The One You Know

I feel this is about AIC after Layne and the fact that so many so called fans state things like "no Layne, no Chains" etc. As good as Layne was, Alice in Chains are still a force and Jerry has written so many great songs in the 2 solo and AIC albums post 3 legged dog. It must disappoint Jerry to have that kind of reaction when they waited over 10 years to put out an album without Layne and have always been respectful toward Layne even though it must have been so hard to deal with his drug fueled actions. I wonder if \'Black water flows" is a reference to Will as the vocalist after Layne.

I think it\'s about inner growth. And learning about your mistakes in life.

Jerry. Your way with lyrics never stops amazing me. My 2 cents on this one:\n\nI\'m a little alike\nYou before things had changed\n\nWhen they were young & first starting out, he had that same type of darkness hidden within him, because of his own broken history, and he knew he was probably heading down the very same path that took Layne. \n\nIn a compass, I ride\nAll this feels rearranged\n\nHe feels like he\'s going in circles, because he has no more direction; Layne was their shining "north star" that they all pointed to, so nothing feels real, nothing makes sense, everything feels fake. \n\nTell me, does it matter\nIf I\'m still here, or I\'m gone?\n\nNow that Layne is gone, he feels like his very existence doesn\'t really matter any more because they were no longer two "running as one."\n\nShifting to the after\nAn impostor, I\'m not the one you know\n\nWithout his BFF Layne, he\'s not himself, part of him is missing, he doesn\'t know how to function, he feels like an imposter. People that think they know him...don\'t. Only Layne really understood him. \n\nI look the same outside\nNearly me even though\nI carry something I hide\nUnderneath the one you know\n\nHe still looks the same on the outside, but it\'s only a veneer, a shell, the "real" Jerry is no longer there.\n\nAre you surprised black water flows\nFrom wells run dry?\nI\'m not the one you know\n\nHe wonders why anyone should be surprised that all this darkness and blackness comes out of him lyrically (because that\'s how he feels inside), even though he himself felt like there was nothing more to write about...