I'm on a train
But there's no one at the helm
And there's a demon in my brain
Who starts to overwhelm, whelm whelm whelm whelm

And there it goes, my last chance for peace
You lay me down, but I get no release
And I say I

I try to keep awake, I try to swim beneath
I try to keep awake but I
I can feel this narcolepsy slide
Into another nightmare

And there's a demon in my head who starts to play
A nightmare tape loop of what went wrong yesterday
And I hold my breath 'till it's more than I can take
And I close my eyes, I dream that I'm awake

I try to keep awake, I try to keep awake
I try to keep awake but I
I can feel this narcolepsy slide
Into another nightmare

I read dead Russian authors, volumes at a time
I write everything down except what's on my mind
'Cause my greatest fear is that sucking sound
And then I know that I'll never get back out

And there's a bone in my hand that connects to a drink
In a crowded room where the glasses clink
And I'll buy you a beer and we'll drink it deep
Because that keeps me from felling asleep

I said how'd you like to be alone and drowning?
How'd you like to be alone and drowning?
How'd you like to be alone and drowning?
How'd you like to be alone and drowning?

Still I find this narcolepsy slide slide slides
Into another nightmare

Keep awake, keep awake, keep awake
And I can feel this narcolepsy slide


Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by MasterAndreRaven

Narcolepsy Lyrics as written by Stephan Jenkins Kevin Cadogan

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

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Narcolepsy song meanings
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    General Comment

    Like just about everyone else, I believe that this is a metaphor for alcoholism.

    "I'm on a train, but there's no one at the helm" -He's living his life, but he feels there is no direction, or that he can't change his course "And there's a demon in my brain that starts to overwhelm"

    • His addiction pressuring him to take a drink "Lay me down, but I get no release"
    • He takes the drink, but no relief

    "I try to keep awake"

    • He tries to fight the addiction "I try to swim beneath"
    • Then his addiction convinces he can do a little, like he could just go into the shallow end "I try to keep awake"
    • He realizes he shouldn't have a drink "But I, I can feel this narcolepsy slide"
    • He fails from keeping from drinking "Into another nightmare"
    • He's back down to the same low point he reaches every time he drinks

    "And there's a demon in my head who starts to play/ A nightmare tape loop of what went wrong yesterday"

    • Drinking makes him relive his worst memories and regrets "And I hold my breath 'till it's more than I can take"
    • Since the analogy is to being underwater, he's fighting breathing in the water-- trying to suppress his memories "And I close my eyes and dream that I'm awake"
    • While fighting his memories, he's lost track of what is real and what is not

    "I read dead Russian authors volumes at a time"

    • Reminding himself of his positive characteristics for encouragement "I write everything down except what's on my mind"
    • but then immediately discounts them as unimportant "Cause my greatest fear is the sucking sound/ And then I know that I'll never get back out"
    • He associates the suction sound of a drink with one of a drain he can't escape "And there's a bone in my hand that connects to a drink"
    • He speaks of his arm as if it is separate from him, another metaphor for loss of control "In a crowded room where the glasses clink" -pretty literal, he's in a bar... "And I'll buy you a beer and we'll drink it deep"
    • He is asking for company "Because that keeps me from falling asleep"
    • He hopes then he can keep control

    "How'd you like to be alone and drowning"

    • Now he is pleading to the people around him to help him

    "(keep awake)"

    • His final fight in the song, hes commanding his body not to drink

    "And I can feel this narcolepsy slide"

    • But, yet again he fails

    It's a pretty depressing, desperate song.

    Krwlng_n_mie_sknon July 18, 2005   Link

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