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Chemical Addiction Lyrics
I was only 15, standout on the Ave.
You're chasing a bad dream, a luxury I never had
Living my life in the box, or sleepin in the trash
Taking girls for the things I need, like booze, drugs and ass
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone
Yeah our teens meant everything, alright
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black
Death trap, watch me going blind, oh
I don't care what you say, I
Or what you do
Chemical addiction is
Getting rid of you
So high, colors turn to sound
Goodbye, let us in and we'll lay you in the ground
Chosen on the floor, take another drag
Bought a bunch of valiums from skinny broadway bag
I don't know much about heroin but I, I wanna try
Just about everything once before I die
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone
Yeah our teens meant everything, alright
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black
Death trap, watch me going blind, oh
I don't care what you say, I
Or what you do
Chemical addiction is
Getting rid of you
So high, colors turn to sound
Goodbye, let us in and we'll lay you in the ground
Now Jerry do me like this...
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone
Yeah our teens meant everything, alright
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black
Death trap, watch me going blind, oh
You're chasing a bad dream, a luxury I never had
Living my life in the box, or sleepin in the trash
Taking girls for the things I need, like booze, drugs and ass
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone
Yeah our teens meant everything, alright
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black
Death trap, watch me going blind, oh
I don't care what you say, I
Or what you do
Chemical addiction is
Getting rid of you
So high, colors turn to sound
Goodbye, let us in and we'll lay you in the ground
Chosen on the floor, take another drag
Bought a bunch of valiums from skinny broadway bag
I don't know much about heroin but I, I wanna try
Just about everything once before I die
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone
Yeah our teens meant everything, alright
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black
Death trap, watch me going blind, oh
I don't care what you say, I
Or what you do
Chemical addiction is
Getting rid of you
So high, colors turn to sound
Goodbye, let us in and we'll lay you in the ground
Now Jerry do me like this...
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone
Yeah our teens meant everything, alright
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black
Death trap, watch me going blind, oh
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"Chemical addiction is getting rid of you." Interestingly prophetic words.
I think is was mostly written by Jerry, from the sound of it. It appears to be about when Jerry was a kid. How he was on his own. He was just bumming his life. Getting messed up all the time to deal with everything. (remember Jerry had far from the perfect childhood, Layne's was nothing to want either) The chorus talks about how the teens was very okward for him
Seems pretty straightforward, unlike many of their songs which you have to delve into. Most of their songs r nothin but metaphors. So... dont have much to say on this one 'xcept it sounds cool and has an uplifting chorus that reminds me of being high^^ .
Layne and Jerry when they were younger doing drugs, giving us the music we love today, but at the expense of Layne's life. What a waste. Chemical Addiction does indeed get rid of you.
i thought it was "chasing a PIPE dream" not a "BAD dream"... pipe having a double meaning - the pipe used to smoke drugs through, or a pipe dream, a fantastic hope that is nearly impossible. The idea being, of course, that both drug taking and wishful thinking are both unproductive activities that make us feel good about ourselves but don't lead anywhere.
I think the song is about teenage experimentation. I don't agree that its to deal with any specific problems, the song is too upbeat for that. its just about "daily survival" during the teenage years, which are fucked up for everyone no matter what your background.
"Taking girls for the things I need, like booze, drugs and ass"
that's how it was for me anyway, when you become a teenager you are suddenly exposed to a world of opportunity for experimentation, i certainly wanted to try "everything once before I die". and even though you're aware what you're doing is self destructive, there's such an excitement associated with it. "our teens meant everything" = and you don't really give a crap about the future, you feel immortal and if you aren't you couldn't care anyway.
I don't think its about any specific vice, lots are mentioned in this song, sex ("ass"), booze, pot "get stoned", valiums, heroin, "drugs" in general.
theres lots of other things i wana quickly point out "Living my life in the box" = Wasting your life watching TV "sleepin in the trash" = getting wasted and passing out in alleys (ooh who hasn't been there...) "smoking out till it's all black" = getting fucked to the point of passing out.
Although this is mostly a song about the enjoyment and excitement of experimentation, they're not under any illusions about where it leads, and as was said, its very prophetic... "Goodbye, let us in and we'll lay you in the ground"
This song is seriously an account of my teen years.
Hmm where are the idiots who usually post on drug songs insisting they aren't really about drugs. Maybe they can't come up with some way to disprove the title of the song.
I'd rather they try to say it's not about drugs than these assholes who INSIST Layne wrote about nothing but drugs and addiction. They twist everything into drugs and addiction, even songs he didn't write. "Fear The Voices" wasn't written by Mike Starr about censorship, Layne wrote it about drugs! "Get Born Again" isn't about religious hypocrisy as Layne himself said, it's about addiction? Fuck off with that shit. There was more to Alice and Layne than drugs. In fact, I'd say 90% or more of the lyrics after Dirt aren't drug related at all.
I'd rather they try to say it's not about drugs than these assholes who INSIST Layne wrote about nothing but drugs and addiction. They twist everything into drugs and addiction, even songs he didn't write. "Fear The Voices" wasn't written by Mike Starr about censorship, Layne wrote it about drugs! "Get Born Again" isn't about religious hypocrisy as Layne himself said, it's about addiction? Fuck off with that shit. There was more to Alice and Layne than drugs. In fact, I'd say 90% or more of the lyrics after Dirt aren't drug related at all.
best comment award goes to dirkadirka, i hate those assholes. Every song bashing religoin to, you see these guys justifying the lyrics, i actually saw a comments on judith, by APC where people are saying its not anti religoin, i guess the lyric FUCK YOUR GOD, wasn't enough.
"I don't know much about heroin but I, I wanna try Just about everything once before I die"
Chillingly ironic, considering how Layne died.
This sounds to me like a song that layne wrote it is pretty straight forward for an alice in chains song other than having multiple meanings or thoughts on one line its pretty much as it reads. this song should have been on facelift but the feeling I always get from this song is how drugs lead you to death first hes getting stoned then it turns to buying valiums then it turns to trying heroin because its just moving on to more addictive and harmful things and it sounds like me in the song hes saying "living life in the bottle" but I could be wrong. good song and the line "I wanna try just about everything once before I die" relates to so many people who have experimented or used drugs because its just such a sick curiousity