Legend has it that, while wandering the remains of the former insane asylum in which the Charlotte Sometimes video was being filmed, Robert came across some old drawings in a file cabinet that were done years before by a patient. His interpretation of what the person who did those drawings, combined with his consideration of a human skull (in much the same way that Hamlet considered that of 'poor Yorick's'), inspired many of the lyrics in this song.
However much those experiences may have contributed to the song, though, I think it likely that much of this song is autobiographical in an emotional, if not literal sense. To grasp its meaning, you'll need to give up on trying to find a simple narrative thread, and realize that it's very much impressionistic in style.
Robert went through a dark period here and was virtually paralyzed with drug use. Spiders crawling inside is one image commonly used to describe the effects of certain substances, and I think the next line about "dust on the lips of a vision of hell" is self-referential in this regard as well; seeing as how the next line speaks of him laughing in a mirror (which is strongly suggestive of cocaine, seeing as how it's often cut and inhaled on a mirror), I think there's an obvious bitterness at how little self-control he had left, and how numb he was becoming to the fact that he was such a mess. He's continually begging for things throughout the song (notice how many lines begin with "please"), as if he has no control of the situation and needs someone to help him.
The pivotal line of this song, regardless of your interpretation, has to be "I can never say no, to anyone but you". I believe this line is also a reference to his own inability to stop indulging his voices (the you being either the drugs, or possibly even himself, i.e. he can't resist his own impulses), which is further reinforced by the closing lines of "I will never be clean again". At the time, he couldn't see a way out of it, and in truth, Robert's reliance on drugs and alcohol actually increased over the next couple of years before he was able to rein it in.
Legend has it that, while wandering the remains of the former insane asylum in which the Charlotte Sometimes video was being filmed, Robert came across some old drawings in a file cabinet that were done years before by a patient. His interpretation of what the person who did those drawings, combined with his consideration of a human skull (in much the same way that Hamlet considered that of 'poor Yorick's'), inspired many of the lyrics in this song.
However much those experiences may have contributed to the song, though, I think it likely that much of this song is autobiographical in an emotional, if not literal sense. To grasp its meaning, you'll need to give up on trying to find a simple narrative thread, and realize that it's very much impressionistic in style.
Robert went through a dark period here and was virtually paralyzed with drug use. Spiders crawling inside is one image commonly used to describe the effects of certain substances, and I think the next line about "dust on the lips of a vision of hell" is self-referential in this regard as well; seeing as how the next line speaks of him laughing in a mirror (which is strongly suggestive of cocaine, seeing as how it's often cut and inhaled on a mirror), I think there's an obvious bitterness at how little self-control he had left, and how numb he was becoming to the fact that he was such a mess. He's continually begging for things throughout the song (notice how many lines begin with "please"), as if he has no control of the situation and needs someone to help him.
The pivotal line of this song, regardless of your interpretation, has to be "I can never say no, to anyone but you". I believe this line is also a reference to his own inability to stop indulging his voices (the you being either the drugs, or possibly even himself, i.e. he can't resist his own impulses), which is further reinforced by the closing lines of "I will never be clean again". At the time, he couldn't see a way out of it, and in truth, Robert's reliance on drugs and alcohol actually increased over the next couple of years before he was able to rein it in.