Personally, it pisses me off when I see that most of the conclusions that people come to (Layne's words) are all drug related. Completely missing the point of not only the song, but the tragedy woven into the words by a suffering and lonely man.
All throughout his turmoil, he retained his mental stability, although at times I am sure even he would admit to being 'out of it', but to only see "drugs" in his words dishonors the human being within. He was misunderstood in life and it seems inevitably that remains the case in death as well.
I agree it's an oversimplification to say it's all about drugs. Why would a person turn to dangerous drugs in the first place if not to numb the pain they are experiencing?
I agree it's an oversimplification to say it's all about drugs. Why would a person turn to dangerous drugs in the first place if not to numb the pain they are experiencing?
A lot of the lyrics to this and other AIC songs sound like the writer suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, IMHO.
A lot of the lyrics to this and other AIC songs sound like the writer suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, IMHO.
It's a very painful condition where you simultaneously crave an impossible amount of love & acceptance as an adult that you never got as a child and that no one can now give you (except yourself) and are repulsed by the craving. And you feel worthless deep...
It's a very painful condition where you simultaneously crave an impossible amount of love & acceptance as an adult that you never got as a child and that no one can now give you (except yourself) and are repulsed by the craving. And you feel worthless deep down because you never received the proper validation as a child.
Any small sign of rejection from someone you care about opens up a pandora's box of pain and you use hate as a shield against the pain. Or you may disconnect from all emotions to protect yourself ("One who doesn't care is one who shouldn't be/I tried to hide myself from what is wrong for me.")
Eventually you may turn to drugs to numb it all (think of the song Hate to Feel) because even death seems preferable to the exhausting emotional roller coaster that seems endless and inescapable.
The thing that smacks the most of BPD is the fantasy he's having to kill himself just to show someone else how much they've hurt him. And the idea of death being preferable to the frustration & lack of control over oneself & one's emotions.
@SaintDLee I agree. Alot of their songs could be interpreted as being about drugs. But so could any song about extreme love/hate. People don't reallize the feelings that come with drug abuse. The guilt shame loneliness torment disappointment emptiness selfishness..etc.. not everything he wrote was about drugs. But even the ones he did write about them were really just about the underlying feelings.and the reasons he felt a need to escape to begin with. Lifelong AIC fan here, also sober Heroin addict (I call it HELL-OIN) CLEAN FOR 8 YEARS NOW!! thinking about beautiful souls and minds wasted and taken...
@SaintDLee I agree. Alot of their songs could be interpreted as being about drugs. But so could any song about extreme love/hate. People don't reallize the feelings that come with drug abuse. The guilt shame loneliness torment disappointment emptiness selfishness..etc.. not everything he wrote was about drugs. But even the ones he did write about them were really just about the underlying feelings.and the reasons he felt a need to escape to begin with. Lifelong AIC fan here, also sober Heroin addict (I call it HELL-OIN) CLEAN FOR 8 YEARS NOW!! thinking about beautiful souls and minds wasted and taken to soon such as Layne, is one if the things that keeps me going when I think of slipping up. I've lost too many friends to the stuff and the world has lost too many talented artists. God knows we could use some decent music here in 2023! Sorry for the late reply haha but yeah
Personally, it pisses me off when I see that most of the conclusions that people come to (Layne's words) are all drug related. Completely missing the point of not only the song, but the tragedy woven into the words by a suffering and lonely man.
All throughout his turmoil, he retained his mental stability, although at times I am sure even he would admit to being 'out of it', but to only see "drugs" in his words dishonors the human being within. He was misunderstood in life and it seems inevitably that remains the case in death as well.
I agree it's an oversimplification to say it's all about drugs. Why would a person turn to dangerous drugs in the first place if not to numb the pain they are experiencing?
I agree it's an oversimplification to say it's all about drugs. Why would a person turn to dangerous drugs in the first place if not to numb the pain they are experiencing?
A lot of the lyrics to this and other AIC songs sound like the writer suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, IMHO.
A lot of the lyrics to this and other AIC songs sound like the writer suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, IMHO.
It's a very painful condition where you simultaneously crave an impossible amount of love & acceptance as an adult that you never got as a child and that no one can now give you (except yourself) and are repulsed by the craving. And you feel worthless deep...
It's a very painful condition where you simultaneously crave an impossible amount of love & acceptance as an adult that you never got as a child and that no one can now give you (except yourself) and are repulsed by the craving. And you feel worthless deep down because you never received the proper validation as a child.
Any small sign of rejection from someone you care about opens up a pandora's box of pain and you use hate as a shield against the pain. Or you may disconnect from all emotions to protect yourself ("One who doesn't care is one who shouldn't be/I tried to hide myself from what is wrong for me.")
Eventually you may turn to drugs to numb it all (think of the song Hate to Feel) because even death seems preferable to the exhausting emotional roller coaster that seems endless and inescapable.
The thing that smacks the most of BPD is the fantasy he's having to kill himself just to show someone else how much they've hurt him. And the idea of death being preferable to the frustration & lack of control over oneself & one's emotions.
Just my opinion!
@SaintDLee I agree. Alot of their songs could be interpreted as being about drugs. But so could any song about extreme love/hate. People don't reallize the feelings that come with drug abuse. The guilt shame loneliness torment disappointment emptiness selfishness..etc.. not everything he wrote was about drugs. But even the ones he did write about them were really just about the underlying feelings.and the reasons he felt a need to escape to begin with. Lifelong AIC fan here, also sober Heroin addict (I call it HELL-OIN) CLEAN FOR 8 YEARS NOW!! thinking about beautiful souls and minds wasted and taken...
@SaintDLee I agree. Alot of their songs could be interpreted as being about drugs. But so could any song about extreme love/hate. People don't reallize the feelings that come with drug abuse. The guilt shame loneliness torment disappointment emptiness selfishness..etc.. not everything he wrote was about drugs. But even the ones he did write about them were really just about the underlying feelings.and the reasons he felt a need to escape to begin with. Lifelong AIC fan here, also sober Heroin addict (I call it HELL-OIN) CLEAN FOR 8 YEARS NOW!! thinking about beautiful souls and minds wasted and taken to soon such as Layne, is one if the things that keeps me going when I think of slipping up. I've lost too many friends to the stuff and the world has lost too many talented artists. God knows we could use some decent music here in 2023! Sorry for the late reply haha but yeah