Alice in Chains – Red Giant

TranslationThese lyrics listed are wrong, I sent an update. Here are the lyrics from the vinyl I received.

I play the clown for you
Entertaining, absurd hue
And I watch them laugh, I'd love to
See them clap and dance to my tune

Blowing up like a red giant, expansive, a star
And I'm coming to burn this down and laugh my ass off

All my children sing it again and again
'Cause a lie ain't a lie if you're winnin' 'em over
Amen

I act on stage up here
Toying with your own fears
Misdirection I'm so near
Simple sleight of hand, in the clear

Blowing up like a red giant, expansive, a star
And I'm coming to burn this down and laugh my ass off

All my children sing it again and again
'Cause a lie ain't a lie if you're winnin' 'em over
Amen

Too late now, show's over
Real life is much closer
Take the makeup off, you wonder
Why I look the same, only bolder

Blowing up like a red giant, expansive, a star
And I'm coming to burn this down and laugh my ass off

All my children sing it again and again
'Cause a lie ain't a lie if you're winnin' 'em over
Amen

All my children sing it again and again
'Cause a lie ain't a lie if you're winnin' 'em over
Amen

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  @black wido
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  @black wido
  
  Nice. Thanks for the updated lyrics. After reading the other ones and listening to this song, I thought "the fuck? That doesn't sound right" haha. Amazing song, though. And nice to know that there are still others out there buying vinyl.
  
  Also, it's nice to meet another AIC listener as well.

  Flag Music Fiend89on September 01, 2018  

My InterpretationI think this song is referring to drugged out rock singers who are really a fake shell of themselves on stage do to all the chemicals they ingest just to get through a show or life in general. They pretend to be into it if they can but it's all an act. That fact is that they really don't care about much more than where they'll get their next high.

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  @EternalTearsOfSorrow

General CommentI just read a review where the writer called this an"Anti Trump anthem"....I don't know if that's his interpretation but AIC has never,that I know of made blatant political songs.. most likely it has several layers of subjective meaning.
To me it's referencing drugs, religion,fame, all things people worship until they live it or live through it.
I know Jerry is Athiest,this song gives me Devil Put Dinasaurs Here vibes,but,just my interpretation.

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  @DoubleD777
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  @DoubleD777 Sounds like a lazy reviewer; a reviewer with a hammer and everything looks like a nail; or a reviewer who is looking to find that.
  
  I suppose the song could be about a traveling preacher. That would tie it back to the last album (it could be a traveling con-man or shady circus)
  
  But yeah, I think Alice In Chains tends to take an experience(s) or feeling(s) and generalize it. I can't imagine they would go the other way and take a generalizeable and trap it in a specific's cage.
  
  I didn't get the impression that Jerry was specifically atheist. The last album indicates he's a skeptic of religion, but I have a feeling he believes in something bigger than himself. Not saying that is capital G God.I could definitely be wrong though. I'm not basing that on anything specific.

  Flag nutshell02on October 10, 2018  

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  @DoubleD777

  Flag DoubleD777on October 19, 2018  

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  @nutshell02 I saw in an interview a long time ago he said he was Athiest but who knows,lyri

  Flag DoubleD777on October 19, 2018  

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  Lyrically it sounds pretty Nihilistic,in general not just the song

  Flag DoubleD777on October 19, 2018  

My InterpretationI feel this song is pretty straightforward. I find other Alice in Chains' songs meanings harder to interpret.

I see the song as describing the life of a performer, an actor, a musician, comedian, etc. I took it to describe what it might be like to be in Alice In Chains specifically, although that may only be the hint of a truth in an otherwise fictional song. Or maybe it just captures a moment in time, how they were feeling at a moment.

A clown is a performer, an entertainer. I appreciate a clown is on the cover of the Facelift album. And then there's the red and star imagery of Dirt. Hard to say if there is a Sap allusion in there between the clown and the star.

I picture the blowing up like a red giant, expansive, a star to be like a popular band's rise. Maybe "coming to burn this down and laugh my ass off" is the self indulgent or self destructive behavior trap that many who achieve success or stardom fall into. It could also be blowing up like a red giant is the headliner appearing on the stage to an uproarious crowd and burning this down is after having had a great show ("destroying it", "tearing the place apart", etc)

I picture the children being devoted fans that look up to the band. Many bands starting out and their fans can be young, so maybe it's "children" entertaining "children". Or an older band bringing in a new generation of fans.

There's also an arc through the song, where the beginning starts out fun, the chorus hinting at the darker, in the middle the mask starts to come down, and at the end, show's over and reality sets in.

Bands that play darker music (and some types of entertainment) get their edge by "toying with your own fears." I imagine that performers have to put on the same act no matter how they come into the performance feeling. (I relate that to "cause a lie ain't a lie if you're winning 'em over, Amen." Also, rock concert experience can parallel religious experiences in some ways) And an immersive performance can be like a sleight of hand.

I think the "too late now, show's over" lines are straightforward. I've heard performers talk about the adrenaline or feeling of a show being slow to wear off, so I can imagine that they've ended the show, taken the makeup off, and real life has set in, but the feeling of the show sticking around.

In relating this song to being about a band's experience on stage, during a show, and after a show, the "take the makeup off, you wonder why I look the same only bolder" line makes me think of the band Kiss.

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  @nutshell02