Billy's described Gish as a very spiritual album and I think this song is one of the reasons why
'I don't live - I inhale'
A lot of spiritual practices involves focusing on the intake of breath because that is what keeps us alive, so 'living' and 'inhaling' are the same in that respect, but spiritual practices tend to take the 'inhaling' perspective so I think that's what Billy meant by that
'I don't give - I unveil'
Spirituality involves tearing away the illusions and the layers of your ego to uncover the 'true self' which is a philosophy originating in India and referred to in Hinduism, Yoga etc. so there's a connection with the song title
The rest of the lyrics do seem to refer to a break-up or some sort of relationship problems which again is reflected in the title with 'shiva' referring to the tantric concepts of opposing masculine and feminine forces, so I believe that Billy's referring to meditation (or tripping!) to escape these problems or remedy the emotional distress caused by the relationship
Billy's described Gish as a very spiritual album and I think this song is one of the reasons why
'I don't live - I inhale' A lot of spiritual practices involves focusing on the intake of breath because that is what keeps us alive, so 'living' and 'inhaling' are the same in that respect, but spiritual practices tend to take the 'inhaling' perspective so I think that's what Billy meant by that
'I don't give - I unveil' Spirituality involves tearing away the illusions and the layers of your ego to uncover the 'true self' which is a philosophy originating in India and referred to in Hinduism, Yoga etc. so there's a connection with the song title
The rest of the lyrics do seem to refer to a break-up or some sort of relationship problems which again is reflected in the title with 'shiva' referring to the tantric concepts of opposing masculine and feminine forces, so I believe that Billy's referring to meditation (or tripping!) to escape these problems or remedy the emotional distress caused by the relationship