@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
My pain is self-chosen
At least, so the prophet says
I could either burn
Or cut off my pride, and buy some time
A head full of lies is the weight tied to my waist
The River of Deceit pulls down
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
My pain is self-chosen
At least I believe it to be
I could either drown
Or pull off my skin and swim to shore
Now I can grow a beautiful shell for all to see
The River of Deceit pulls down
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
The pain is self-chosen, yeah
Our pain is self-chosen
At least, so the prophet says
I could either burn
Or cut off my pride, and buy some time
A head full of lies is the weight tied to my waist
The River of Deceit pulls down
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
My pain is self-chosen
At least I believe it to be
I could either drown
Or pull off my skin and swim to shore
Now I can grow a beautiful shell for all to see
The River of Deceit pulls down
The only direction we flow is down
Down, oh down
The pain is self-chosen, yeah
Our pain is self-chosen
Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death
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I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.
fuck man, why do so many people want to attribute layne's lyrics to addiction. 90% of the subject matter he wrote about is the pain in his life that led him to drugs, not the drugs themselves
Exactly. Thank you. But, of course, when the media (and yourself in a way-esepcially if it was the key to your demise) has defined you by your drug addiction more than your talents - everything you do and your very existance has become "typecast" so to speak. It sucks. You could cure fucking cancer, but it everyone's head, you are a junkie and everything you say or do is inspired by the drug. It's sucks. Poor guy.
another beautiful song:) i think in this, he's admitting to knowing that his problems are his own fault and of his own lies and deciet. he's saying if he swims to shore from this river he can truely become the beautiful person he knows he is (like how we see him). he knows this river only goes in one direction, down.
I believe this more to be about personal enlightenment rather than drugs.. Its clear though that anything with his life in truth was attached to drugs it seems. I think his consciousness has been raised above most and he sees everything covered in lies. The lies attach to himself because there is nobody to witness it with him. The burden of carrying this weight pulls his soul down while his own consciouss rises. He is accepting the decisions he has made and accepting the consequenses. It seems to be he is always faced with the choice of living with the lies or separating them from himself and drowning.
Beautifully put.<br /> <br /> He was indeed a very spiritual being.
This is an old post but I agree so much. He was so disillusioned with life and people, and couldnt express it.
My pain is self-chosen, at least so The Prophet says I could either burn or cut off my pride and buy some time A head full of lies is the weight, tied to my waist
The River of Deceit pulls down, oh The only direction we flow is down Down, oh down, down, oh down Down, oh down, down, oh down
My pain is self-chosen, at least I believe it to be I could either drown or pull off my skin and swim to shore Now I can grow a beautiful shell for all to see
The River of Deceit pulls down, yeah The only direction we flow is down Down, oh down, down, oh down Down, oh down, down, oh down
The pain is self-chosen, yeah Our pain is self-chosen Down, oh down, down, oh down Down, oh down, down, oh down
When our "pain is self chosen" it is because we are not being who we want to be or have lost our selves trying to be what everyone else wants us to be. It is a choice to many people make. Deep down we all know that, " or so The Prophet says"(because we are our own "prophets"). We know that we "could either burn" living the lives we choose for ourselves, which could potentially shorten our lives, or "cut of our pride" and live our lives the way others want us to. Sure we could conform to what society wants us to be, which could "buy some time" for us as far as our longevity is concerned. But at what cost? "A head full of lies" is what happens when we are trying to be other than ourselves for everyone else's sake. We forget who we are, and burden our selves with the lies we live for other people. It is a "weight tied to our waists", which "pulls" us into a "river of deceit" a river of lies we tell to make others happy.and the "only direction it flows is down", down below the surface essentially drowning us. Our "pain is self chosen". We "believe it to be" because we know ourselves. We know when we are not living to be who we were meant to be. We "could either drown" in the lie we live for others and suffer a life never knowing or revealing our true selves, or "pull of our skin"(which was a false skin we created for others) and "swim to shore"(stop choosing to live in pain and lies). If we choose to "pull off our skin and swim to shore", we can "grow a beautiful shell for all to see". The shell is our Inner self finally revealed. The true us. The us that lay waiting beneath the skin of deceit. But our "pain is self chosen"... A "river of deceit"... And "the only direction it pulls is down"... I believe Layne Staley was a conflicted person, torn between being himself, or being who his family, friends, and fans wanted him to be. I think in the end he chose to be himself instead of drowning in a "river of deceit, even if being himself would end up being the death of him. I think he died happy though. Sometimes being ourselves and living the way we do is what kills us, but at least we're not living a lie. I think we should be happy to live being true to who we are even if others are not. Layne Staley was true to himself. He decided to "burn" and be proud, rather than change for everyone else. Right or wrong, that was his choice. He "grew a beautiful shell", even if some people couldn't see it.
@gordy12478 Best interpretation I have read yet!
@gordy12478 Thanks! That's my take on it anyway. I relate to that song on a personal level, that's why I feel truth in that interpretation. I don't like tooting my own horn, but when I sing that song I get a lot of cheers and compliments. I think that's because I feel like I'm singing it with the same feeling that Layne Staley did, because of how I relate to that song(or how the song relates to me).
This song owns you all.
huh man..best comment...
This was the first Mad Season song I ever stumbled across. It was, as per the norm, misattributed to Alice In Chains on Napster (RIP) and all I could say was: Wow. This is absolutely fucking amazing. Why wasn't it released?
And then in a conversation I was having with a friend he was like, "Oh, that plays on the radio all the time here." That was how I was introduced to Mad Season. I couldn't believe my ears when I picked up my copy of "Above." Layne Staley's beatiful voice on a blues sounding album. I fell in love and was waiting for the second album that I was hoping would come. It never came. Mad Season fell apart, and Staley died.
Man, that was a total let down for me.
Don't know why this came to me but it did one night while I was "under the influence."
It seems like Layne Staley, even in Alice in Chains with Jerry Cantrell writing, seems to sing about songs with very vague words. It doesn't talk about specific pains. But it looks as if he's giving you only a partial picture of what he understands. It seems that a lot of these bands, Mad Season are so underrated. These people are in a state of mind that is so ahead of the rest of us.
But alas, as the brightest flame burns quickest, Layne made a sacrifice to know these things and to communicate them. Heroin took him down, but God bless him for he belongs in a higher place.
Edouglass77, you deal in absolutions of assumption yet provide little more than the tired discourse of those who scream “heroin” in response to the poetic efforts of Staley. Any song Dougy, any song(all artists encompassed, AIC not lone), can be construed to fit the nature that it is in reference to addiction. If Staley’s addiction had been known to no other but himself, I doubt your company would exist in such large numbers. His music, this song in particular, can just as easily be seen as a “spiritual” song, the aspects left to further speculation. I pity individuals like yourself who will never see the true genius Staley gave us. He was of Poe, Goethe, Lovecraft…yet to you, simply another pathetic artist who wrote of nothing more than the cliché subjects of addiction and whatnot.
Furthering the idea, if the song is indeed of spiritual characteristic, the pain that came was not of his own accord,
“ AT LEAST, I believe it to be…"
I think this is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. Lyrically and musically. I feel the songs meaning can be interpreted many ways, drugs, spiritually or really whatever it is in a persons life that is weighing on their mind or conscience. Anyone can relate to the words, everyone has problems, or "weights". To me the song is about rebirth and shedding that pain. "Our pain is self chosen"....very true. In life, most of us are trying to shed some pain, all of which in some way, we have chosen.
i agree to some extent. however, i think it too easy to entertain that since in our own lifes(and those of people around us) pain is often self chosen, that this is thus universal truth.to know said theory as fact would require absolute knowledge, something which is scientifically impossible to come by. in any case, i personally do not presume to know the private circumstances of others, and therefore must logically adhere to the notion that there may indeed be others in the world who have not chosen the pain in their lives.
I feel that all our pain is self chosen, maybe not directly, but in some way the decisions we make at some point in our life will have actions and reactions. Your choice or action will effect you in some way sooner or later, good and bad.
for arguments sake, suppose the song is of spiritual, in relation, a desperate man who is cursed/forsaken by God ( a take on the song which is easily justifiable by the lyrics ). if this is indeed the case, be it in Staley's real life, or rather just a concept he fathomed, how would man have any "choice" in the matter when divine intervention was present? <br /> <br /> *for the sake of argument's sake, let us subtract God from the equation. Life is full of chaotic,meaningless events taking place at all times. Do you truly believe it impossible for a person to come by misfortune by means other than himself? Forgive me, but such a belief defies everyday life.<br /> <br />
People that listen to AiC need to hear this song. It's so weird but so beautiful to hear Layne's voice being used in something so heartfelt and tame. Typical lyrical genius by Layne and a great showcase of his vocals. I love Alice in Chains and I have all their albums but I think this is my favorite thing to ever have Layne Staley's name on it :D
Oh, and you can't forget to mention how awesome Mike McCready (Pearl Jam guitarist) sounds in this.
A very sad song.
"I could either drown Or pull off my skin and swim to shore Now I can grow a beautiful shell for all to see"
Either die as who you actually are, or become something you aren't. "grow a shell". He has choosen the former, he chooses to remain himself, but it brings great pain. You die a good person or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.