"I thought I'd take a walk today
It's a mistake I sometimes make"
Take a walk; a mistake. 'Take a walk' is a euphemism for taking another drug fix.
"I kissed her softly on the brow
I tried not to make a sound
But with stony eyes she looked at me
And gently squeezed my hand"
'Tried not to make a sound' - trying to keep it a secret. But when his wife looks into his eyes...
"But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see
The Sword of Damocles hanging directly above her"
...he suddenly realises he's endangering his family. The Sword of Damocles represents the dangers and downfalls of those in power; power itself is another euphemism for his drug use. Feels powerful, on top of the world etc. you get the gist.
"They called at me through the fence
They were not making any sense
They claimed that I had lost the plot
Kept saying that I was not
The man I used to be"
This refers to people telling him he should quit.
"But their words of derision meant they hardly knew me
For even I could see in the way they looked at me
The Spear of Destiny sticking right through me"
And he ignores these people, feeling persecuted for his choices.
The next stanza is basically falling into insanity due to excessive drug use, and realising that people were right about him and the despair of such a realisation - "I screamed 'the plot! the plot!'"; people told him he'd lost the plot and he dismissed such claims, and now he sees they were right.
He calls up his wife and she doesn't recognise him ("She screams, 'Leave us alone!' I say, "Hey, it`s only me'"). The hairdresser holds up a mirror and "I cannot believe what I can see" - he doesn't recognise himself, he's not the man he used to be.
The last stanza is a lot of warnings and such, but one line stands out in particular:
"So that when you think youre climbing up, man In fact youre climbing down"
Basically: drugs feel good but they make everything worse. You think you're high on top of the world, but in fact you're pulling yourself down. Something like that.
I don't think this song has any particular meaning. It's one of those songs written from the artist's subconscious, drawing on several aspects from their life, and is not written specifically about one thing. It's so abstract that it could - and probably does - refer to many personal experiences in his life. I've presented one side, one possible explanation, one which has not been offered as of yet.
@Annihilist Got here 5 years after you posted this and just want to say that I think you nailed it. Didn't think in this direction, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks.
@Annihilist Got here 5 years after you posted this and just want to say that I think you nailed it. Didn't think in this direction, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks.
I see it as being about his previous drug use:
"I thought I'd take a walk today It's a mistake I sometimes make"
Take a walk; a mistake. 'Take a walk' is a euphemism for taking another drug fix.
"I kissed her softly on the brow I tried not to make a sound But with stony eyes she looked at me And gently squeezed my hand"
'Tried not to make a sound' - trying to keep it a secret. But when his wife looks into his eyes...
"But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see The Sword of Damocles hanging directly above her"
...he suddenly realises he's endangering his family. The Sword of Damocles represents the dangers and downfalls of those in power; power itself is another euphemism for his drug use. Feels powerful, on top of the world etc. you get the gist.
"They called at me through the fence They were not making any sense They claimed that I had lost the plot Kept saying that I was not The man I used to be"
This refers to people telling him he should quit.
"But their words of derision meant they hardly knew me For even I could see in the way they looked at me The Spear of Destiny sticking right through me"
And he ignores these people, feeling persecuted for his choices.
The next stanza is basically falling into insanity due to excessive drug use, and realising that people were right about him and the despair of such a realisation - "I screamed 'the plot! the plot!'"; people told him he'd lost the plot and he dismissed such claims, and now he sees they were right.
He calls up his wife and she doesn't recognise him ("She screams, 'Leave us alone!' I say, "Hey, it`s only me'"). The hairdresser holds up a mirror and "I cannot believe what I can see" - he doesn't recognise himself, he's not the man he used to be.
The last stanza is a lot of warnings and such, but one line stands out in particular:
"So that when you think you
re climbing up, man In fact youre climbing down"Basically: drugs feel good but they make everything worse. You think you're high on top of the world, but in fact you're pulling yourself down. Something like that.
I don't think this song has any particular meaning. It's one of those songs written from the artist's subconscious, drawing on several aspects from their life, and is not written specifically about one thing. It's so abstract that it could - and probably does - refer to many personal experiences in his life. I've presented one side, one possible explanation, one which has not been offered as of yet.
@Annihilist Got here 5 years after you posted this and just want to say that I think you nailed it. Didn't think in this direction, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks.
@Annihilist Got here 5 years after you posted this and just want to say that I think you nailed it. Didn't think in this direction, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks.