It's about trying to distinguish yourself from a given reputation -- in this case, trying to defy a family name. "Rolling around a lifetime on a name that spells my past..." Maybe you've been in a small town where everyone knows each other. 'Those are the Smiths. Smith, Sr. had a serious drinking problem. It ruined him and he wound up taking it out on his family." These kinds of rumors, true or not, begin to define a group or a family, and people tend to treat them out of this rumor. But it goes deeper than that. "Because here it comes, Watch them all jump right in, Tell me, how could you refuse to float with the rest of them? You were born into it, there's no shame if you drift, Down the bloodline." 'It wasn't just Smith, Sr. Smith, Sr.'s sister, father, wife's brother, oldest son, and cousin were all drunks, too.' And the important part: 'DON'T BE TOO SURPRISED IF SMITH, JR. WINDS UP A DRUNK HIMSELF.' Who could blame him?
I wish it was that simple. Unfortunately for our singer here, it isn't simply a drinking problem as "two sheets to the wind" implies. "And if money's not a problem, I suggest you best believe, There's ten dollars on the table, and a million up his sleeve." Not a drinking problem. What's up his sleeve? What could make him feel like a million bucks? How about some heroin?
The narrator reassures us, "Yes, it feels scary to be ordinary, In a world that don't know your name," but is that so bad? You can build your name. He was born with it. It's an expectation of other people, perhaps even including himself at this point, "It would not be weird if I just disappeared, Blowing my back out, trying to hope I wake."
This anxiety is so pervasive that it even affects his our little Smith, Jr.'s relationships: "Cherry-pick my best believers and send them off with a kiss." Either by disappointing them by aligning himself to naysayers' expectations or simply being paranoid, he drives everyone who takes faith in him instead of the rumors surrounding his family name.
And it's all justified. Because he can blame it on his bloodline. A vicious cycle perpetuated by belonging instead of breaking away.
It's about trying to distinguish yourself from a given reputation -- in this case, trying to defy a family name. "Rolling around a lifetime on a name that spells my past..." Maybe you've been in a small town where everyone knows each other. 'Those are the Smiths. Smith, Sr. had a serious drinking problem. It ruined him and he wound up taking it out on his family." These kinds of rumors, true or not, begin to define a group or a family, and people tend to treat them out of this rumor. But it goes deeper than that. "Because here it comes, Watch them all jump right in, Tell me, how could you refuse to float with the rest of them? You were born into it, there's no shame if you drift, Down the bloodline." 'It wasn't just Smith, Sr. Smith, Sr.'s sister, father, wife's brother, oldest son, and cousin were all drunks, too.' And the important part: 'DON'T BE TOO SURPRISED IF SMITH, JR. WINDS UP A DRUNK HIMSELF.' Who could blame him?
I wish it was that simple. Unfortunately for our singer here, it isn't simply a drinking problem as "two sheets to the wind" implies. "And if money's not a problem, I suggest you best believe, There's ten dollars on the table, and a million up his sleeve." Not a drinking problem. What's up his sleeve? What could make him feel like a million bucks? How about some heroin?
The narrator reassures us, "Yes, it feels scary to be ordinary, In a world that don't know your name," but is that so bad? You can build your name. He was born with it. It's an expectation of other people, perhaps even including himself at this point, "It would not be weird if I just disappeared, Blowing my back out, trying to hope I wake."
This anxiety is so pervasive that it even affects his our little Smith, Jr.'s relationships: "Cherry-pick my best believers and send them off with a kiss." Either by disappointing them by aligning himself to naysayers' expectations or simply being paranoid, he drives everyone who takes faith in him instead of the rumors surrounding his family name.
And it's all justified. Because he can blame it on his bloodline. A vicious cycle perpetuated by belonging instead of breaking away.
Just my interpretation. Thanks for reading.