Chemical Tribe

Maybe it's just my pessimistic view of the world we live in, but here's how I interpret the lyrics.

I think the song is about how all mankind is descending into a more and more sickening world. Pollution pressuring the environment, increasing population number accelerating this process and the incompetence of mankind as a whole to combat these problems.

New generations are born in an already fcked up (evil; see the bible Cain and Able reference) world, and thus are inherently fcked to begin with. "Bitchslapped 'fore you reached the table"

Chemical Tribe to me is just a metaphor to mankind. The word "chemical" might be a reference to how we pollute the world in all sorts of ways. The "Generation turned a chemical tribe" might be a reference to the generation of 2nd WW baby-boomers who further accelerated global population and thus demand for materialistic goods and thus further pressuring the liveability of our planet. It might also be just any generation following the last one, as global population is always on the rise.

As we are now seeing the effects of global warming, "could IT (environmental change; global warming) be more truth than fable?"

I think this song has something to do with nuclear fallout

Should I live so long To see 'em dropping bombs Hope I have you near Check out what comes after here...what comes after here

A chemical tribe could be the people suffering from radiation damage? I dunno

on my list of favorite Jerry songs..very underrated,can't believe no one's commented on this extremely kick-ass song.anyway,I think this song is about the problem's with commercialized music now day's.maybe I sound stupid but thats part of my take on it.

I think i remember hearing jerry make a remark about this one that it was about kids and drug usage and how it's so common for groups of kids to use drugs these days. "Chemical tribe"

"No last supper rite Bitchslapped 'fore you reached the table Born in ending times Leaning more toward Cain than Abel"

Love that lyric.

I thought it could've been a comment on how Alice in chains ended.

The more i listen to this song the more i think it could be a reference to John Steinbecks 'East of Eden'. "Generation turned to chemical tribe", every persons genetics supposedly traces back to Cain becuase he populated the earth, so chemically were all siblings and we're naturally eveil. (in theory).

"No last supper right Bitchslapped 'fore you reached the table Born in ending times Leaning more toward Cain than Abel" 1st of all whoever transcribed these lyrics misspelled the word "right", but i digress. This quote may be a parallel the story of Cain and Abel, and is aimed at the Cains of the world whose sacrifices are not accepted and are chosen second to Cain. I suppose none of this could have been Jerry Cantrell's intention, but i think 'East of Eden' applies to the song fatastically. In any case i like the song a lot and as well as most songs, "chemical tribe" probably varies interpretively.

I think it's about a hypothetical apocalypse from the perspective of someone who lived through it. First, there is a nuclear war (should i live so long to see 'em dropping bombs) which destroys society. Some people survive (generation turned a chemical tribe) and the narrator comments on the bad luck of the survivors (let the black odds roll) and the conditions of the post apocalyptic world (roll me over, is this hell?). The quote "leaning more towards cain than abel" is about how people will do evil things in order to survive in the post apocalyptic world, and the quote "born in ending times" is another quote showing that the song takes place in/after the apocalypse.