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Pearls Before The Swine Lyrics
Lie in this state Of perdition Never to awake
It negates An admission Stricken by fate
There's no salvation it dwells in your bones
There's no remission this sickness it owns
Make love to denial her sober embrace
Nails they've embedded never to release
In madness we shall reign Down out
In madness we shall reign Hail Mary our divine
Littered souls across a great divide
In our obsession thou cast pearls before the swine
Slowly we dance with temptation
Good intentions are sold
For the price of fool's gold and sedation
Take now this demon by its hand And slice it off
Hail Mary our divine
Littered souls across a great divide
In our obsession thou cast pearls before the swine
Take the ache beneath my bones
Peel the skin away and leave my body exposed
No grace awaits this broken soul
I numb it down Heavens fleeting kiss envelops thee
It surrounds So in vain we stab at the beast
Count the 12 times you step equal 12 times you fail
No abstination relapse tip the scale
As you swallow the hook And you chew on the line
Choke on the sinker In this sea of lies
Broke vows and broken rosaries
Bind these rusted hopeless dreams
Broke vows and broken rosaries
Bind these rusted hands in prayer
Faith trust and love are mowed down lonely
In these killing fields
Deep in the throes of addiction
Now my blood's running black
My fixation is caught in its clutches
As the sun sets on my soul
In endless twilight It is eclipsed
It negates An admission Stricken by fate
There's no salvation it dwells in your bones
There's no remission this sickness it owns
Make love to denial her sober embrace
Nails they've embedded never to release
In madness we shall reign Hail Mary our divine
Littered souls across a great divide
In our obsession thou cast pearls before the swine
Slowly we dance with temptation
Good intentions are sold
For the price of fool's gold and sedation
Take now this demon by its hand And slice it off
Hail Mary our divine
Littered souls across a great divide
In our obsession thou cast pearls before the swine
Take the ache beneath my bones
Peel the skin away and leave my body exposed
No grace awaits this broken soul
It surrounds So in vain we stab at the beast
Count the 12 times you step equal 12 times you fail
No abstination relapse tip the scale
As you swallow the hook And you chew on the line
Choke on the sinker In this sea of lies
Bind these rusted hopeless dreams
Broke vows and broken rosaries
Bind these rusted hands in prayer
Faith trust and love are mowed down lonely
In these killing fields
Deep in the throes of addiction
Now my blood's running black
My fixation is caught in its clutches
As the sun sets on my soul
In endless twilight It is eclipsed
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Guitarist Phil Demmel told Sonic Excess magazine explained the song's origin and meaning, how "It was a song without lyrics really for a while, without a concept. We kind of came up with an idea to write about addicts and addiction, when talking to each other and watching Breaking Bad episodes to kind of catch up and start again to see it. It's not a song about hope. It's just a song about being in the throes of addiction, in its claws, and a lot of my lyrics are in there. So, there's a lot of descriptive thoughts of addiction. It's not a song of hope for sure. It's not 'Stairway To Heaven.'"
The name "Pearls Before Swine" is a phrase that originates from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (as reported in Matthew 7v6) where he's saying that people of faith should be discerning in what they say and do as valuable things (such as pearls) should not be put in front of people (or swine) who do not appreciate their worth.
In this context, the pearls represent efforts, dreams, and aspirations that have been cast aside and wasted due to addiction, and the swine symbolize the addictive behavior itself, something greedy and unrefined that consumes and corrupts.
I watched an interview with Robb and he said the song is about addiction in all its forms
Phil Demmel in an interview with Sonic Excess said:
“Pearls Before Swine”, which was a song about addiction. It was a song without lyrics really for a while, without a concept. We kind of came up with an idea to write about addicts and addiction, when talking to each other and watching Breaking Bad episodes to kind of catch up and start again to see it. (laughs) It’s not a song about hope. It’s just a song about about being in the throes of addiction, in its claws, and a lot of my lyrics are in there. So, there’s a lot of descriptive thoughts of addiction. It’s not a song of hope for sure. It’s not “Stairway to Heaven.” It’s not a song of hope for sure.
http://www.sonicexcess.com/machine_head_interview2011.html