That Old Black Hole

It's like that old black hole, No matter how you try, You set out each day Never to arrive

This song is about how reality is much different from what you think. Basically you can think that something is going to turn out one way but it ends up being completely different.

I think this song is about being someone destined to never amount to much. The writer realizes this and decides to say "Screw it, I'ma try to be the best I can anyway" and just takes things as they go.

Feel pretty certain that this song is about an experience of enlightenment, even if not intentionally Zen Buddhist in character it sounds like a poem about enlightenment.

Even the title "be the void" has Buddhist connotations.

The contradictions are a common feature in Zen Buddhism, the idea would be that there's no way you can win, and so at the moment you realise that there's nothing you can do: you do it.

There's so much stuff to me that's obviously about enlightenment.

Like talking about not knowing what the truth is, but being able to show it.

Losing it when you found it. But it seems likely that the song was made ad-hoc of different ideas and parts of other ideas of other songs, just with a sort of common thread. It seems autobiographical. Perhaps the writer had been facing some difficulties and earnestly sought to solve them, and then realised there was nothing he could do, and then at that moment could solve them. Who knows. Just every time I listen to this song, it seems so clearly that the writer has had some kind of partial or complete experience of enlightenment.

Dr. Dog easily has some of the most cryptic lyrics of any band that I know. What is great however, is that you can have a completely different interpretation of the lyrics from what they actually mean. Personally, I have no idea what the lyrics truly mean. But for me, this song is about something that's bothering you very deeply. The lyrics "Take this thorn from my side, fix this chip on my shoulder." Kind of hint at that. However, this thing that's bothering you is impossible to fix. But I feel like this song is about accepting that. The lyric "It's just another kind of light." Is really powerful in that aspect. Saying dark isn't the opposite of light, it's just a different kind. I think that's about changing your opinion on something that you are afraid of to a more positive idea. Really poetic song.

This song is about a man struggling with a crystal meth addiction. Paranoia and scrambled thoughts are all side affects of meth. I know this because I am a recovering meth addict. Drawing my blinds and literally walking around and laying awake strung out with a pistol underneath my pillow is spot on to my story. I asked my girlfriend what she thought this song was about and she guessed it right away. I have listened to it hundreds of times never realizing what it was about til today. Just thought I would put in my thoughts. I could be wrong I'm not 100% sure.

First off let me say Dr Dog are some fantastic lyricists. The way they put words together and the type of words they choose is phenomenal. I think this song is about anxiety (that "old black hole") that's always there and never really goes away. The lines in the song about a pistol under a pillow and dogs in the yard to safeguard oneself exemplifies this. It's also about denial of those feelings and saying you're fine when you're not. Fantastic song I can't stop listening to it

Well. I thought this song was about anal sex.

This song perfectly describes my depression / anxiety / existential philosophy.

"I put on my clothes like a body guard I put the dogs on patrol in my own back yard I don't wanna fight but I'm constantly ready And I don't rock the boat, but it's always unsteady"

Walking around with a feeling like the world is out to get you and you're just trying to slip under the radar. Clothes are a shield from society. Put out the dogs to keep people out of your backyard / from getting close to you.

"There's an elephant in my head And I tip toe around it There are eggshells on the floor Therefore I never touch the ground"

Trying to fool yourself into thinking you're happy and tip-toeing around the dark thoughts in your head, feeling like if you slip up you'll fall into a bad state of mind.

"It's like that old black hole, No matter how you try, You set out each day Never to arrive"

Simply the depression mindset: nothing you do will matter in the end.

"I got my eyes on the prize But it looks just like a mystery And it all goes by on the lonesome trail to victory"

I'm working toward bettering myself, but I have no idea why.

"I'm drawing in the blinds, I got my own four walls And the show really starts once the curtain falls"

Introversion and comfort alone in your home. I interpret the curtain falling to be death, and looking forward to it.

"Take this thorn from my side Fix this chip on my shoulder Time is racing with the clock And I ain't getting any older"

A mild cry for help. Possibly considering suicide (I ain't getting any older).

"I put on my finest thread And I wrap up my body tight With the sun in my eyes I step into the night Like the mystery in the dark Oh, it's just another kind of light I don't expect you to believe me But everything is alright"

There's no fixing this, but I'm feeling okay for now. Getting back in a good state of mind.

"I don't make rules for a living I don't do tricks for a dime"

I live for myself, rather than for others. I do work that I enjoy rather than selling my happiness for survival.

"I was born on a good day, Deaf, dumb and blind."

Forcing a positive outlook and deciding to live even though reality sucks.

"Who am I to tell the truth? I don't even know what it is. I don't know how to say it but I know that I can show you."

This speaks to the authenticity part of existentialism. I can't tell you how to be personally happy because everyone has their own preferences. Just live for yourself rather than others.

"I tie my boots up tight And I head straight for bed There's a pistol and a crystal Underneath my pillow"

Getting all ready to go out and then just collapsing in bed, drugs and suicide beckoning.

"There's a tender heart Inside that ugly armadillo "These are tears of joy," Cried the weeping willow"

He has a tender heart but feels people don't realize because he puts up a hard exterior. Tears of joy again playing into existentialism.

"There's a spirit in the air And there ain't no way around it I was not prepared to lose it On the moment that I found it It's like that old black hole, No matter how you try, You set out each day Never to arrive"

Happy for now, but another depressive episode will make you lose your newfound mindset.