Broken (feat. Gavin Clark)

I don't really agree with what anyone has put on here...

When I first saw the lyrics I immediately thought of being in the trap of drug addiction. I could possibly be taking the words "strung out" too literally, but all of the other lyrics make me think of a heroin addict, such as: "Two thread"--perhaps the two good veins he's got left; same with "strand"--kind of literal and symbolic: he's down to two threads, and when they break, that'll be the end of him. Yet he keeps going back for more.

Or perhaps: Two thread score tearing up the floor--"score" (he's either 'tearing up the floor' to score again or he's scored a bit that'll do for now. Out in the alley with the trigger draw--I interpret 'trigger draw' as the plunger of the syringe

Numb hands I can see the strand--Maybe he has numb hands because he's got the band (see below) tied very tightly around his arm. It could also just refer to how drugs "numb" you to everything going on around you. Hold it together with a severed band--I just imagine him using an old broken band to tie around his arm before he shoots up

The chorus is the only thing that makes me think of some sort of relationship. I think it could quite possibly be referring to a relationship with someone in his life that has been adversely affected by his drug addiction. "We're miles adrift we're inches apart"--they could be sitting right next to each other but they are completely distanced from one another because the drugs always come first.

I'm hit I can feel the grit--Now he's just shot up/took a "hit" Sat in the asher on the beaten brick--like he's out in an alley somewhere again, not really caring where he is or what he's sitting in. Two thread main running through the vein--the drugs running through his vein; a "main highwway" of sorts? Out in the centre with a mirrored cane--I'm kind of stumped by "mirrored cane"; any ideas?

Stood up on the side of the earth--he tries to get back up again and go clean Thrown back to the track to the dirt--but the addiction always gets him Two thread, lose an hour a day--this either means he getting closer and closer to dying or that he spends so much time looking for another score that he's basically losing time to attend to other important things in his life (e.g. relationships with family, girlfriend, friends)

And then when he says "I'm over I'm over I'm over I'm broken"--He realizes the huge detrimental effect that his drug use is having on his life and his health; it's broken him, but he can't overcome it. It's like he's decided to give up, or that he's become completely consumed by the drug and has no identity or purpose in life anymore.

Hold it together, with a severed band--I think this last line is more symbolic, like he's trying to "hold it together", but the band is severed Can't feel the blood--the drugs make him so numb to everything that he can no longer feel emotions, pain, or even his own blood running through his veins--maybe as if he has replaced his own blood with the drugs.

This is a really dark and powerful song, and I always have this image of a junkie out in the alley in the wee hours of the morning ("wings of the dawn")...but I really love this song and could listen to it over and over again. I love UNKLE!

i think its about dying...being shot?

I've been listening to this song a lot lately. It's one of my favorite, if not my favorite, from Unkle's War Stories album. Gavin Clark really makes the song stand out... but I have to admit the lyrics were a little cryptic at first.

Like most songs, I think this one deals with a relationship that has turned burdensome. I think the lyrics are unique in that they liken trying to salvage your love for someone with using a tourniquet to stop the loss of blood...

Bear with me for a minute.

"Dead state, I can feel the weight"

I think this line shows that his relationship doesn't inspire love anymore - he's in a "dead state". His relationship is a weight on him.

"Three long years I've been crying here"

I think this line is the only one in the song that can be taken somewhat literally. I think he's been in a relationship for a while (it feels like a long time to him).

"We're miles adrift, we're inches apart"

This line elaborates on how he feels toward his lover... even when they're physically close together, they feel miles adrift from each other.

"Hold it together, with a severed band/Can't feel the blood."

I think this ending line is the most clever in the whole song, and it really ties together all the references to blood ("red", "I'm hit, I can feel the grit", "numb hands"). I think he's decided to end the relationship. He's likening it to losing your hand, or feet, or any other body part. In a relationship that's gone on for so long, you almost have to kill a part of yourself to be able to move on.

But, in the end, I think he has decided to move on, since he twice uses the refrain, "I'm over, I'm over, I'm over, I'm broken".

I'm surprised there aren't more comments. This song is effing amazing. They played it after X-Files:IWTB, and I've listened to it over ten times today (I've been wanting to try other UNKLE stuff, but I can't stop playing this song!). Haven't entirely decided how it relates to the movie, other than most everyone in this movie could be considered "broken" or lessened in spirit or drive at some point. For the meaning of the song, what joshuaz said is pretty much what I first got when thought about it. I like that it's left very open to interpretation. It could be a romantic relationship; it could be a family member. It reminds me of Chris Carter, XF's creator, in that way, because he loves to leave things open for interpretation.

Does anyone get the line "Tooth red main running through the vein" or "Tooth red, lose an hour a day?"

Im agree with You. I also relate this with the new Xfiles movie. Maybe now every word, but it corespionds very close with Mulders state of mind. He is in some way broken, hes hiding himself, have "hole in the back" (betrayed by FBI), but he got love. Thats probably one thing he has in this world :) They live somewhere (We're miles adrift, we're inches away).

It is also related with the last scene in film (after credits)- they are on a boat, physically and symbolically (in live they live now and always lived). But this song is so universal, that I think someone finds better explanation.

It's not 'tooth red', it's 'two thread'.

snowyshroom, i agree... and i have a personal story to add that may shed some light on a few things.

once upon a time i was strung out with my boyfriend, both of us heroin addicts. we were staying in a cheap hotel room, but on the bright side, the hotel had HBO.

we couldnt score for three days, and withdrawal was setting in... we were stuck in a haze of sleep and wake for three days, him and i on opposite ends of the king size bed, shivering, staring at the tv. In those three days, the X Files movie played at least 5 times. each time i would drift in and out of sleep for the movie, but i would always wake up to this song playing at the credits. it was terrifying (its a very eerie-sounding song).

but that was my past life...

so, in my opinion, the song is talking about him and someone else getting wrapped up in addiction and those certain things that happen when you start getting high with someone else (be it family, friend, but especially significant other). Your relationship starts to resemble your addiction.

That line, "We're miles adrift, we're inches away" definitely resonates... i get the image of two people, half-laying on the couch, nodding out from the heroin. they may be inches apart, but their brains are miles away. they may say they care about each other, but in that moment, nothing matters but the high...

maybe im putting too much of a personal spin on this, oh well :D

I actually interpreted it as a combination of the dying relationship thing and the heroin thing, oddly enough, so it was interesting to see both of these theories here.

Regardless, I love how delightfully concrete-and-yet-vague these lyrics are. Haunting.