Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I got several skins in me closet
None of which is the same
I got several identities to be unfolded
Who am I today?
The beggar, the priest
The thief, or the fog
The garbage on the street now
Or the scum
I could be behind you with a knife
I could be there to take your life
I said, skins
It's like identity
Skins...
Now, I been getting up just around seven
I look at what I have, and if I'm going to Heaven
But I been so bad, I don't know what good is
I been living so low, I feel just like a fool
I got several skins in me closet
None of which, now, is the same
The beggar, the priest
The thief, or the fog
I said, who am I today?
Skins...
All these identities
What identity do you have?
I look in the mirror, and what do I see?
I see eyes that lie unto thee
It's sad that I laugh, and I know that I'm wrong
'Cause I'm twisting around in my own
Closet of skins
Identity hangs
The thief or the fog
The priest or the scum
Am I standing behind you with a knife?
Do I make you fear for your life?
Skins in our closet
Who are we today?
I said, skins...
Skins at the party
In which we talk away
Light lies in this darkness
At the party where we were inside the day
I said, now, who are you and me today?
The clothes you wear could be your just undoings
It could show someone else what you're not meant to be doing
It could be a lie in which you're living
Look in the mirror...what is your giving?
Giving what?
Identity!
Skins!
Identity!
Skins!
Skins...
I have several skins in me closet
I had about twenty myths
I look at my face, I see the disgrace
Of a man who doesn't know where to begin
Because, skins...
All I think about...identity
The priest or the fog
The garbage or the scum
I could be holding a knife
Do you fear for your life?
Skins...
But now I say, "No more, no more, no more identity...
No more closet of skins."
I said, "No more skins in me closet--
I'm gonna be me today."
None of which is the same
I got several identities to be unfolded
Who am I today?
The beggar, the priest
The thief, or the fog
The garbage on the street now
Or the scum
I could be behind you with a knife
I could be there to take your life
I said, skins
It's like identity
Skins...
Now, I been getting up just around seven
I look at what I have, and if I'm going to Heaven
But I been so bad, I don't know what good is
I been living so low, I feel just like a fool
I got several skins in me closet
None of which, now, is the same
The beggar, the priest
The thief, or the fog
I said, who am I today?
Skins...
All these identities
What identity do you have?
I look in the mirror, and what do I see?
I see eyes that lie unto thee
It's sad that I laugh, and I know that I'm wrong
'Cause I'm twisting around in my own
Closet of skins
Identity hangs
The thief or the fog
The priest or the scum
Am I standing behind you with a knife?
Do I make you fear for your life?
Skins in our closet
Who are we today?
I said, skins...
Skins at the party
In which we talk away
Light lies in this darkness
At the party where we were inside the day
I said, now, who are you and me today?
The clothes you wear could be your just undoings
It could show someone else what you're not meant to be doing
It could be a lie in which you're living
Look in the mirror...what is your giving?
Giving what?
Identity!
Skins!
Identity!
Skins!
Skins...
I have several skins in me closet
I had about twenty myths
I look at my face, I see the disgrace
Of a man who doesn't know where to begin
Because, skins...
All I think about...identity
The priest or the fog
The garbage or the scum
I could be holding a knife
Do you fear for your life?
Skins...
But now I say, "No more, no more, no more identity...
No more closet of skins."
I said, "No more skins in me closet--
I'm gonna be me today."
Lyrics submitted by SludgeGarden13
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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.
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
The meaning of this song appears to be told through the narrative of this man who seems to be going through some kind of almost split personality disorder, and kind of views himself as some evil lurking presence.
On a deeper level I think this song tries to address the issue everyone has with their identity. We all have these personas or 'skins' which we appear as to the people around us, whilst neglecting the person we actually are. Perhaps this is the reason for the sinister tone in the song, as the narrator views himself as evil, but to everyone else he appears as just a regular person.
It also explores the idea of the physical identity versus the mental. So the physical image this person, who is viewed as normal by the people around him, could be undone were they to see who he really is, which is what the section "the clothes you wear could be your just undoings...". He would have the same body but his identity to everyone else would be changed.
In this sense I feel like the song is trying to say that in fact we don't have one specific identity, that we're all subject to the environment around us, and thus there is a fear in all of us that the true person we are is some kind of evil within.
At the end of the song the narrator finally accepts his inner demons, and states "I'm gonna be me today," suggesting he is ready to show his true self to the world, for better or worse.