Lyric discussion by speed114 

Cover art for I Stay Away lyrics by Alice in Chains

This song is very pertinent to my life because here's what I think it means. The guy has a woman in his life who has either cheated on him, or simply doesn't reciprocate his love towards her. He says that, even though this is very painful too, it is easier to simply "stay away" from her, rather than be with her and be miserable because whenever he is with her, she drives him crazy inside and he can't overcome his unrequited loving feelings for her. I have found that this song epitomizes my life, because I have been madly in love with a girl for 7 years now. She is my best friend, but that's all she sees me as, too. Even though I love her with all my heart, and I'd probably get down on bended knee right now if it were up to me, it sometimes is easier to stay away from her so the powerful romantic feelings I have for her don't drive me totally insane.

Beautifully, beautifully, beautifully, beautifully put. Having now known that, I know a lot of people can relate to this song, including myself.

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@speed114 You are spot on, man. I was once madly in love with a girl for a year and would talk about getting married and she would never reciprocate the same level of commitment. I found the best thing to do was "Stay Away". The smartest decision I ever made. It's definitely hard to do but, in the long run, it saved me a lot of heart ache.