We're Not Right

I'm thinking this song is about alcoholism. There are many refrences to it: Betty Ford, the bottle (obviously), shaking hands are a symptom of alcohol withdrawl, he's weak, his heat is sore. And I think in the line "can't tell teh bottle from the mountain top" the narrarator is saying that when he's drinking he does feel on top of the world (or mountain), but he's pretty deep into it, and can't tell when the difference from the times he's drinking from the times he's not. I could be completely off key here, but thats what it seems like to me. And its a pretty good depiction.

Here is what is what I think... from personal experience: He is describing the situation getting over someone you care about and watching the time go by. In order to find what is now lost [the top of the mountain], the lost love, he sinks into drinking to find those feelings again. The alcohol fools him into those old feelings until it finally all escapes when he comes down - only to return to feeling the loss again. What results is a change to desiring the alcohol to feel those feelings and in turn, the alcohol taking the place of the person that is lost. It is a terrible way to survive through it and a perpetual circle that recreates the intial loss over again.

Lot of good comments here. To me the song is almost certainly about alcoholism, but I have a slightly different take on the meaning of the chorus. Alcohol for an alcoholic is a substitute for God, the spiritual, a deeper connection (whatever you choose to call that). The image of the mountain top appears often in spiritual hymns (particularly in the Abraham's traditions e.g. Ararat, Sinai, Carmel, Moriah, sermon on the mount etc...) What Gray is saying is that the alcoholic (who is spiritually bankrupt) is trying desperately to experience that connection to God/ the spiritual life etc... but because he "isn't right" (spiritually sick) he cannot distinguish between a true spiritual connection, and the false feeling that alcohol gives him which mimics, albeit poorly, a true spiritual experience. Hence the alcoholic cannot "Tell the bottle from the mountain top". At least that's the way I see it. Awesome song.

Wow!! i never thought of it that way. I think he is saying he knows his problems but he doesnt know what to do about them hence, "we're not right"

a lot of dave's songs reference drinking as an escape or alcoholism. perhaps its a problem that he's encountered or someone he's close to

I thought it was fairly obviously about alcoholism, and it came as a bit of a relief after Babylon and two very selfconscious love(-themed) songs. The image I get is of the guy with his head sunk on the table or whatever and surrounded, in his view, by a skyline of bottles!

Meaning, I should add, that not being able to tell the bottle from the mountain top means seeing the problem as being too big for him to deal with.