To me, this song is about a person who loves the effects of LSD but hates being addicted to it. This person regularly gets high on the substance (i.e. tripping the darkness) to avoid the pressures of life, but then always cuts himself short for fear of what might happen if he stays too long on the substance (i.e. awakening from madness just in time).
Thus, the first and second stanzas describe this person being weary of life, and the chorus describes how the person is tempted into taking hallucinogens by his addiction, only to realize what he's doing and stop himself.
To me, this song is about a person who loves the effects of LSD but hates being addicted to it. This person regularly gets high on the substance (i.e. tripping the darkness) to avoid the pressures of life, but then always cuts himself short for fear of what might happen if he stays too long on the substance (i.e. awakening from madness just in time). Thus, the first and second stanzas describe this person being weary of life, and the chorus describes how the person is tempted into taking hallucinogens by his addiction, only to realize what he's doing and stop himself.