Cocoon

those are the wrong lyrics... from http://www.synthetic.org/a23/deflyr.html:

Even though I know it's only chemical These peaks and valleys are beginning to take their toll Try to convince myself that all it takes is time But the most derisive voice I hear is mine

It opens all the scars on me It leaves me shaken in my belief It takes my hand just to drag me down It makes me a stranger in the crowd

CHORUS Give me isolation just for now I feel a hard rain coming down I promise that I will be back soon But for now I'll return to my cocoon

There is thunder in the distance and the sky grows gray There is lighting in the clouds in search of prey It's not a matter of if as much as when The clouds will break and the rainfall will begin

It opens all the scars on me It leaves me shaken in my belief It takes my hand just to drag me down It makes me a stranger in the crowd

(CH)

Cracks in the chrysalis spread out like tiny snakes That hiss a litany of rumors and mistakes But I'm afraid their cause is fraught with futility There is nothing more that they can take from me

It opens all the scars on me It leaves me shaken in my belief It takes my hand just to drag me down It makes me a stranger in the crowd

(CH)

Uh, dude....get your songs right........duh....

This is a well written song.

I've felt that way alot man, so I can really relate, and no I'm not being a prick and saying I have some special insight...it just speaks to me. Anyhow, it's one of my favs right up there with Ground.

I've always assumed it was about being bipolar, or some other mental illness.

First of all, it's a well written song like PrettyLikeDrugs said, and doesn't disappoint. Moving on to my crack at it.

It's about trying to survive through difficult times. And how it affects you (depression/selfharm) the want to be alone during these times, hence; "Give me isolation just for now/I feel a hard rain coming down/I promise that I will be back soon/But for now I'll return to my cocoon."

So basically, he knows he's going to go through a difficult time, and that he made a cocoon to protect himself from this. "Cracks in the chrysalis spread out like tiny snakes"

Well, that's my crack at the meaning behind the song. ^.^

The singer of Assemblage 23 has bipolar disorder, Zaguis is correct. And that's what this song is about.

"Even though I know it's only chemical, these peaks and valleys are beginning to take their toll." -- He's talking about the violent highs(manic episodes) and the extreme depressive lows(depressive episodes). And he's getting tired of being up and down all the time.(Most bipolar people are, thus the completed suicide rate of ~10%-20% amongst people with bipolar disorder; compared to the normal population rate of about .01%) He realizes that it's only chemicals in his mind that are causing his extreme ups and downs, but he's powerless to control it.

"Try to convice myself that all it takes is time. But the most derisive voice I hear is mine." -- This is about what he tells himself during his depressive episodes. That it'll go away with time. And the voice that brings him down the most is his own.

"It opens all the scars on me It leaves me shaken in my belief It takes my hand just to drag me down It makes me a stranger in the crowd" -- First three lines talk about his depressive episodes, and how he realizes that it's by his own thoughts that he's brought down. It makes him a 'stranger' because most people don't understand what it's like to go through bipolar disorder.

"Give me isolation just for now I feel a hard rain coming down I promise that I will be back soon But for now I'll return to my cocoon"-- He's entering a depressive episode. He wants to be left alone for now until his depressive episode goes away. He likens it to a cocoon because he crawls inside his little hole in his depression. But like a cocoon, the depression fades away(the cocoon opens and the butterfly emerges) and he either will be normal, hypomanic, or manic.

"There is thunder in the distance and the sky grows gray. There is lighting in the clouds in search of prey It's not a matter of if as much as when The clouds will break and the rainfall will begin" -- It's not if he is or isn't going to go through yet another depressive episode, it's when the next one is going to come.

"Cracks in the chrysalis spread out like tiny snakes That hiss a litany of rumors and mistakes But I'm afraid their cause is fraught with futility There is nothing more that they can take from me"-- In his depression he looks to his past and has extreme regrets. He feels as if he's being destroyed(the cocoon won't hatch).

I think he speaks of problems that constantly come up in his life that he's trying to ignore. His only way for him to feel better is for him to be alone. To be alone in his own Cocoon, away from his problems.

it is about bi-polar disorder but then again that's what's great about music, it's entirely up to the listener what it's really about. i relate to it a lot cause of my my BDD. especially these lines:

Even though I know it's only chemical These peaks and valleys are beginning to take their toll Try to convince myself that all it takes is time But the most derisive voice I hear is mine

Give me isolation just for now I feel a hard rain coming down I promise that I will be back soon But for now I'll return to my cocoon

the last 2, i don't know how many times i've made that promise and never fulfilled it.

This describes Bipolar Disorder, for me anyways. It's pretty much either "Leave me the fuck alone!" or "Hey, I feel like partying/driving around with friends/having fun and being social." Then people expect you to be the same way all the time. It gets confusing for them and they always tried to keep their distance from me. Bipolar can really wear you down, the ups and downs all the time, the never knowing who you're going to be from one moment to the next, the stigma and misunderstandings.

I get to the point sometimes where I hate being 'up' because I know eventually I'll come crashing down flat on my face into a severe depression.

Here's a verse I thought was interesting: Cracks in the chrysalis spread out like tiny snakes That hiss a litany of rumors and mistakes But I'm afraid their cause is fraught with futility There is nothing more that they can take from me During a manic/hypomanic phase, people tend to be more impulsive, hence the mistakes part. The rumors could mean that people talk about him because they don't understand. He's pretty much saying that his disorder has taken everything out of him, so he doesn't really feel much because of the rumors.