Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
No one knows where the ladder goes
You're gonna lose what you love the most
You're not alone in anything
You're not unique in dying
I feel a strange day every now and then
Fall asleep reading science fiction
I wanna fly in your silver ship
Let Jesus hang and Buddha sit
It's on now
The days are long now
The ups and the sun downs
And a twisting mind
If I gotta go first
I'll do it on my terms
I'm tired of traitors
Always changing sides
They were friends of mine
Don't hang around once the promise breaks
Or you'll be there when the next one's made
Kiss the feet of a charlatan
Some imagined freedom
All the rest is predictable
You can say you're the first to know
Bought a mantra to concentrate
Car alarm or hissing snake
I know now
How it's gonna turn out
You've got to calm down
Or I'll lose my place
Got to get to the center
Got to get to the concert
Run off with a dancer
Gonna celebrate
We'll welcome the new age
Covered in warrior paint
Lights from the jungle to the sky
See now a star is born
Looks just like a blood orange
Don't it just make you want to cry?
Precious friend of mine
Will I know when it's finally done?
This whole life is a hallucination
You're not alone in anything
You're not alone in trying to be
You're gonna lose what you love the most
You're not alone in anything
You're not unique in dying
I feel a strange day every now and then
Fall asleep reading science fiction
I wanna fly in your silver ship
Let Jesus hang and Buddha sit
It's on now
The days are long now
The ups and the sun downs
And a twisting mind
If I gotta go first
I'll do it on my terms
I'm tired of traitors
Always changing sides
They were friends of mine
Don't hang around once the promise breaks
Or you'll be there when the next one's made
Kiss the feet of a charlatan
Some imagined freedom
All the rest is predictable
You can say you're the first to know
Bought a mantra to concentrate
Car alarm or hissing snake
I know now
How it's gonna turn out
You've got to calm down
Or I'll lose my place
Got to get to the center
Got to get to the concert
Run off with a dancer
Gonna celebrate
We'll welcome the new age
Covered in warrior paint
Lights from the jungle to the sky
See now a star is born
Looks just like a blood orange
Don't it just make you want to cry?
Precious friend of mine
Will I know when it's finally done?
This whole life is a hallucination
You're not alone in anything
You're not alone in trying to be
Lyrics submitted by disparu, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Ladder Song Lyrics as written by Conor M Oberst
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Step
Ministry
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Techno Ted
Audioslave
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Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Holiday
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@[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.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
I'm really not trying to sound dickish, although it will certainly come out that way, but why is it that hardly anyone who submitted the lyrics to this song on any lyric site could recognize that he is saying "estranged"? It's really not that difficult to decipher and I think it's a pretty important line to this song if you believe it's about suicide, which I do. It adds a dimension, that Conor--or the narrator he is speaking as--did something to lose or damage his friendship with the person who took his own life. Maybe it was about becoming more distant ("Gotta get to the center / Gotta get to the concert") a girl ("Run off with a dancer / Gonna celebrate"). In the end I feel like he was trying to make amends ("We'll welcome the new age" and everything after that), but it was too late.
To me, Ladder Song not only exemplifies overwhelming sadness; it is also riddled with guilt.