This song is fun to analyze, and it happens to be my favorite. I miss Alice in Chains, it's a true loss. I feel like an ass putting my own interpretation on here, but to hell with it, I want to.
"Sitting on an angry chair
Angry walls that steal the air
Stomach hurts and I don't care"
( The reference to the childhood punishment seems fitting as a mild reference, though I feel that he's in the midst of a drug high and it's making him sick but he will continue to do it, cause it feels good. Drugs work that way)
"What do I see across the way, hey
See myself molded in clay, oh
Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid, hey
Changing the shape of his face, aw yeah"
( Definitely see the part about the sculpture he made of him as a child. He's looking at it while under the influence or after the fact, and it scares and sickens him to see such innocence lost in himself. He's ashamed of what he's become-'changing the shape of his face')
"Candles red I have a pair
Shadows dancing everywhere
Burning on the angry chair
Little boy made a mistake, hey
Pink cloud has now turned to gray, oh
All that I want is to play, hey
Get on your knees, time to pray, boy"
( Making reference to him being a child again, making a mistake. A dream he had of who he was going to be turned bad. An almost sarcastic reference to him wanting to play all day, and comparing it to his drug use and how it's ruined him. Better pray he can still save himself, but he let's that almost apatetic sarcasm through just enough to wash away any chance of reformation.)
"I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
Lost my mind, yeah
But I don't mind, I-I-I
Can't find it anywhere
I don't mind "
( Apathy towards the tragedy of his life, bittersweet feeling)
"Corporate prison, we stay, hey
I'm a dull boy, work all day, oh
So I'm strung out anyway, hey "
( Stunning lyrics. He's saying that in life you're doomed to a corporate imprisonment, you must work all day and all your life, just to live. He finds it better to be in an alternate reality, why not be strung out on drugs while you're wasting your life anyway.)
"Saw my reflection and cried, hey
So little hope that I died, oh
Feed me your lies, open wide, hey
Weight of my heart, not the size, oh "
( He looks in the mirror one day and it all unfolds on him. The realization of how much he's wasted is too much to bare. He knows he's doomed, but he'll let people go ahead and try to tell him that it's not too late to change and save himself. " weight of my heart not the size" is a reference to an old Egyptian legend... evidently when a ancient Egyptian died, I believe probably a royal or one that was high up, maybe even a god or goddess... their heart was measured against the weight of a feather, and that is how they were rewarded. So if one's heart is big, but it is weighed down by a life lived badly, it is not as worthy. ( I'm hoping I got the reference correct, I'm only going by what I can remember I was told of the legend) These lines are pretty deep.)
Very prophetic song lyrics I think, amazing how he seemed to be complacent to his impending doom
This is the only one that makes since to me. I Have listend to the song for years and I have always thought something simular. with family that had problems and with my own mistakes i made in life. We know he was strung out so all together it has to be it, for me anyway. It just matches perfectly.
This is the only one that makes since to me. I Have listend to the song for years and I have always thought something simular. with family that had problems and with my own mistakes i made in life. We know he was strung out so all together it has to be it, for me anyway. It just matches perfectly.
I really like your interpretation here, especially the part about the heart and the feather. I'm sure he was aware of that. In any case, he may be saying that he has lived his life badly in some sense, but that he does have a big heart. I think that's true about him. It's like to him, it doesn't even matter because he is going to be punished anyway (hence the "angry chair").
I really like your interpretation here, especially the part about the heart and the feather. I'm sure he was aware of that. In any case, he may be saying that he has lived his life badly in some sense, but that he does have a big heart. I think that's true about him. It's like to him, it doesn't even matter because he is going to be punished anyway (hence the "angry chair").
A lot of people like to belittle his songs in their meaning by saying that they are simply all about drugs or what have you,...
A lot of people like to belittle his songs in their meaning by saying that they are simply all about drugs or what have you, but his songs were about his life and his experiences. Clearly, his struggle against drug addiction and the toll that drugs took on his life were a major part of his life. But within that story, there are themes of hopelessness and hope, of weakness and strength, of sin and redemption. That's why Layne Staley is an important musician and poet of our times, a severely misunderstood and underappreciated one at that.
This song is fun to analyze, and it happens to be my favorite. I miss Alice in Chains, it's a true loss. I feel like an ass putting my own interpretation on here, but to hell with it, I want to.
"Sitting on an angry chair Angry walls that steal the air Stomach hurts and I don't care"
( The reference to the childhood punishment seems fitting as a mild reference, though I feel that he's in the midst of a drug high and it's making him sick but he will continue to do it, cause it feels good. Drugs work that way)
"What do I see across the way, hey See myself molded in clay, oh Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid, hey Changing the shape of his face, aw yeah"
( Definitely see the part about the sculpture he made of him as a child. He's looking at it while under the influence or after the fact, and it scares and sickens him to see such innocence lost in himself. He's ashamed of what he's become-'changing the shape of his face')
"Candles red I have a pair Shadows dancing everywhere Burning on the angry chair
Little boy made a mistake, hey Pink cloud has now turned to gray, oh All that I want is to play, hey Get on your knees, time to pray, boy"
( Making reference to him being a child again, making a mistake. A dream he had of who he was going to be turned bad. An almost sarcastic reference to him wanting to play all day, and comparing it to his drug use and how it's ruined him. Better pray he can still save himself, but he let's that almost apatetic sarcasm through just enough to wash away any chance of reformation.)
"I don't mind, yeah I don't mind, I-I-I Lost my mind, yeah But I don't mind, I-I-I Can't find it anywhere I don't mind "
( Apathy towards the tragedy of his life, bittersweet feeling)
"Corporate prison, we stay, hey I'm a dull boy, work all day, oh So I'm strung out anyway, hey "
( Stunning lyrics. He's saying that in life you're doomed to a corporate imprisonment, you must work all day and all your life, just to live. He finds it better to be in an alternate reality, why not be strung out on drugs while you're wasting your life anyway.)
"Saw my reflection and cried, hey So little hope that I died, oh Feed me your lies, open wide, hey Weight of my heart, not the size, oh "
( He looks in the mirror one day and it all unfolds on him. The realization of how much he's wasted is too much to bare. He knows he's doomed, but he'll let people go ahead and try to tell him that it's not too late to change and save himself. " weight of my heart not the size" is a reference to an old Egyptian legend... evidently when a ancient Egyptian died, I believe probably a royal or one that was high up, maybe even a god or goddess... their heart was measured against the weight of a feather, and that is how they were rewarded. So if one's heart is big, but it is weighed down by a life lived badly, it is not as worthy. ( I'm hoping I got the reference correct, I'm only going by what I can remember I was told of the legend) These lines are pretty deep.)
Very prophetic song lyrics I think, amazing how he seemed to be complacent to his impending doom
This MUST be the true meaning of the song.
This MUST be the true meaning of the song.
Great analysis.
Great analysis.
This is the only one that makes since to me. I Have listend to the song for years and I have always thought something simular. with family that had problems and with my own mistakes i made in life. We know he was strung out so all together it has to be it, for me anyway. It just matches perfectly.
This is the only one that makes since to me. I Have listend to the song for years and I have always thought something simular. with family that had problems and with my own mistakes i made in life. We know he was strung out so all together it has to be it, for me anyway. It just matches perfectly.
I really like your interpretation here, especially the part about the heart and the feather. I'm sure he was aware of that. In any case, he may be saying that he has lived his life badly in some sense, but that he does have a big heart. I think that's true about him. It's like to him, it doesn't even matter because he is going to be punished anyway (hence the "angry chair").
I really like your interpretation here, especially the part about the heart and the feather. I'm sure he was aware of that. In any case, he may be saying that he has lived his life badly in some sense, but that he does have a big heart. I think that's true about him. It's like to him, it doesn't even matter because he is going to be punished anyway (hence the "angry chair").
A lot of people like to belittle his songs in their meaning by saying that they are simply all about drugs or what have you,...
A lot of people like to belittle his songs in their meaning by saying that they are simply all about drugs or what have you, but his songs were about his life and his experiences. Clearly, his struggle against drug addiction and the toll that drugs took on his life were a major part of his life. But within that story, there are themes of hopelessness and hope, of weakness and strength, of sin and redemption. That's why Layne Staley is an important musician and poet of our times, a severely misunderstood and underappreciated one at that.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments.