The Gift

I'm not sure that anyone relates this way, but sometimes a song amazes me to the point where for a moment, I feel utterly complete... Sounds silly I bet, but I hear this song and I just feel like it "fits" somehow. Fits my personality, fits my mood, and most of all, fits my emotions and how I feel, hence the feeling of completeness. Seether just has that impact on me, and this song just vocalizes how I've often felt but could never seem to express... This band is full of emotion and I personally just can't get enough...

I know this sounds corny, but I've always thought that "the gift" was life. And he feels like he's ungrateful all the time and doesn't deserve to live because of it. He's ashamed of himself for not treasuring his life the way he should, but it's hard because of his fear and his sadness.

The song is about a man who killed a young girl in a car accident. The gift is the forgiveness she gives him. The video depicts the man as shaun, visiting the town where she lived as he does every year after her death. "

As with most songs, no one can agree on the intended meaning. Therefore, I can only assume that, again, as with most songs, it's freely open to interpretation.

When I hear this song, it reminds me of my own (thankfully former) situation. I was jobless for an extended period of time, really down and out (that's when I created this account; note my user ID). I was incredibly depressed and hopeless, nearly suicidal at times.

My wife stuck with me though, in a situation where many spouses would have called it quits. That's "the gift". All the other lines become obvious in this context, particularly the ones that mention shame, which was abundant for me at the time.

It didn't occur to me at the time, but the other thing The Gift could be about is SHAUN'S baby girl Jayde. How she's such a precious gift to him, but he hasn't had the time to treasure her, because of his addictions & all his touring. When other people brought up the music video, & a little girl, that's when I started putting 2 & 2 together. Jayde was born in December of 2001, so she'd be about the right age now to have been in the video. Someone mentioned a 5-year-old girl, so that would put her at just about the right age when the song was released. She's 6 now, so actually, she'd have been closer to 4 when the video was done. As a sidenote, he used to drive around in their touring RV with a pic of her on the dashboard. Since they've upgraded to a bus, I don't doubt that he's still carrying that pic with him. Such a wonderful man...(sigh)

"hold me now i need to feel complete, like i matter to the one i need." hurts me when i hear it,I miss our hugs, how she fit perfectly into my arms.. you feel complete. but she knew its only gonna hurt us more because I dont feel good enough for her. Trying to deal with my own shame of not feeling good enough, in the process runining everything she gave me and i didnt see it, her gift. If i wasnt so afraid of being happy, her and I would have been everything to eachother. But i lied, betrayed and i lost what mattered to me the most...her, Im ashamed of myself for hurting her. i broke my heart which broke hers. She desurves a lot better then me. Realizing what what i lost i cant help but feel ashamed, i was on the wrong side of it all. Here i thought she needed me...in truth i needed her.

It's next to impossible to know the intended meaning without watching the music video. Shaun is playing a man who is responsible for the death of a young girl from a car accident (most likely drunk driving). She is Mexican and the family agrees to take him out to see the girl's grave every year for Day of the Dead. Whenever he shows up, the relatives grimace, act uncomfortable, and make him feel like he "doesn't belong here". "Ashamed" is repeated a lot because he feels constant guilt and can't "look at himself in the mirror". The only way he can make himself feel better is to forget about it. Like the lyrics "I'm out of trying to defy" and "I suppose I'll let it go" support. Furthermore, that makes him feel like he's "living a lie".

Most importantly, "the gift" is the forgiveness the family gives him. He's afraid of it because he clearly doesn't deserve it because of how much he's taken.

Some have hinted at Shaun's substance abuse in other comments. I think it may be possible he wrote this to help him get through it by putting himself in this hypothetical situation. He potentially considered that his alcohol abuse could lead to something as awful as this. A few have also mentioned his daughter Jayde. Shaun may have thought that his alcoholism could harm her in this way. In the music video, the girl's ghost is seen sitting in the backseat of the car. so I personally believe that the above is his inspiration.

I thought it was a really good song when I first heard it. But when I realized the meaning, I cried uncontrollably for how powerful it was. I had no reason to feel so at the time. In experiences of my own that I wanted to cry, I had so much trouble and couldn't. Although, this hit me like a train since I couldn't imagine having to go through that. It's actually hard to tell who feels worse: the family or the killer. Obviously the family has lost someone special, but they'll feel better in time. Guilt, however, can never be escaped.

guess from what i get outta the song is he has a problem wit drugs or alc. etc.... an he feels until he can overcome that he doesnt deserve anything...but he has someone willing to be there to help him with it all and he doesn't feel he deserves it...i can kinda relate

Actually for everybody that typed a meaning on here, It is about none of what you guys listed, The Gift is forgiveness, years ago he hit a little girl with his car, he is ashamed to accept her gift (forgiveness) because he is so ashamed of hitting her, he even revisits the road that he hit her on, watch the music video, maybe then you will understand a little better

This site is so outdated. This song is timeless and has nothing to do with a dating relationship that ended. It is much more personal and self reflecting. I can't believe any fan would think that Shaun would need to define himself by any relationship. Also I hate the way this page returns to the top when you post so that you have to look for your place again.