Nutshell

General CommentThis song is about not wanting to live. It's about feeling alone and not being able to find anyone that you can identify with. It's about feeling like a outcast and not being able to fit in anywhere. I would site lines but there up their, take a look. Easy song to understand.

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Song MeaningLet me begin by saying I was once a hardcore heroin/cocaine/benzo user. I have been a year clean and I use alice in chains as my higher power because I can relate to so much of what Layne is singing about in mostly all his songs. this particular song is about his life and his addiction in a "nutshell"
"we chase misprinted lies"
-he is talking about the money glamour and fame its not real. you don't need all that shit to be content in life
"we face the path of time"
-pretty fucking self explainatory
"and yet I fight.. and yet I fight.. this battle all alone"
-He is talking about fighting his addiction within himself because any addict or alcoholic out there knows you have to want it and do it on your own no one can help you
"no one to cry too, no place to call home"
-what he means by this is no one wants to hear his complaining about his addiction anymore because I know no one wanted to hear me cry and complain anymore poor me and after being in the marines and getting out I had no place to call home either
"my gift of self is raped"
-He is saying addiction has ahold of him like its raping himself of who he really is
"my privacy is raked"
-Meaning he has no privacy with the media openly talking about his addiction
"and yet I find.. and yet I find. repeating in my head if I cant be my own id feel better dead"
-going back to what he said about "gift of self is raped". he just wants to be normal again and not have to suffer through a hellish addiction where you hate waking up in the morning that you actually would feel better dead. trust me ive been there.

I just recently lost a friend, my best friend of 25years to heroin because he couldn't be his own, he wasn't strong enough to beat his addiction. I loved him like a brother. now every time I listen to AIC it has so much more meaning to me. Thank you Layne Staley R.I.P And your wings are no longer denied. you too Tony Franza R.I.P brother AUG,22,1989-APR,4 2013 you both are not forgotten

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General CommentDefinately my favorite Alice in Chains song ever. It just conveys such a sense of hopelessness and emotion. Someone who has just been beaten down and has nothing to live for. No love, no hope, no faith, no will left to live. Someone on their last leg. I think interpretations about "media" or "government", although I respect all of your opinions, are taking the song out of its scope, which I believe is inside the person's head. Like an emotional struggle. It just doesn't feel right if you put it in the context of an "opressive government". Or "the music industry is controlling me". I think if Layne would write a song about that he wouldn't make it in this way. I'd imagine a more heavy, upbeat, "Fuck you" sorta song, instead of tired, worn, dreary anthem to heart-broken people.

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General CommentThis song is about how lonely and depressed Layne really was. When he "fights" he means he is trying to fight his drug addictions alone. However it is very hard for him because he has to support system to get him through it. He has no one or even his own family helping out. When he says his privacy is raked he means that the media is always constantly focusing on his drug problems rather than the awesome music he puts out. He has enough and he he can't take it anymore. If he can't fix anything or be his true self again he would rather be dead. This song is so powerful. It really does feel like this is his suicide note. My favorite AIC song ever but its so painful to listen to especially since he has passed on. RIP Layne.

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My InterpretationI think they are talking about the scrotum, since the scrotum is a nut shell.

"and yet I fight, this battle all alone, no one to cry to" to me is about the battle a scrotum goes through with it's owner's fist during extended sessions of masturbation. The scrotum cannot do anything about it, hence 'no one to cry to'.

As for 'My gift of self is raped, My privacy is raked" it seems that the scrotum is having trouble dealing with the fist that comes to pound it for hours on end, not giving the scrotum and privacy.

"I'd feel better dead" is the scrotum's way of saying, I'm tired of all the masturbation sessions and I'd rather be dead than go through these constant beatings.

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General Commentthis song represents his struggle in a "nutshell". people believe everything they read to the point that he felt that noone really "knew" him, therefor, he has noone and no place to call home. maybe he regrets the stardom because there's no longer a real sense of privacy, but he'll continue to be his own

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Song MeaningI suppose it's natural for people who dont understand the agony of opiate addiction, matched with little knowledge of how severely this affected his life to miss the point of this song.

This song is simply put Layne Staley admitting defeat to Heroin. Despite the tabloids (concerning loser from Mettalica's comments during the 94 tour AIC had to drop out of due to Laynes health in which Metallica called him a panzy junkie who couldnt play).

His privacy is raked, he fights this battle all alone, and ultimately being unable to play 90% of the time due to dopesickness, and being on the noose of withdrawal leaves him with the realization he would be better off dead. He was a kind person who had an addiction that hurt everyine around him, and even though it destroyed every ounce of his physical body he still cared deeply about the impact it had on everyone and everything he loved.

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General Commentits about realizing that no matter how many people misunderstand or cant accept you for the way you are.. you wont give in to being conformitized. its a fight between being well known and accepted.. to being notorious, bitched about and exploited. and u couldnt give a damn

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General Commentthis song is about layne's struggle with the addiction, how he had no one to rely on or no one to turn to during his battle, and also how the media would always print bad things which a lot of them were untrue hence "we chase misprinted lies"

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General CommentWhen he says "we chase misprinted lies" he is referring to what people think is important in their life and what they want. When youre young you think of getting rich and becoming famous but laynes sayin it aint all its cracked up to be. notice in both those lines he puts we. he is talking about everyone. the second line is literal, we all face time. what i think the rest of the first verse means is that layne is actually fighting what he talked about in the previous line. Time. Everyone grows older and dies and I suspect at this time in his life Layne didnt want to die. he feels alienated and like no one else is concerned with this problem.

the second verse is about his lack of privacy and him being who he is. No one can change who they are. If layne cant be himself why even exist?

Thats what i think anyway. its a great song no matter what it means.

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