What The Hell Have I

It's about how you feel about yourself on the inside... like, it's about being depressed, and your reflection laughs at you, showing that it thinks you're bullshit, and the singer is feeling just really down, and wants to start his/her life over, but knows that it's really hard, and wonders if its worth it.

Best AIC song ever.

One of the lesser known and probably one of the best songs ever done by AiC.

One of the key phrases here is - "its hard to start things over". I hope that it will make sense to anyone - when your relationship is over, quite often you still can't get over it and constantly think about how you could make it work. Its sad, but its the way that it goes - the problem is not so much in finding a new relationship, but getting over an old one, which is extremely difficult.

this song to me is about getting back together it really speaks to me because my girlfriend and i broke up and them about two months later we got back together and we would fight alot and shit and it was hard to start things over and it broke us apart again i think that is what the song is talking about

When i first listened this song i felt so horrified, my first interpretation is about "getting things over" i passed for depression and i did away from society, from my family and from myself and i did things i would whish has not happend. Now i try to get over that, and sometimes its freaking hard, specially when i listen to my "demonds" Now some of my friends, we have not so much contact, sometimes its hard for me feel confort and just talk to people, i feel so guilty, some people just see me like i was a stranger like they felt the fire inside, our little pride, fear. So yeah i think is about broken relationships.

A lot of people have been saying this song is about broken relationships, but my take on it is that it's about looking inward. Hell_I_call_my_head pretty much said it. It's about Lane (or perhaps Jerry) looking backward at what a mess they've made of their lives, their regrets, the things that they can't get over, the things that they have to hide from themselves and other people.

Listen to this song thinking about what its like to have done something that you can never forgive yourself for, and trying to live with it despite nobody else forcing any guilt over you. When you've experienced complete regret, to the point where you hate yourself inside, that's when this song really makes sense.

The two people mentioned aren't two people at all, they're one person and their own view of themselves. It's about someone being confronted by their own personal demons, they're at the end of the road thinking "what the fuck is my life now?" "how am I supposed to live with myself?" "what the hell have I done? What the fuck have I become?"

The song couldn't be about anything other than a broken relationship trying to be brought back together. That could mean two people, or one person and perhaps drugs -- I lean more towards two people. The "fire" being felt "around us" represents the tension between the two when they are back around each other. After an intense fued between two people, when brought back together there is definitely a feeling of "fire" and intensity -- because the past is difficult to get around -- therefore every moment together feels unatural and anxious.

davewah3 hit the nail right on the freaking head. This song really speaks truths for my situation. My interpretation is a relationship between two people are trying to work out a strained relationship. But when they try, there is an awkwardness between them hence the "Distance 'tween us grows" and "You can feel the fire around us".

i think its about self reflection and is questioning what he's done with his life. it's all the more poignant now that layne has died. He's a great vocalist and will be sorely missed, his death was a tradgedy and Alice In Chains are gone forever.

The riff is brilliant, Jerry is amazing on this song. I think lyrics about relationships are so overrated... I'd explain my theory, but everyone seems content with every song ever written being about a relationship, so nevermind...

This song was an awesome way to open Last Action Hero.