you apply to them. Don't forget he saw himself molded in clay earlier.... (use your noggin)

"Weight of my heart not the size."- This powerful lyric is the only light in such a dark song. Surprisingly, it balances out.

Layne poured his deepest darkest emotions into his music. The people who so errantly attempt to interpret his music have not explored the darkness within themselves. That's where you need to go if you truly wish to understand AIC.

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  @UseYourNoggin
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  This makes sense..

  Flag Scatterbooon November 17, 2012  

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  I figured the stomache pain was from him not eating, cause when you're high, you won't eat for shit man

  Flag Myztikkillaon July 02, 2013  

  +1

  Almost dead on, far as I'm concerned. I wouldn't even try to offer "corrections" as much as expansions...
  
  "I don't mind, yeah(x4), Lost my mind, Can't find it anywhere, but I don't mind" It's just poetic (brilliant) clever writing playing on the metaphor of "losing" one's mind, then not being able to find it, and then driving the metaphor home with the play on words of not "minding" - his disturbing awareness that he's destroying himself and he doesn't care. Heartbreaking stuff. I've read what his last years were like. He didn't go out like John Belushi who unintentionally OD'd. According to the few friends who he'd let visit, he just wasn't interested in saving himself. He just played it out until the end.
  
  "Corporate prison we stay, I'm a dull boy work all day, So I'm strung out anyway" Again, pretty spot on. My only additional take on it is that his pain was one f the driving sources of their music and their success. Record company says, "Great album! Sales are through the roof! Give us more!" Kind of like Kurt Cobain with, "Rape me" I'm strung out if I keep this all in, I'm strung out if I make music about it.
  
  "Saw my reflection and cried, So little hope that I died" Even thinking about this one too long gives me chills. "please say that the only reason I look this awful is that I'm dead. "
  
  "Weight of my heart not the size." I don't think this is a "lighter" lyric. I see it as another lament. "People love me, say that I'm awesome, that I have a big heart, that I help them by expressing their pain - but inside the only truth is that my heart isn't big, it's just heavy as hell. It hurts all the time. I take heroin to escape it for a while, but that is just making it all heavier"
  
  Props to you Noggin (3 years later) I'm sorry you had a dark enough period in your life to make some of these lyrics so obvious. I had my own dark moments, thankfully never this dark, but dark enough to also be able to see the story here so clearly. I hope that you have continued to do well and continue to move away from that dark period.

  Flag Beckerarton October 17, 2013  

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  Two points. Firstly the time out chair interpretation doesn't clash with the literal interpretation. They can coexist and provide interesting counterpoints. The condescending use of "boy" certainly resonates with this.
  
  A second thing is that "clay" is an archaic poetic term for flesh. So that kind could be about him observing the harsh, sick reality of his body. This agrees with the reflection line.

  Flag smcateeron March 11, 2014  

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  @UseYourNoggin It's fair enough to say that people really do have to explore that "darkness within themselves" to grasp the full meaning and crushing realism behind this music.
  
  Whilst people who flag AIC as just a "grunge band with some easy riffs" their music has always been something more. It's music like this that people overlook. The difference between the simple death-row interpretation and your description is what separates those who understand, and can live the music, from those who only hear it.
  
  I don't know as much as you, and I've certainly got a lot of my own darkness left to go through, but everything you've said is true. The lyrics that hit home the most for me are "Loneliness is not a phase, Field of pain is where I graze, serenity is far away." Knowing inside yourself that the darkness isn't going to end soon, accepting that you have to feed off of your own sadness just to get by, just to feel something.
  
  "See myself molded in clay. Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid." is another set that really digs deep. Sometimes i would just sit in a room for hours on end, just staring at myself in a piece of glass, confronting that face. Staring through the reflection into the vast emptiness behind my eyes. It's not the same, but the lyrics remind me of this.
  
  I could go on a little more but I'm just too drained from everything to delve into it...
  
  Never tried heroin, and thanks to the songs from the "dirt" album -among others-, I don't intend to. Song like "Dumb" by Nirvana remind me how tired I am of having to find shortcuts around my own misery just to face daily life, adding drugs to that list wouldn't help and I don't want to give up, not yet...
  
  "Serenity is far away" but maybe, just maybe, I can get close... I have to, not just for me, hell maybe not even for me at all. But I have to try... I have to...

  Flag SadDarkPlaceon April 21, 2015  

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  @UseYourNoggin I made an account, just so I could say, well spoken, Noggin!

  Flagged dave101534on November 30, 2015  

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  @UseYourNoggin "Weight of my heart not the size" is not a happy lyric at all. The ancient Egyptian's believed that when you went to the afterlife, your heart was weighed to see your worthiness. As most know, today a heavy heart means that you are unhappy. Layne played with these two ideas to create this lyric.

  Flag KyussLiveson January 05, 2016  

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  @UseYourNoggin

  Flag Tehre'll be no coming homeon November 08, 2016  

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  @UseYourNoggin Man I agree on everything you said becouse that's mostly what Layne idea of this song was. But even he said that meaning of the lyirics of any song from them is relative to listener. For me this song speaks about view of life. Angry chair - me and my perception about the world around me. Angry walls- people around me witch are judging and limiting me to be the way I want to be. The rest of the song goes on to explain the stugles of living in this world, and how people want to change you to be the way they want you to be, and ofc your feelings. As U said, U conect to some lyrics becouse the expirience U had with some things, as for me this song has diferent meaning becouse I'm disapointed in human rase, and thus think that nothing good can come from it. We're all diferent, with diferent perception of the world around us. But I to get your anger becouse people dont even try to understand.

  Flag Tehre'll be no coming homeon November 08, 2016  

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  @UseYourNoggin I don't think the stomach pain comes with the drug, I think the pain came from some sort of withdraw, or from something maybe even deeper.

  Flag Nirvana642on April 26, 2017  

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  i think when he talks about his face moving I think he's just taking a better look at himself
  

  Flag Nirvana642on April 26, 2017  

General CommentLoneliness is not a phase
Field of pain is where I graze
Serenity is far away

Wow...

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  @Im_Next

General CommentAngry Chair is part of a cycle of songs on the album "Dirt" that tell a story. You really can't get its meaning completely unless you listen to it within context. (One of the great things about listening to a full album in order instead of just downloading individual songs--albums can tell a story and great ones are more than the sum of their parts. "Dirt" is certainly such a record, you must listen to the whole thing as one entity to "get" most of the songs fully.)

Anyway, "Angry Chair" is part of the cycle on "Dirt" that deals with heroin addiction. It starts with "Junkhead" (which very sarcastically and darkly presents the mindset of someone first getting into heroin use and thinking it's wonderful), then goes through Dirt -> Godsmack -> Hate to Feel which chronicle the user's realization that he's hooked and that heroin is destroying him horribly. Layne said in interviews that one of the reasons he wrote so personally about his experiences with heroin was to warn other people off, prevent them from making the same mistake he made. (I'm sure that is the "little boy made a mistake" in this song. He messed up, and now he's realizing that his mistake is costing him his health, sanity, and life.)

I think this cycle of songs works as the best warning against drug use I've ever heard (and is the reason I will *never* touch the stuff). But you can also relate to it and find meaning even if you are not into drugs. Just in a more general sense, the idea that you've lost your innocence, that you've made mistakes that are destroying your life, that you look in the mirror and can't stand what you've become, the horror and desperation, why is your life turning out like this, how did this happen ....? Innocence lost, basically.

Probably my favorite song ever.

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  @drinkthepoison
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  @drinkthepoison I enjoy your interpretation
  

  Flag Nirvana642on April 26, 2017  

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  @drinkthepoison I enjoy your interpretation
  

  Flag Nirvana642on April 26, 2017  

General CommentMy interpretation of this song is about drug abuse and loss of innocence. Alot of AIC songs dealt with drug use and this song is no different.

Sitting on an angry chair
Angry walls that steal the air
Stomach hurts and I don't care

Layne is sitting on a chair either already high or going to shoot up. It's an angry chair because he is angry at himself because of using drugs in the first place.

What do I see across the way, hey
See myself molded in clay, oh
Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid, hey
Changing the shape of his face, aw yeah

He really sees himself for the first time and doesnt even recongize the person he has become due to drugs (which really begins to terrify him). It says it clearly when he sings, "Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid, hey/Changing the shape of his face, aw yeah"

Candles red I have a pair
Shadows dancing everywhere
Burning on the angry chair

He's probably just sitting there and wasting away high, or reflecting back on his life with drug usage or just has nothing else better to do.

Little boy made a mistake, hey
Pink cloud has now turned to gray, oh
All that I want is to play, hey
Get on your knees, time to pray, boy

He says how he made the mistake of using drugs and how his addictions are tearing himself apart. In alot of AIC songs, he uses pink turns to gray which is a symbolism of drug abuse and how everything has gone downhill. Pink is a color that looks pleasant and happy but then it turns to gray which looks horrible and depressing. I'm not sure on how to interpret this part: "All that I want is to play, hey/Get on your knees, time to pray, boy" Maybe he wants to get rid of his addictions and just be carefree like a little kid but he cant because its so hard to do. Therefore, he has to pray to God to help him through it.

I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
Lost my mind, yeah
But I don't mind, I-I-I
Can't find it anywhere
I don't mind

This is the effect of using drugs, he lost himself and everything else important in life. He reaches a point where everything is so bad and unrepairable that he just gives up. He is delusional and he doesn't care anymore.

Corporate prison, we stay, hey
I'm a dull boy, work all day, oh
So I'm strung out anyway, hey

Corporate prison = job. He works all day and that makes me him feel dull. So he is high at work or/either he does drugs to take him out of his current state. Strung out = high on drugs.

Loneliness is not a phase
Field of pain is where I graze
Serenity is far away

All I have to say is wow these 3 lines are so powerful. I wish I could write like that. Yeah anyways... basically I think these 3 lines are self explainatory. He believes loneliness is not a phase and he spends his life in so much pain that he doesn't think anything will ever get better.

Saw my reflection and cried, hey
So little hope that I died, oh
Feed me your lies, open wide, hey
Weight of my heart, not the size, oh

I love these 4 lines as well. Basically he sees how his drug addictions affects himself and how it deteriorates him and his relationships with everyone else that is in his life. He has no hope because there is no way he can fix things or fix himself because his addiction is so bad its beyond repair. I'm not sure how to interpret this part, "Feed me your lies, open wide, hey/Weight of my heart, not the size, oh"

RIP Layne. AIC made great music and it is a loss that Layne is not with us today. IMO, AIC is so underrated and the media never gave proper recognition (of his music and death) and proper respect that he deserves. You will missed Layne, keep on rockin wherever you are.

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  @Got Me Wrong
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  @Got Me Wrong I think that last line is kind of a mockery of people telling him "its gonna be ok" and shit like that. He's not saying "weight of my heart not the size" as himself, hes kind sarcastically quoting all of the positive people who dont really understand drug abuse.

  Flag Brute Vocalson October 16, 2018  

General CommentI didn't read through everything but this song is about the struggles of withdrawals and recovery. The stomach pain, the neurotic feelings. H withdrawal involves flu like stuff and insomnia, both of which tend to screw with the head. Anyone that's been in recovery knows that the "pink cloud" is the feeling of rejuvenation after having kicked that comes once most of the physical symptoms are gone. It's usually temporary, and in this case his pink cloud turned grey meaning that happiness has passed him by and he seems to be going back and forth between rationalizing using again and feeling shame for having those thoughts. It's a pretty accurate description of an addict's state of mind and struggles.

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  @buttmeat

General CommentThis song is fun to analyze, and it happens to be my favorite. I miss Alice in Chains, it's a true loss. I feel like an ass putting my own interpretation on here, but to hell with it, I want to.

"Sitting on an angry chair
Angry walls that steal the air
Stomach hurts and I don't care"

( The reference to the childhood punishment seems fitting as a mild reference, though I feel that he's in the midst of a drug high and it's making him sick but he will continue to do it, cause it feels good. Drugs work that way)

"What do I see across the way, hey
See myself molded in clay, oh
Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid, hey
Changing the shape of his face, aw yeah"

( Definitely see the part about the sculpture he made of him as a child. He's looking at it while under the influence or after the fact, and it scares and sickens him to see such innocence lost in himself. He's ashamed of what he's become-'changing the shape of his face')


"Candles red I have a pair
Shadows dancing everywhere
Burning on the angry chair

Little boy made a mistake, hey
Pink cloud has now turned to gray, oh
All that I want is to play, hey
Get on your knees, time to pray, boy"

( Making reference to him being a child again, making a mistake. A dream he had of who he was going to be turned bad. An almost sarcastic reference to him wanting to play all day, and comparing it to his drug use and how it's ruined him. Better pray he can still save himself, but he let's that almost apatetic sarcasm through just enough to wash away any chance of reformation.)


"I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
Lost my mind, yeah
But I don't mind, I-I-I
Can't find it anywhere
I don't mind "

( Apathy towards the tragedy of his life, bittersweet feeling)


"Corporate prison, we stay, hey
I'm a dull boy, work all day, oh
So I'm strung out anyway, hey "

( Stunning lyrics. He's saying that in life you're doomed to a corporate imprisonment, you must work all day and all your life, just to live. He finds it better to be in an alternate reality, why not be strung out on drugs while you're wasting your life anyway.)


"Saw my reflection and cried, hey
So little hope that I died, oh
Feed me your lies, open wide, hey
Weight of my heart, not the size, oh "

( He looks in the mirror one day and it all unfolds on him. The realization of how much he's wasted is too much to bare. He knows he's doomed, but he'll let people go ahead and try to tell him that it's not too late to change and save himself. " weight of my heart not the size" is a reference to an old Egyptian legend... evidently when a ancient Egyptian died, I believe probably a royal or one that was high up, maybe even a god or goddess... their heart was measured against the weight of a feather, and that is how they were rewarded. So if one's heart is big, but it is weighed down by a life lived badly, it is not as worthy. ( I'm hoping I got the reference correct, I'm only going by what I can remember I was told of the legend) These lines are pretty deep.)

Very prophetic song lyrics I think, amazing how he seemed to be complacent to his impending doom

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  @WinterOnyx
  +2

  This MUST be the true meaning of the song.
  
  Great analysis.

  Flag Rjewon August 24, 2009  

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  This is the only one that makes since to me. I Have listend to the song for years and I have always thought something simular. with family that had problems and with my own mistakes i made in life. We know he was strung out so all together it has to be it, for me anyway. It just matches perfectly.

  Flag caintfindon November 10, 2009  

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  I really like your interpretation here, especially the part about the heart and the feather. I'm sure he was aware of that. In any case, he may be saying that he has lived his life badly in some sense, but that he does have a big heart. I think that's true about him. It's like to him, it doesn't even matter because he is going to be punished anyway (hence the "angry chair").
  
  A lot of people like to belittle his songs in their meaning by saying that they are simply all about drugs or what have you, but his songs were about his life and his experiences. Clearly, his struggle against drug addiction and the toll that drugs took on his life were a major part of his life. But within that story, there are themes of hopelessness and hope, of weakness and strength, of sin and redemption. That's why Layne Staley is an important musician and poet of our times, a severely misunderstood and underappreciated one at that.
  
  Thanks for your thoughtful comments.

  Flag musicbankon February 25, 2010  

General CommentOk, I've read a lot of these and I'm about ready to scream. Ok, this song is a stab in the face of AA/NA rhetoric. "Pink Cloud" is referring to how a newly recovered addict feels about sobriety. In AA/NA there's a lot of spirituality and a lot of the people start their day by getting on their knees to pray. Also when you're detoxing, a lot of people pray not to die, which you think you're gonna, especially from heroin. In AA/NA they say that you lose your mind and addiction is insanity. Someone was talking about this song being about being on the toilet? Well, when you're a junkie, you don't crap for days or weeks even. When you're kicking, it's the worst pain to have a gigantic shit coming down the pike. But if you're about to shoot up you think you can hold it for a little while longer. Then it goes away. It's awful. Also think of the flicker of a lighter under a spoon in the bathroom with dim lighting in the mirror. You'll hopefully get it to a point.
I like Alice In Chains because of my addiction, personal hell and it's nice to know I'm not the only one.

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  @ZRyhmer
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  Outstanding insight.

  Flag Rocknrollnsighton October 18, 2009  

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  Glad you posted this- because you are correct. The "pink cloud"/praying/serenity references in this song are explicitly AA/NA references. This song is so dark and haunting because it captures the mindset of somebody who has been in rehab, shown the tools to kick addiction, and is about to get high anyway. Before going to rehab you can lie to yourself about your addiction much more easily than afterward. I don't think he is bashing AA/NA, I think he is saying, "I gave rehab a shot, but it didn't work, and now I know I can't stop from killing myself on purpose with herion."
  
  By the way, I think:
  
  "Corporate prison, we stay, hey
  I'm a dull boy, work all day, oh
  So I'm strung out anyway, hey"
  
  Could be a report of something somebody else said in one of his meetings in rehab. Layne wasn't exactly a dull boy working all day in a corporate world. But in AA/NA meetings, it is pretty common to hear a business guy say something like this.
  
  
  

  Flag kernelon March 09, 2010  

General CommentSome of you are half right.

This song is about heroin, yes. But it is about heroin WITHDRAWAL!! In other words the exact opposite of begin high. This is not up for interpretation. Layne said it himself and I have personal experience with this subject so let this be definitive. My own theory is that this is about his first opiate withdrawal after some time sober. My reason for this is because there are several references to Narcotics Anonymous in the lyrics.

I'm omitting any lyrics I find to be obvious

I'll explain:

"Sitting on an angry chair
Angry walls that steal the air
Stomach hurts and I don't care"

A. You are not angry when you are high.
B. You are angry (first line) claustrophobic (second line) in excruciating pain (third line) and yet strangely apathetic (third line) when you are in withdrawal.

"What do I see across the way, hey
See myself molded in clay, oh
Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid, hey
Changing the shape of his face, aw yeah"

Only one point here, In moderate to sever withdrawal, and I'm sure Layne qualified, you WILL hallucinate, and it is NEVER fun. You are completely out of it.

"Candles red I have a pair
Shadows dancing everywhere
Burning on the angry chair"

A. Again, more references to the intense hallucinations.
B. Burning. As in hell. Ask anyone who has been through opiate withdrawal what it was like and they will all tell you the same thing; It is like being in hell.

"Little boy made a mistake, hey
Pink cloud has now turned to gray, oh
All that I want is to play, hey
Get on your knees, time to pray, boy"

Here's where it gets interesting for me. Particularly, the second line.
A. Obviously, he made a bad decision when he was young, getting involved with drugs.
B. A "Pink Cloud" is an expression in both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. It is an optimistic term to describe peoples new found sobriety. Layne did have some sober time before this was written. Obviously, in the fit of withdrawal, that Pink Cloud has now turned Grey. Excellent insider lyrics here. The rest is pretty self explanatory.

"Loneliness is not a phase
Field of pain is where I graze
Serenity is far away"

First line is pretty obvious, Second line describing the pain he is in. The Third line, however, is a blatant reference to Narcotics Anonymous's Montra: Serenity. It is Faaaaar away. He was there once, but he has crossed a line.

"Saw my reflection and cried, hey
So little hope that I died, oh
Feed me your lies, open wide, hey
Weight of my heart, not the size, oh"

Simply the despondency and depression of opiate withdrawal. The last line is interesting though. With drug abuse your heart swells. It can swell to several times it's normal weight. This ends up killing a lot of people. The size of a person's heart means they are good. The weight means they have been "bad" by using drugs.

"Pink cloud has now turned to gray
All that I want is to play
Get on your knees time to pray, boy"

Pretty obvious now, I think. Yet, he re-emphasizes the "Pink Cloud" of sobriety and the "Grey Cloud" of addiction. Excellent lyrics.

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  @duffoberry

General CommentIm prolly wrong about this but the way i see it is that he is pissed off because of all the corporate bullshit that goes on and he dosnt want to be controlled by it but he has been sucked into it.

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  @NicoleInWonderland
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  @NicoleInWonderland good to see an alternative take on the song

  Flag sokornyon March 21, 2016  

General Commentactually everyone, when laynewasa child, he made little sculptures. he madea mall child(layne) sitting in a chair. the song is bout how he sees this self sculpture, but instead of seeing good little layne, now he sees how hes grown up and how heroin is ruining his life. thats why he sees himself across the way, lol. and its obviously about drug adiction because even though hes saying howit ade him alone and angry, he still doesnt mindbecause hes truly not helping himself stop in anyway. the love/hate relationship w/ drug addiction. anyone whos not a drug addict or an addict in some way will never fully understand alice in chains.

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  @stonedtemplepilot