Lyric discussion by iRawk1990 

Cover art for Condemned To Rock N' Roll lyrics by Manic Street Preachers

From my point of view, this is Richey Edwards exposing the pain and emptiness of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

"A line of vodka tears inside/A shot of boredom helps my mind" - Personally, I think this sentence describes Edwards' sorrow and how alcohol has essentially done nothing for him and that actually find solace in boredom more than intoxication.

"Lips I kiss just another plague/Love can't fix the hole they made" - This to me is basically saying 'No matter how many women you get off/sleep with, it will never truly satisfy you." I don't think he is referring to love in a literal sense, just lust and promiscuity.

The last line "There's nothing I want to see/There's nowhere I want to go" send shivers down my spine, especially when taking into account Edwards' disappearance in 1995. I think Richey was truly a lost soul and the circumstances that later followed are absolutely tragic.

This defiantly points to the lyrical direction the band later took 2 years later with The Holy Bible. The song, as something previously mentioned earlier, certainly seems quite poetic. Instrumentally, the song heavy riffage reminds me of Motley Crue and I think this is no coincidence, as the song seems to denounce the cruel reality behind the "good times" that the Crue had once sung about. I think this was probably the first of many swan songs from Richey, the majority of which later appeared on The Holy Bible.

My Interpretation