Graphic Nature Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Experiman 

Cover art for Graphic Nature lyrics by Deftones

/ And tell me your secret / How are you trained?

      • We all carry a trained persona which we present as ourselves, however this is not who we really are, it is a trained set of reactive patterns, a kind of shield for our inner core which is true and pure and thus very vulnerable

/ Go on explain… / Tell me how you do it…now / Your poison is glowing / Against the night / How can you lose / Just show them tricks we like

      • the persona can be quite amazing and even though it is incredibly deep and even seems luminescent, it is fake and thus toxic to the true core person it is supposed to protect. "The tricks we like" is another take on that, the fake persona is the ego.

/ Every time it takes my knees out

      • Dislocating joints was/is used as a method of torture. To observe the true self is to relive and face every repressed memory of trauma you have ever felt.

Essentially the song may be about inspecting the methods of self deception in yourself and others which may be quite amazing in their complexity and repression, especially if what you are observing is yourself. "Training" may refer to the ways one creates habits, delusions, justifications etc.

/ I like to watch you release them

      • ....

I was right with you until the dislocated joints.

Oh. My God. I had to create an account just to respond to this. BULL SHIT. You're saying everyone is a fraud, a liar, a facade, a fake representation of who we want people to think we are. If your ego, or if you think everyone's ego, is like that, fine. Believe what you want. But painting everyone with such an ignorant stroke literally makes me disgusted. Your super-ego didn't stop your id from spewing forth such a disingenuous ego that you need to rationalize everyone is like you, so your fragile mind doesn't fully shatter at the possibility someone,...