I love the story this song lays out for me, when I interpret it fairly literally.
The throat is deep and the mouth is wide
Saw some things on the other side
The first bit, "The throat is deep and the mouth is wide" makes me think of someone whose big mouth and curiosity gets him in trouble. Then, "I saw some things on the other side" makes me imagine him looking across a river or some other type of barrier and catching glimpses of something he's never seen before. So, he goes to investigate (against the better judgment of just about everyone).
Made me promise to never tell
But you know me, I can't help myself
Who made him promise to never tell? I imagine there's some kind of higher power in control of the situation, a power that tries to keep the narrator and his fellow civilians ignorant of what's really happening in that secretive area. I'll just call this power "the government". Over the course of the song, I get the impression that the government has denoted the area "off-limits", while probably giving reasons like "for your own safety".
My guess is, when the narrator went to explore the off-limits area, he ran into something classified, as well as the officials who try to keep it that way.
The "You know me, I can't help myself" part reinforces the idea that the narrator kind of has a big mouth.
Now I've got something you have to see
They put something inside of me
The smile is red and its eyes are black
I don't think I'll be coming back
This is where things take a sharp turn for the worse. I don't have a very strong idea of what he's talking about, but he's been possessed by something terrifying, something put there during his stay at... whatever he found.
The last line is, to me, one of the saddest; he says many times that he "came back haunted", so he's obviously physically returned from his little excursion, but the way he says "I don't think I'll be coming back" shows that he'll never really "return". He's been so irrevocably changed by what happened that he'll never be the person he was before. He'll never walk home and pick up his life where he left off, the way he probably assumed he would when he left.
I don't believe, and I
I had to see, and I
I came back haunted
I came back haunted
I really like the line, "I don't believe". It's not "I didn't believe", which would imply that "they" were right after all, and he should've known better, or something like that. "I don't believe" sounds a little more defiant. It's like, while he might not know the whole truth even now, he knows (and has always suspected) that the government's official story was a cover-up.
"I had to see" underlines this suspicion.
I said goodbye, but I --
I had to try, and
I came back haunted
C-C-C-came back haunted
The line "I said goodbye" makes me imagine that the narrator was discussing with a friend his plans to investigate the place. This friend (aka the person he's talking to throughout the song) tried to tell him not to go, and finally "convinced" him not to, at which point they parted ways. Unbeknownst to the friend, though, the narrator went ahead with his original plan to explore.
"I had to try" shows more of his determination.
Everywhere now reminding me
I am not who I used to be
I'm afraid this has just begun
Consequences for what I've done, yeah
Essentially, he'll never be the same again, and he can't escape that fact. Even worse, he suspects that that'll soon be the least of his problems. Eerie.
(Considering this is the third song on the album, I really want to know if his story will continue...)
There's one last new bit in the last chorus:
Tried to tell me but I --
I couldn't stop myself and I --
I came back -- I came back haunted
C-C-C-came back haunted
To me, the "tried to tell me" line reinforces the idea that the friend really tried to convince him not to go, and "I couldn't stop myself" reinforces the idea that the narrator is just way too freaking curious and suspicious for his own good.
SO tl;dr: the story I imagine is one of a city, a government, and a secret area nearby. The narrator, an incredibly curious member of the city, explores this area despite warnings from his friend and the government, and is permanently changed by what he sees/experiences/is possessed by.
I think that's an excellent analogy! It definitely has a fairly sinister feel to it lyrically, like possession, but at the same time he did this type of thing on The Becoming off The Downward Spiral. If you go back and listen to that song, the themes are eerily similar (The Becoming was a much better song though).
I think that's an excellent analogy! It definitely has a fairly sinister feel to it lyrically, like possession, but at the same time he did this type of thing on The Becoming off The Downward Spiral. If you go back and listen to that song, the themes are eerily similar (The Becoming was a much better song though).
This is my personal interpretation.
I love the story this song lays out for me, when I interpret it fairly literally.
The first bit, "The throat is deep and the mouth is wide" makes me think of someone whose big mouth and curiosity gets him in trouble. Then, "I saw some things on the other side" makes me imagine him looking across a river or some other type of barrier and catching glimpses of something he's never seen before. So, he goes to investigate (against the better judgment of just about everyone).
Who made him promise to never tell? I imagine there's some kind of higher power in control of the situation, a power that tries to keep the narrator and his fellow civilians ignorant of what's really happening in that secretive area. I'll just call this power "the government". Over the course of the song, I get the impression that the government has denoted the area "off-limits", while probably giving reasons like "for your own safety". My guess is, when the narrator went to explore the off-limits area, he ran into something classified, as well as the officials who try to keep it that way. The "You know me, I can't help myself" part reinforces the idea that the narrator kind of has a big mouth.
This is where things take a sharp turn for the worse. I don't have a very strong idea of what he's talking about, but he's been possessed by something terrifying, something put there during his stay at... whatever he found. The last line is, to me, one of the saddest; he says many times that he "came back haunted", so he's obviously physically returned from his little excursion, but the way he says "I don't think I'll be coming back" shows that he'll never really "return". He's been so irrevocably changed by what happened that he'll never be the person he was before. He'll never walk home and pick up his life where he left off, the way he probably assumed he would when he left.
I really like the line, "I don't believe". It's not "I didn't believe", which would imply that "they" were right after all, and he should've known better, or something like that. "I don't believe" sounds a little more defiant. It's like, while he might not know the whole truth even now, he knows (and has always suspected) that the government's official story was a cover-up. "I had to see" underlines this suspicion.
The line "I said goodbye" makes me imagine that the narrator was discussing with a friend his plans to investigate the place. This friend (aka the person he's talking to throughout the song) tried to tell him not to go, and finally "convinced" him not to, at which point they parted ways. Unbeknownst to the friend, though, the narrator went ahead with his original plan to explore. "I had to try" shows more of his determination.
Essentially, he'll never be the same again, and he can't escape that fact. Even worse, he suspects that that'll soon be the least of his problems. Eerie. (Considering this is the third song on the album, I really want to know if his story will continue...)
There's one last new bit in the last chorus:
To me, the "tried to tell me" line reinforces the idea that the friend really tried to convince him not to go, and "I couldn't stop myself" reinforces the idea that the narrator is just way too freaking curious and suspicious for his own good.
SO tl;dr: the story I imagine is one of a city, a government, and a secret area nearby. The narrator, an incredibly curious member of the city, explores this area despite warnings from his friend and the government, and is permanently changed by what he sees/experiences/is possessed by.
Thoughts?
I think that's an excellent analogy! It definitely has a fairly sinister feel to it lyrically, like possession, but at the same time he did this type of thing on The Becoming off The Downward Spiral. If you go back and listen to that song, the themes are eerily similar (The Becoming was a much better song though).
I think that's an excellent analogy! It definitely has a fairly sinister feel to it lyrically, like possession, but at the same time he did this type of thing on The Becoming off The Downward Spiral. If you go back and listen to that song, the themes are eerily similar (The Becoming was a much better song though).