3 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Number with no name Lyrics
I'm serenaded by a chorus
of 1,000 burning cigarettes.
You were taking chances, mama
while I've been placing bets.
So tell it to the ashes
they know we've served.
It may be good for the soul
but it's hard on the nerves.
The very thing that drives you
can drive you insane.
I've got a head full of thought crimes
and a number with no name.
Got an eleventh hour Jesus
and a mouth full of blame.
Casket lined with silver dollars
and a number with no name.
Number with no name.
There's no where to run
I've got no one to tell.
My face has become a mask
and I'm not wearing it well.
For 5 days straight I've been breathing fire.
Don't have room on my body for another scar.
The very thing that drives you
can drive you insane.
I've got a head full of thought crimes
and a number with no name.
Got an eleventh hour Jesus
trying to explain.
Casket lined with silver dollars
and a number with no name.
A number with no name.
1,2,3.
of 1,000 burning cigarettes.
You were taking chances, mama
while I've been placing bets.
they know we've served.
It may be good for the soul
but it's hard on the nerves.
can drive you insane.
I've got a head full of thought crimes
and a number with no name.
and a mouth full of blame.
Casket lined with silver dollars
and a number with no name.
Number with no name.
I've got no one to tell.
My face has become a mask
and I'm not wearing it well.
Don't have room on my body for another scar.
can drive you insane.
I've got a head full of thought crimes
and a number with no name.
trying to explain.
Casket lined with silver dollars
and a number with no name.
A number with no name.
Song Info
Submitted by
rubymae91407 On May 07, 2009
More Ben Harper and Relentless7
Lay there and hate me
Faithfully remain
Shimmer and shine
Why must you always dress in black?
The word suicide
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Fantastic song. Not quite sure what the significance of "number with no name".... Sounds like a gambling addition problem almost from the first lines. Anyone with some killer insight?
I figure that a "number with no name" refers to getting a phone number but not getting the person's name, such as in a chance encounter. He's not sure if hes going to get hurt or not. I think it fits with the "gambling" theme. "The very thing that drives you... can drive you insane..." these kind of flings can be wonderful and it can also end in terrible heartbreak. "Don't have room on my body for another scar." Again this seems consistent with the song. But good music can be interpretted several different but equally valid ways :)
Oh and this song OWNS. Just wish it was a 4 min song instead of 3 :\
I disagree that the song is about gambling...I think you're taking the "placing bets" line too literally. Instead, I think it's about a criminal in jail (perhaps facing his execution..."casket lined with silver dollars"). I get the sense the person in the story still hasn't accepted responsibility ("mouthful of blame"), and with the anonymity and lack of the use of a name in jail (remember, inmates are given a number and use that for identification instead of a name, so the "number with no name" is very clear to me what it's referring to), he/she has lost sense of being...
I disagree that the song is about gambling...I think you're taking the "placing bets" line too literally. Instead, I think it's about a criminal in jail (perhaps facing his execution..."casket lined with silver dollars"). I get the sense the person in the story still hasn't accepted responsibility ("mouthful of blame"), and with the anonymity and lack of the use of a name in jail (remember, inmates are given a number and use that for identification instead of a name, so the "number with no name" is very clear to me what it's referring to), he/she has lost sense of being a person ("my face is wearing a mask") and is alone ("no where to run, no one to tell").
This song reminds me of George Orwell's 1984, especially the lines "I've got a head full of thought crimes" and "My face has become a mask/and I'm not wearing it well." The line "Don't have room on my body for another scar" could refer to Winston's torture, and "The very thing that drives you/can drive you insane" is like Winston's love for Julia.