Lyric discussion by sliznut 

Cover art for Nutshell lyrics by Alice in Chains

When he says "we chase misprinted lies" he is referring to what people think is important in their life and what they want. When youre young you think of getting rich and becoming famous but laynes sayin it aint all its cracked up to be. notice in both those lines he puts we. he is talking about everyone. the second line is literal, we all face time. what i think the rest of the first verse means is that layne is actually fighting what he talked about in the previous line. Time. Everyone grows older and dies and I suspect at this time in his life Layne didnt want to die. he feels alienated and like no one else is concerned with this problem.

the second verse is about his lack of privacy and him being who he is. No one can change who they are. If layne cant be himself why even exist?

Thats what i think anyway. its a great song no matter what it means.

Sliznut,

I always enjoy what you have to say.

Anyway, I think you are exactly right in your interpretation. Layne had a lot of courage to be himself and be open about his problems. He faced the ridicule of the media, but he had a powerful impact on many of us. That wouldn't have been possible had he not stayed true to himself. I feel like he wrote this song because as you said he wanted to live, but he was well aware of his own possible death due to his addiction. He also is...