Compassion is broken now
My will is eroded now
Desire is broken now

It makes me feel ugly

On my knees and burning
My piss and moans are fuel and,
I set my head on fire
Smell my soul is burning

I'm broken
Looking up to see the enemy
And I've swallowed the poison you're feeding me,
But I survive on the poison you're feeding me

Leaving while you're

Guilt, fed
Hatred, fed
Weakness, fed

It makes me feel ugly

On my knees and burning
My piss and moans are fuel and,
I set my head on fire

Dead inside

Shit adds up
Shit adds up
Shit adds up
Shit adds up at the bottom

If I let you, you would make me destroy myself.
In order to survive you, I must first survive myself.
And I can sink no further, and I cannot forgive you.
There's no choice but to confront you, to engage you, to erase you.
I've gone to great lengths to expand my threshold of pain.
I'll use my mistakes against you.
There's no other choice.
Shameless now, nameless now, nothing now, no one now.
But my soul must be iron.
'Cause my fear is naked.
I'm naked and fearless.

And my fear is naked

Dead inside
Dead inside
Dead inside
Dead inside

Nameless now
Shameless now
Nothing now
No one now

Shit adds up
Shit adds up
Shit adds up
Shit adds as you see me,

Naked now
Fearless now
Naked now
Fearless now

Shit adds up it leaves me,

Dead inside
Dead inside
Dead inside
Dead inside

Hatred keeps me alive,
How could this keep me alive?
Weakness keeps me alive
Guilt keeps me alive at the bottom


Lyrics submitted by homicidal_loser x, edited by Mellow_Harsher, CasROCK96

Bottom (feat. Henry Rollins) song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

21 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +10
    General Comment

    This song is about facing the fear within yourself and removing it. The bottom is where you face your own demons. These are the emotions mentioned in the song about hatred, weakness, ugliness, guilt. When confronting these things you find a dark side of yourself, the fearful self. When you remove fear from yourself, you are no longer afraid of yourself, and therefore you step into your full individuality, you finally become who you are.

    The song sounds dark because of the harsh metal sound, but this only portrays the struggle and frustration, the lyrics also sound harsh but their message is about strengthening your mind and freeing yourself from fear of yourself.

    In summary, the whole reason the world is fucked up is because people are afraid of themselves. They may believe they are afraid of other things, but they are actually afraid of themselves because they don't know how to deal with the things they fear, thus they fear themselves, not other things. When one recognizes their fearful self and eliminate it they become whole and alive, and they become good and strong. The lyrics "naked now, fearless now, nothing now" represent this new becoming. All the bad emotions stemming from the fear are removed, and now there is nothing in the way, and the self which was repressed is bearing itself as a new or 'naked' being. When Maynard says "shit adds up at the bottom" he means that when one goes to the center of themselves, the part of themselves that is not afraid and pure and happy, you see all the outer layers you have added on to your consciousness, bot the good and the bad, therefore it 'adds up'. You see all of it, and destroy the ones associated with fear and you become new and naked and yourself. Pretty awesome stuff.

    loverazoron September 22, 2011   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.