Beautiful People

Just my interpretation, a picture painted in my head as I read the lyrics, nothing else, just thought I would share.

To me the song is speaking from a child’s perspective about his father's ruthless neglect as seen through the child’s eyes as the father neglects him by choosing drugs over him.

Asking his father to come and hear, as likened to asking his father once more to come outside and spend time with him trying to get him up and live rather than have to watch his father give up and watch him die. Telling him that is all he has to offer to their home they share together being he is so young at the time, his only way to save him. Trying the only way he knew how to show his father that he hadn’t giving up on him, even though everyone else that claimed to have loved him brushed him down (refused to help, brushing him off like he didn’t matter).

Then asking as he gets older what he might have missed out of life because his father wasn’t there for him, blaming himself for his father’s addiction, thinking he himself hadn’t been a good enough reason for him to fight his addiction.

In the end he had wished his father had left something, some indication as to why! Instead of leaving him never knowing the truth, he asks himself whether he should live with the shame of not being good enough!

i always loved this song and it always got me emotional, but i was hoping to read some comments on what it meant. I guess not a lot of people are familiar with Rusted Root.

I can't believe there's only one comment on this. Wicked track.

I listen to this song and relate it to a person who was involved on drugs (sorry!!). I can build a story about that: There were two friends; one of them (A) was addicted, a freshman. The other one (B) was more sober but could do anything his friend ask him for, just to share experiences and support him. He knows his friend is addicted to drugs but don’t tell anybody. Things go wild. One night, there’s a party, the “A” friend smokes MJ or whatever. His friend notices the situation and tries to take him home. The “A” friend insists on drive the car; “B” friend doesn’t want to but can’t stop his friend, so they both go home while “A” friend is driving. The “A” friend is overdosed (comma state), lose control and crash the car. The “A” friend dies, the other one lives but he feels guilty, because he could have stopped his friend not just from driving but drugs. Ok, I’m sorry for my grammar, I’m Spanish speaker =).

I also think this one could be about drugs. Here is my interpretation. 1st verse: I think using drugs is kinda committing suicide every time a person “flies” because some part of the body also dies. 2nd verse: “all your beautiful people” means to me people who just tell you what you want to hear, they’ll never be really concerned about your feelings, worries or thoughts. They’re not your friends. 3rd verse: About your story, DeWise, I think this verse fits it perfect: I’m trying to imagine me in a similar situation where I’m not brave enough to take this friend from his/her hell, and survive feeling guilty or so, “I saw the shame and wondered why I should live and die”. I’d feel I’m a “living death”.

Leave a note and tell me why I survived.

This song and “Blue Diamonds” are my fav.

I guess drugs are a really common way 2 commit suicide, whether it's the slow and shameful addiction or the quicker overdose, whether it be accidental or deliberate. I do think the leave a note and tell me why is the lamented cry of the loved ones who just dont get the reason for suicide. They are grieving for their loss and cant imagine how the deceased thought they (and the world) would be better off without someone they loved and valued. They are already worse off due to being sad and missing the person. I dont think suicide notes actually convince the friends and family left that suicide was the right thing to do!

Reminds me so much of Senior year in Pittsburgh and a legendary Halloween party at our house (w/ some of Rusted Root in tow) that abruptly ended with a fire - that all started from a candle lit for a recent friends suicide. Yes, some drugs may have been involved in the matter.

I hear this song being an ode to Earth.

Where people are the disease that pollutes, because we’re addicted to over consumption of resources and recklessly indifferent to nature’s warning signs. Earth is struggling, and we die when she dies.