Stuck Together Pieces

I imagine that he means stuck together pieces literally, as in our physical bodies which are made up of many parts. He wishes to be free of his physical form and move on to something more satisfying , but this is not easily done. He may fear that he is trapped in a karma loop until he has improved himself to the point of breaking free. And although he knows he is supposed to be focusing on making progress, he doesn't care.

Stuck together pieces is about herd mentality. It's about all the different social identities we take on in various situations that dissociate us from our authentic selves, passions, desires, etc, and how strong the pressure is that keeps us bound to these constructed identities, making it extremely difficult to break free of them.

It's about the personal compromises we make to fit in, to feel like we belong. And also the things we obsess over to maintain that sense of belonging, whether it be our attractiveness, or our status, or wealth. And we gain these things, you can literally "have anything that you want, except the thing you really want", which is self-actualizion, authentic self expression, choosing to walk your own personal path regardless of what others think.

And this could be referencing any situation which you've stuck yourself to. A band, a relationship, religious/political ideology, etc.

And deep down, we know we're doing this. We know we're pretending, but we don't seem to care since we keep doing it.

I really like this song. One of my favorites on the album, along with "Before Your Very Eyes..." and "Amok". I can already tell that this is one of those albums that will get better the more you listen to it. Very often, it's the other way around. You will love an album upon purchasing and listening to it, but quickly grow sick and tired of it

The lines "grown up together pieces / our stuck together pieces" makes me think this song could be about Thom's relationship with anyone who has lived and worked alongside him for many years (ex: long-term romantic partner or bandmates).

The song may even be some sort of oblique commentary on the nature of "self" (ego/super-ego/id) and how he views himself as a broken shell of a man that has been expertly glued together so the cracks aren't immediately obvious to others ("you can hardly tell the difference / well I know, but I don't care").

Moreover - and similarly to many other songs on the album - Stuck Together Pieces speaks to the choices people make in life, and their consequences in the long-term.

Such a beautiful song, as are the others on this album.

To me, I see this song is about Thom explaining his struggle with trying to decipher his reality to achieve greater understanding about his self and or others. By sticking together pieces as if he is putting puzzles together. He knows he doesnt need to do this but he doesnt care, for some reason it attracts him. these questions, these puzzles. I also think Thom might see every individual as a single piece, and together on this planet we create the puzzle. While Thom is putting together these pieces or ideas about us, he is getting close to the understanding he is trying to achieve but once again misses the goal. He realizes the law of attraction and can tell that anyone can have what they want, although right now he wants to understand this puzzle so badly he is blind from actually solving the puzzle, maybe thinking too deeply. Thom is riddling himself with these questions about life, "why be rain when you could be sun?" why be sad when you can own yourself and shine like the sun. "why tie yourself to anyone" why get close to another? for love or for friendship, when these people will hurt you and you will probably hurt them in some form or another. "why be here when you can be somewhere else?" what is keeping you from doing and being where and who you want to be? and Thom notices these questions maybe haunting him , but once again he does not care, it feels too important to him to just forget and move on. Thom realizes he wont get away from these thoughts and questions about life, it is so hard for him to just put these thoughts to rest and live like a normal simple being. He wont get away easily. The last verse Thom is stating that even though he is haunted by these puzzles, he is still beautiful in anyway he looks at himself or the world. He realizes this is his journey to take and what he is doing is okay. He ultimately just wants to know where the gold is, where and when will he reach the end of this tunnel. He is desperate to know these truths he is looking for. He is still not achieving desired results, yet he is still trying to reach his goal. A quote that comes to mind is "The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried". It is beautiful how he keeps pushing on despite all of his near misses. Thom knows he is doing all of this for understanding and growth. Even though he may be getting himself confused, and tormenting himself with these thoughts.

I recently felt this idea when listening to the song. I used to have different opinions on the song, but one day this idea made sense when listening and id thought id share.

Thanks