Kryptonite

Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down wrote this song in math class when he was 15! So it’s probably not about drugs, growing old, or a complicated relationship with a girlfriend. Brad says:

‘It's not just asking, “If I fall down, will you be there for me?” Because it's easy to be there for someone when they're down. But it's not always easy to be there for somebody when they're doing good. It's asking, “If I'm down, will you still be there for me?” But at the same time … [it’s] kind of asking, “If I'm doing good, will you be there for me? Will you not be jealous of me? That song is so little about Superman.’

A 15 year old guy is worrying about how he fits in with his buddies and about being tight and loyal with his buds. The music video was made in 2000, seven years after the song was written. The video has overly influenced people’s interpretation of the song, but the video doesn’t reflect the original inspiration. Brad said, “Maybe throughout the years of singing that song, I might have come up with more meanings for it than it actually might have originally had.”

I think the song is about worrying that as things change (“the sands of time”), as life goes up and down (“I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon”), will we still be there for each other as friends (“as long as you'll be my friend at the end”)? Adolescent friendships are so intense (“your secrets I will keep,” “if not for me then you'd be dead”), but then when we grow and move on, will we still mean the same thing to each other?

The singer is determined to stay loyal and steadfast (“I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might”), but he’s worried that his friend might not (“Will you be there holding my hand?”), especially if the singer is more successful than his buddy (“If I’m alive and well”).

The meaning of the “Kryptonite!” refrain has bothered people. The singer’s loyalty and need for his friend makes him vulnerable to being disappointed by his friend. So in a way, his friend could be his Kryptonite: our loved ones have the power to hurt us in ways our enemies never could. Worrying (“my troubled mind “) about his friendship is what has him going “to the dark side” (“I knew it had to be something to do with you”). He realizes that he can’t control what life throws at them (the dark side of the moon is unknown) and that things will always change (“I feel there is nothing I can do”). But even though they may argue or have ups and downs (“You call me strong, you call me weak”), the overall message is uplifting:

“I really don't mind what happens now and then / As long as you'll be my friend at the end.”

Have you ever been the strong one? Or felt like you had to be then had your suspicions justified? Well thats fine. Have you ever wondered what would happen between you and a person who sees you as the strong one and feeds of that strength if that person saw you at your weakest? What if your weakness was to do with all ways having to walk tall for someone? Its concerning you so you take a wander "i took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind" but the wander hasnt helped and your still worried about the issue of you being someones superman and fearing that the someones going to bolt as soon as they see you crack and break. By the way, I love this song. Its one of those that you can jot down in a boring lecture and it then seems less boring. Probably just me :o)

WTF, to me it's about getting older. Plain and simple.

"I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind; I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time". This man has been around; he's lived, he's aged and his body is old and frail now.

"I watched the world float to the Dark side of the moon" He's seen life and how the state of the world has been getting worse, war, poverty, etc.

It's then about the consequences of getting older and his relationships with those around him. His friends and other people he trusts. He questions them;

"If I go crazy will you still call me Superman" He's older and if he ends up losing his mind (to dementia, etc.) will the friends who once used to call him Superman when he was young and fit and able to be of assistance to them STILL care and respect him? "If I’m alive and well, will you be there holding my hand."

Verse three is filler, sort of to detail the past. He's been there for people and supported them, got them through rough times. "If Not for me then you would be dead/ I picked you up and put you back On solid ground". That's why he's a "Superman".

To me Kryptonite, being the title of the song in this case is a metaphor for the world/life/time > aging. It was Superman's great weakness and in this case, it's the aging process of life that will eventually turn this once young and fit guy into a weak and frail human being.

I think this song is about meeting the unreasonable expectations the world has for us. BTW, speaking of expectations, anyone know when 3DD is coming out with a new album?

"I took a walk around the world to Ease my troubled mind I left my body laying somewhere In the sands of time I watched the world float to the dark Side of the moon I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah" This verse means that he's thinking back to a tragic time when he lost a dear friend.

"I watched the world float to the Dark side of the moon After all I knew it had to be something To do with you I really don’t mind what happens now and then As long as you’ll be my friend at the end" This verse means that he's forgiven his friend for all of the problems they'd suffered throughout thier relationship, and that he could forgive his friend no matter what. And since his friend had died, he suffered greatly.

"If I go crazy then will you still Call me Superman If I’m alive and well, will you be There holding my hand I’ll keep you by my side with My superhuman might...Kryptonite" The chorus states that, since the friend is gone, that he can't be alive and well, and he becomes unfeeling and unforgiving of being left behind. The loss of his friend is his devastating weakness.

"You called me strong, you called me weak, But still your secrets I will keep You took for granted all the times I Never let you down You stumbled in and bumped your head, if Not for me then you would be dead I picked you up and put you back On solid ground" This verse is portraying how betrayed he felt when he was left behind by his friend, he's yelling out that he's betrayed and that through all of his pain he preserves his deceased friends memory when everyone forgot what it was like when they were alive. And the only way he can find to do this is to show people that he's still effected by the death.

Some of you may not agree with me, but out of several ways to interpret this song, it all leads back to one string of thought that immeadiately runs through your head over and over again...And that is to be loyal to your friends and forgive them of their mistakes, and relieve tham of their pain. I've always though that this refers to the death of a dear and close loved one, because I first heard this when I was ripped away from everything I'd ever known...And this song reminds me to look back on all of the good and bad memories to forgive but not forget...

i think the song is about someone who was taken for granted, after all his effort of giving the one he loves everything she needs, coming to her side everytime she needs him, doing the dirty works, doing everything she asked for... you know... it's everytime he has helped her, she tells him that "you're my hero" shit... but when she decided to take off, the guy was left and it crushed him... but he still wants her even though he knows she's just using him... but still, he's willing to play the role as long as she stays with him....

well, that's just what i think about the song...

There's some really great interpretations listed for this song by many users, and I think that's what makes this song so great.....It can apply to so many different situations. I think there's some solid meaning behind it being about friendship, celebrity's, drugs or possibly even an alter ego as someone above mentioned.

My own interpretation is it being about drugs, and for some reason I have a feeling that if it were about drugs from this band that it would be about methamphetamine. Although I've never even tried methamphetamine, it just strikes me as the drug that they would be talking about given the contradictions I hear in almost every verse.

"I took a walk around the world to Ease my troubled mind I left my body laying somewhere In the sands of time I watched the world float to the dark Side of the moon I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah"

He's leaving the physical world on a trip through means of drug use, and a sense of hopelessness is now coming over him as part of the comedown after an intense state of euphoria.

"I watched the world float to the Dark side of the moon After all I knew it had to be something To do with you I really don't mind what happens now and then As long as you'll be my friend at the end"

He realizes that this is part of the psychological effect the drugs have on him, and why he feels this way. He doesn't care how bad of a trip he has as long as in the end everything will be alright, so things might be pretty intense right now.

"If I go crazy then will you still Call me Superman If I'm alive and well, will you be There holding my hand I'll keep you by my side with My superhuman might...Kryptonite"

When he get's high off of this drug he feels inside of his head like superman, nothing can harm him. But drugs like cocaine, and methamphetamine can induce schizophrenia and instead of leaving you feel invincible and confident can do a complete 180 on you and have you not thinking rationally and possibly fearful thus you would be acting or thinking crazy and not confident at all more or less scared. The drug holds his hand, as his method of coping with whatever issues he has or just to get by in life. And it is always by his side his "Kryptonite".

"You called me strong, you called me weak, But still your secrets I will keep You took for granted all the times I Never let you down You stumbled in and bumped your head, if Not for me then you would be dead I picked you up and put you back On solid ground"

So the drug makes him strong when he feels like superman, and weak when he starts going crazy after habitual use. And the secrets he may keep are possibly part of his euphoria, that even if he tried he could not say what he experienced but he knows it happened (that ones kind of hard to explain to anybody who hasn't had the kind of high I am talking about, usually with odd or heavy drugs). And the last part to em explains how without the drugs he possibly would be dead, as he needed them as a crutch and were actually helpful at one point.

That's my interpretation of the song at least.

a lot of people have told me they liked this song

when i hear this song it makes me think of the spirit that is within me that doesn't want to let me down ... and the inexperienced guy i once was, who always stumbled around and bumped his head

it has been my experience that when i made too many mistakes that my mind had to leave my body and take a serious look around. i used a lot of time watching the world go around... i had to assess where i was in life and how i could make it better.

i knew i was becomming my own superman, my own hero. i knew my spirit and mind would carry me where i have failed and fell down too many times before. i was being reborn, and my new self was worried that my old habits would not die and i would not be appreciative of this chance.

my new self wanted to remind me that because we are the same person, no matter how invincible he makes me seem... we both know how weak, foolish, and dumb i have been in the past... thus, "my secrets he will keep"

To me this song is about a person who is always there for their 'friend'. They wonder if they screw up will this person still look up to them. I would say the friend is obviously a girlfriend because she is his weakness or just that he knows this person is bad for him because he is always having to 'save' them, which means he helps even when he knows he shouldn't "I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might...Kryptonite" and the dark side of the moon stand for the badness in the world today..or it could be his friends drug addiction

The meaning to the song is about FEAR and the creation of an alter ego due to fear. and learning to come to terms with the alter ego not as an enemy but as a friend. The song is sang from the perspective of the alter ego, This is a huge problem for most of the world today and most don't even understand what their own problem is.

I understand this song because i was in fear an created an alter ego to protect me too and until recently did not understand my problem. Basically my whole life is spent misunderstood and confused because my problem is internal and could not be seen by the outside world. I have done what he done i floated to the dark side of the moon and left my body far behind. in order to understand my condition, accept it, and make peace with myself. The writer of this song was extremely troubled, and i can see he too learned to understand his situation and is now at peace with himself, and working with his ego and not against it. Good job man. Your song is powerful and the lyrics will only truely be understood by those who need the same guidance we did.