The first stanza is his opinion on the world and is pretty self-explanatory. The killers should be killed, the religious leaders have social/moral sicknesses, and the poor shouldn't go hungry. But it's more of him asking can he really be the only one out there that feels this way? If he's not the only one who thinks that way then why do these problems exist? I think he comes to the conclusion that he must be mostly alone, mostly different and therefore can not live like everyone else does.
The next stanza is about God and his idea of God. He uses "God" and "dog" interchangeably on purpose because no one really knows who or what God is; people just view God in their own ways and generally assume that God is there to serve their own individual purposes, i.e. provide positive mental/spirital feelings or even provide opportunities or physical gifts. So, in a sense god=dog because they are both slaves to the owner/believer. I think all he's saying in the second stanza is that he has some guilty desire or problem that he needs help with, but it's worded so that it reads like if he asks God, or his own idea of God anyway, for assistance it would be like some kind of rape or severe violation of code of conduct between man and God.
Stanza 3 sounds like he's found God or at least for some short period of time conformed to a set of ideals of a certain religion. He's just getting by, just like every other day before, but he's happy that he's found something even though whatever question or desire or need he's referring to in the previous stanza is still being left alone. He's always open to the invasion of new ideas so he's running with whatever new religion or God he's currently following.
Stanza 4 is just like the previous stanza; he knows he's not getting what he wants/needs out of this religion even though he's making it appear that he's a loyal follower. This dog or God is fine for others but it isn't working for him, because their God/supernatural slave by law does not exhibit compassion/sympathy or advice for whatever his "perverted thought" is.
The last stanza is him saying he's through with pretending to be part of this other group and their God. He'll have his own God and hope that it's the right one, and he'll talk to him but he still doesn't expect to receive help for whatever it is he's most desperate for (whatever the "perverted thought" is). If he ends up wrong though and the others are right, and the God who they say serves them is the one and only real God, then maybe that God will be his friend, i.e. understand and pity.
Then again, maybe Shannon Hoon wanted to get it on with a dog. I don't think so though, and I really hope not because he was and still is my favorite vocalist, but you never know these days. This comment is going to be really long and probably confusing to anyone who reads it, but oh well. I read this song for like 10 minutes and this was the main meaning I could pull from it.
R.I.P. Shannon, and hopefully your bandmates burn in hell for relaunching Blind Melon without you. I heard the new guy and he sucks a big fat hard one.
I love this song. The passion behind it comes truly from a tortured soul. It's unfortunate that many don't have the opportunity to commune with others like themselves.
I love this song. The passion behind it comes truly from a tortured soul. It's unfortunate that many don't have the opportunity to commune with others like themselves.
I think the theme of your opinion is right on. There are a few lines however that have always stuck out to me, and because they stuck out I racked my brain to try to understand his view. This line in the third Stanza: "And though inside I'm feeling giddy Always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door." I agree with the attempting to believe part, but uninvaded door makes...
I think the theme of your opinion is right on. There are a few lines however that have always stuck out to me, and because they stuck out I racked my brain to try to understand his view. This line in the third Stanza: "And though inside I'm feeling giddy Always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door." I agree with the attempting to believe part, but uninvaded door makes me think of death. The fight between what he knows should be right, selling out to someone elses beliefs, the feeling that something is all wrong, and the idea of him not giving into the ultimate test of life, which is death.
The other part that really gets me is the last Stanza. But I believe the perverted thought is not something that he necessarily deprives himself of, but the common beliefs of people, the faith that he just can't follow. You are right in that he is desperate for it, but something in his mind (maybe too much logic) just won't let him attain that blind faith. But he may try to let it sink in and control him " burn a hole in his mind." If he ends up not being able to convert, then maybe "the hunters dog" who collect dead prey will welcome him the way that he is.
Like you say, there is no way to figure out what he really meant, I have written stuff that has much more meaning than I originally put into it. The beauty of art is in the interpretation, regardless of the initial motivation. This song kicks ass on many levels, and if you don't like it I respect your fucked up opinion.
You're reading my mind. That is the only other interpretation aside from my own that made so much sense. and i too hope that the bandmates burn in hell for relaunching! i thought that was like a huge slap in the face to Shannon.
You're reading my mind. That is the only other interpretation aside from my own that made so much sense. and i too hope that the bandmates burn in hell for relaunching! i thought that was like a huge slap in the face to Shannon.
Have to agree with you all. Love to see other Blind Melon fans! We can relate considering we've all had to explain to others that Blind Melon was not a one-hit wonder and the song No Rain was not their best song.
Have to agree with you all. Love to see other Blind Melon fans! We can relate considering we've all had to explain to others that Blind Melon was not a one-hit wonder and the song No Rain was not their best song.
BoonVath: the bit re: death was something I hadn't thought of, but very interesting. You're right in that what makes real art so beautiful is that when it connects with someone, his/her own interpretations make the piece really come alive. I always kind of battle with myself trying to define what it is that makes art...
BoonVath: the bit re: death was something I hadn't thought of, but very interesting. You're right in that what makes real art so beautiful is that when it connects with someone, his/her own interpretations make the piece really come alive. I always kind of battle with myself trying to define what it is that makes art art, but I guess the best explanation may be that true art is personal to the author but beautifully ambiguous to the receptor. Isn't art supposed to promote thought? Isn't the message delivered, as in life, supposed to be a complex? I think what makes a great songwriter a great songwriter is that somewhere along in the process, the artist is able to touch a few nerves and prod the listener into thought, and in that thought process hopefully the listener discovers a new way to think about something. The message might not always be important because the message might be too complex to put into words to begin with, but as long as the result is the desire to think, and the desire to think in a new way, and a desire to see a part of life through the eyes of another, then ultimately isn't the message profound, regardless of it's original intended meaning?
Patricia: totally agree with you! And peace and ganja right back at you! I understand how someone might want to use the name to create interest in something different, but if you cut the thorns off the rose, how can you still call it a rose? You're left with a poor misrepresentation of the original species, regardless of how beautiful it still may be.
Dontfork: Wooh g.o.d. is amazing and I've noticed that too. My favorite Melon songs are all demos or live versions because I really think the studio kind of took away the rawness and power of Shannon's voice. I wish I could have seen the real Blind Melon live. Thank god for bootleggers.
My take on this very awesome song:
The first stanza is his opinion on the world and is pretty self-explanatory. The killers should be killed, the religious leaders have social/moral sicknesses, and the poor shouldn't go hungry. But it's more of him asking can he really be the only one out there that feels this way? If he's not the only one who thinks that way then why do these problems exist? I think he comes to the conclusion that he must be mostly alone, mostly different and therefore can not live like everyone else does.
The next stanza is about God and his idea of God. He uses "God" and "dog" interchangeably on purpose because no one really knows who or what God is; people just view God in their own ways and generally assume that God is there to serve their own individual purposes, i.e. provide positive mental/spirital feelings or even provide opportunities or physical gifts. So, in a sense god=dog because they are both slaves to the owner/believer. I think all he's saying in the second stanza is that he has some guilty desire or problem that he needs help with, but it's worded so that it reads like if he asks God, or his own idea of God anyway, for assistance it would be like some kind of rape or severe violation of code of conduct between man and God.
Stanza 3 sounds like he's found God or at least for some short period of time conformed to a set of ideals of a certain religion. He's just getting by, just like every other day before, but he's happy that he's found something even though whatever question or desire or need he's referring to in the previous stanza is still being left alone. He's always open to the invasion of new ideas so he's running with whatever new religion or God he's currently following.
Stanza 4 is just like the previous stanza; he knows he's not getting what he wants/needs out of this religion even though he's making it appear that he's a loyal follower. This dog or God is fine for others but it isn't working for him, because their God/supernatural slave by law does not exhibit compassion/sympathy or advice for whatever his "perverted thought" is.
The last stanza is him saying he's through with pretending to be part of this other group and their God. He'll have his own God and hope that it's the right one, and he'll talk to him but he still doesn't expect to receive help for whatever it is he's most desperate for (whatever the "perverted thought" is). If he ends up wrong though and the others are right, and the God who they say serves them is the one and only real God, then maybe that God will be his friend, i.e. understand and pity.
Then again, maybe Shannon Hoon wanted to get it on with a dog. I don't think so though, and I really hope not because he was and still is my favorite vocalist, but you never know these days. This comment is going to be really long and probably confusing to anyone who reads it, but oh well. I read this song for like 10 minutes and this was the main meaning I could pull from it.
R.I.P. Shannon, and hopefully your bandmates burn in hell for relaunching Blind Melon without you. I heard the new guy and he sucks a big fat hard one.
I love this song. The passion behind it comes truly from a tortured soul. It's unfortunate that many don't have the opportunity to commune with others like themselves.
I love this song. The passion behind it comes truly from a tortured soul. It's unfortunate that many don't have the opportunity to commune with others like themselves.
I think the theme of your opinion is right on. There are a few lines however that have always stuck out to me, and because they stuck out I racked my brain to try to understand his view. This line in the third Stanza: "And though inside I'm feeling giddy Always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door." I agree with the attempting to believe part, but uninvaded door makes...
I think the theme of your opinion is right on. There are a few lines however that have always stuck out to me, and because they stuck out I racked my brain to try to understand his view. This line in the third Stanza: "And though inside I'm feeling giddy Always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door." I agree with the attempting to believe part, but uninvaded door makes me think of death. The fight between what he knows should be right, selling out to someone elses beliefs, the feeling that something is all wrong, and the idea of him not giving into the ultimate test of life, which is death.
The other part that really gets me is the last Stanza. But I believe the perverted thought is not something that he necessarily deprives himself of, but the common beliefs of people, the faith that he just can't follow. You are right in that he is desperate for it, but something in his mind (maybe too much logic) just won't let him attain that blind faith. But he may try to let it sink in and control him " burn a hole in his mind." If he ends up not being able to convert, then maybe "the hunters dog" who collect dead prey will welcome him the way that he is.
Like you say, there is no way to figure out what he really meant, I have written stuff that has much more meaning than I originally put into it. The beauty of art is in the interpretation, regardless of the initial motivation. This song kicks ass on many levels, and if you don't like it I respect your fucked up opinion.
You're reading my mind. That is the only other interpretation aside from my own that made so much sense. and i too hope that the bandmates burn in hell for relaunching! i thought that was like a huge slap in the face to Shannon.
You're reading my mind. That is the only other interpretation aside from my own that made so much sense. and i too hope that the bandmates burn in hell for relaunching! i thought that was like a huge slap in the face to Shannon.
Have to agree with you all. Love to see other Blind Melon fans! We can relate considering we've all had to explain to others that Blind Melon was not a one-hit wonder and the song No Rain was not their best song.
Have to agree with you all. Love to see other Blind Melon fans! We can relate considering we've all had to explain to others that Blind Melon was not a one-hit wonder and the song No Rain was not their best song.
BoonVath: the bit re: death was something I hadn't thought of, but very interesting. You're right in that what makes real art so beautiful is that when it connects with someone, his/her own interpretations make the piece really come alive. I always kind of battle with myself trying to define what it is that makes art...
BoonVath: the bit re: death was something I hadn't thought of, but very interesting. You're right in that what makes real art so beautiful is that when it connects with someone, his/her own interpretations make the piece really come alive. I always kind of battle with myself trying to define what it is that makes art art, but I guess the best explanation may be that true art is personal to the author but beautifully ambiguous to the receptor. Isn't art supposed to promote thought? Isn't the message delivered, as in life, supposed to be a complex? I think what makes a great songwriter a great songwriter is that somewhere along in the process, the artist is able to touch a few nerves and prod the listener into thought, and in that thought process hopefully the listener discovers a new way to think about something. The message might not always be important because the message might be too complex to put into words to begin with, but as long as the result is the desire to think, and the desire to think in a new way, and a desire to see a part of life through the eyes of another, then ultimately isn't the message profound, regardless of it's original intended meaning?
Patricia: totally agree with you! And peace and ganja right back at you! I understand how someone might want to use the name to create interest in something different, but if you cut the thorns off the rose, how can you still call it a rose? You're left with a poor misrepresentation of the original species, regardless of how beautiful it still may be.
Dontfork: Wooh g.o.d. is amazing and I've noticed that too. My favorite Melon songs are all demos or live versions because I really think the studio kind of took away the rawness and power of Shannon's voice. I wish I could have seen the real Blind Melon live. Thank god for bootleggers.