Anesthesia

ok, i've read all the comments, and i've read mr brett's description of the song.

my opinion is that this song is a reference to heroin addiction, most likely base on mr bretts drug addiction at the time, which of many things was heroin. this is what it means to me:

"Everybody's talking about the girl who went and killed the delivery man" [everbody's talking about the drug that kills its dealers and users]

the girl is the drug, the delivery man is the drug dealer, friend, or person that introduced you or got you hooked. so, everyone is talk about this dangerous drug that kills people.

"But she looks so kind and gentle, it just doesn't stand to reason," [but the drug looks so kind and gentle, it just doesn't stand to reason]

the drug seems harmless enough, after all, you can control it, it's just a powder or liquid. how hard can it be, right?

"I saw her right there just the other night as stately as a slot machine, " [i saw the drug the other night it was majestic and rewarding]

stately is defined as being majestic. so, if you think of a majestic looking slot machine that you put money, and it rewards you...

"But when she looked my way something mad as hell came over me, " [But i started taking the drug, i became unreasonable]

so as he became hooked on the drug, he became more and more unreasonable. an addict.

"Anesthesia, Mona Lisa, "

anesthesia is a medicine that makes you feel good. mona lisa is a portrait of the "perfect woman".

"I've got a little gun, here comes oblivion, "

possible reference to heroin

I never loved you, how did you find me? [ inever wanted to be an addict, how did this happen?]

The cops will never prove complicity now, [no one will be able to prove a partership]

Anna.........., 12345678 All good children go to heaven!

"I remember your face that august night when we lied about the beautiful time to come " [I remember when i first tok the drug and thought i could handle it]

here he's remembering when he first started taking the drug. when you first start, you think you can handle it. you can do it when you want. you dont NEED it. but that turns out to be just a lie as you sink into addiction.

"And that crazy old man who came much too late and caused a chain reaction, " [And dealer/pusher/friend that gave me the drug in the middle of the night and caused all of this to happen]

here, hes remember the person that first introduced him to the drug

"I've been hanging out here for eleven long years like a church mouse wondering where the cat as gone " [I've been doing this for eleven long years and the thrill is gone]

hes been addicted for eleven years, and the initial thrill and fun of the drug is gone, he's wondering where the initial fun and excitement of the drug went to

"And looking at you now is driving me to distraction, " [And seeing/thinking about the drug, is building up a craving]

but of course, every good addict will continue to crave the drug of choice, and he is no different

Yep, this song is definitely about for drug addiction (almost certainly heroin), using romantic love as a metaphor for the addiction. "I've got a little gun here comes oblivion" refers to the needle and the feeling of oblivion that follows. The delivery man is almost certainly a dealer who ODs on his own supply, and the church mouse waiting for the cat to come back is a reference to cravings and 'monkey on the back.' The one part I'm not sure about is the "all good children go to heaven" bit - I don't quite see what this has to do with the rest of the song. It sounds cool though. The Shai Hulud cover is great, I don't think it's quite as good as the original though, but that's just my opinion!

does anyone else see the uncanny connections between this song and the Manson Family murders? "Everybody's talking about the girl who went and killed the delivery man," that happened at the Manson house. A delivery man had the wrong address, and a girl brought him in and killed him. "All good children go to heaven! " After one particular murder, the family wrote that over the corpses in blood.

"And that crazy old man who came much too late and caused a chain reaction, " i think that is charles himself.

I agree... up until the thing with the Mona Lisa.

That painting is inherently ambiguous. Along with lines like "but she looked so kind and gentle/it just doesn't stand to reason," makes me think that he doesn't really know if the drug will be bad or good (good as a in spur of the moment feeling, or bad as in death or longtime effects) and it is ambigous in that respect.

If you cant take a hint; even from the people who have clearly stated it. It is about a heroin addiction and also has ties with the Charles Manson murders.

"everybodys talking about the girl who went and killed the delivery man."

In the manson Murders a delivery man who had a wrong adress was allured in by the girl at the door and she took him in and killed him.

Comparing Heroin to that specific girl/incident and everyones talking about it. But it didnt look dangerous last time Brett Saw it, it looked kind and gentle, it didnt make sense that it killed someone.

and bla bla bla figure out the rest from there. and please. use your brain

"And that crazy old man who came much too late and caused a chain reaction"

i reckon thats brett himself, a few years after using the drug he became a crazy old man

but it was too late - by the time he realized he was the crazy old man he was addicted

The 'little gun' is a needle.

"Anesthesia, Mona Lisa, I've got a little gun, here comes oblivion"

I can see where this might be a drug song. "...a little gun, here comes oblivion" sounds like a heroin reference to me.

i agree with milhouse... this is one of my favourite songs by bad religion. bretts comparing a drug addiction with a relationship with a girl- anesthesia; the name of a girl, the drug. the way the drug is personified works very well i think, where he is addicted to the girl. he cant help taking the drug again- he doesnt go looking for it but it finds him. when he says 'i never loved you' it shows how helpless he is when he comes accross the drug again.

THE MEANING BEHIND ANESTHESIA? Anesthesia is the influence a person is under when a drug has been taken(i.e. anesthetic) Complicity is when a person is part of a crime(i.e. murder) We all no about Mr. Bretts drug addiction(which has now passed) I'm thinking this is a true story or maybe a dream that Brett has experienced. The drug took him in and made Brett agree to complicity which was to murder the delivery guy. OK, i'm not sure if this is the true meaning but i've done my best and you guys can all disagree, i'm just adding my opinion. 'I've been hanging out here for eleven long years like a church mouse wondering where the cat as gone' I think this shows how Brett has become bored(mouse) because he is no longer chased by the cat(drug/girl) that can easily overpower him