I always assumed this song was written about the tragedy of his sister and her husband. The one who killed her and ultimately killed himself...
What you are is the beast in a lover's arms
What you are is the devil in the sweet, sweet kiss
What you are is missing a piece
What you are is a puzzle to me
The beginning is almost like as if he is describing walking into her funeral. Like everyone is looking to him for answers...
I walk into this room
Oh, all eyes on me now
But I do not know the people inside
They look straight through me, these eyes
Seeking more wisdom than I have to give away
Realize, realize what you are...
The seas unsparing
We're all drifting away
Away from you, I pray for you now
But hoping to God on high
Is like clinging to straws while drowning, oh
Realize, realize what you are...
He knows that his sister is gone, "drifting away." "I pray for you now... He is an atheist so of course to him, hoping to God that she is at peace is like clinging to straws while drowning...
The first time I heard him play it live and he said get down on your knees mother fucker! I had this eerie feeling that he was talking to his sister's husband, but he was the yelling at him to get down on his knees, like he was about to kill him. It was the first time where I felt a really dark vibe coming from Dave and even the inflection in his voice had a sinister tone.
@deedubbadoo I think your interpretation is one of the best I've seen. I've always wondered what he is saying at the end AFTER he says "Get down on your knees mother fucker". You hear him say something about "God is on my side", but with him being an atheist, that wouldn't seem to make sense, so I've still never been able to figure out what he was saying the adlibbed part at the end. It was extremely obvious there is some very powerful emotion he's feeling when he sang the song in the Central Park show. When he sings the...
@deedubbadoo I think your interpretation is one of the best I've seen. I've always wondered what he is saying at the end AFTER he says "Get down on your knees mother fucker". You hear him say something about "God is on my side", but with him being an atheist, that wouldn't seem to make sense, so I've still never been able to figure out what he was saying the adlibbed part at the end. It was extremely obvious there is some very powerful emotion he's feeling when he sang the song in the Central Park show. When he sings the word "self" in the line "don't trust me, trust yourself" is one of the most belted out powerful vocals I've ever heard. It still gives me chills every time I hear it.
I always assumed this song was written about the tragedy of his sister and her husband. The one who killed her and ultimately killed himself...
What you are is the beast in a lover's arms What you are is the devil in the sweet, sweet kiss What you are is missing a piece What you are is a puzzle to me
The beginning is almost like as if he is describing walking into her funeral. Like everyone is looking to him for answers...
I walk into this room Oh, all eyes on me now But I do not know the people inside They look straight through me, these eyes Seeking more wisdom than I have to give away Realize, realize what you are...
The seas unsparing We're all drifting away Away from you, I pray for you now But hoping to God on high Is like clinging to straws while drowning, oh Realize, realize what you are...
He knows that his sister is gone, "drifting away." "I pray for you now... He is an atheist so of course to him, hoping to God that she is at peace is like clinging to straws while drowning...
The first time I heard him play it live and he said get down on your knees mother fucker! I had this eerie feeling that he was talking to his sister's husband, but he was the yelling at him to get down on his knees, like he was about to kill him. It was the first time where I felt a really dark vibe coming from Dave and even the inflection in his voice had a sinister tone.
@deedubbadoo I think your interpretation is one of the best I've seen. I've always wondered what he is saying at the end AFTER he says "Get down on your knees mother fucker". You hear him say something about "God is on my side", but with him being an atheist, that wouldn't seem to make sense, so I've still never been able to figure out what he was saying the adlibbed part at the end. It was extremely obvious there is some very powerful emotion he's feeling when he sang the song in the Central Park show. When he sings the...
@deedubbadoo I think your interpretation is one of the best I've seen. I've always wondered what he is saying at the end AFTER he says "Get down on your knees mother fucker". You hear him say something about "God is on my side", but with him being an atheist, that wouldn't seem to make sense, so I've still never been able to figure out what he was saying the adlibbed part at the end. It was extremely obvious there is some very powerful emotion he's feeling when he sang the song in the Central Park show. When he sings the word "self" in the line "don't trust me, trust yourself" is one of the most belted out powerful vocals I've ever heard. It still gives me chills every time I hear it.