Reading the comment about the song being about the Sentry has had a profound effect on me. I always interpreted this song, like some others, as being about addiction and recovery, and the constant struggle that never ends. I was/am an addict so obviously that's why I saw that in the words.
Turns out, the song is 100% blatantly about the Marvel superhero The Sentry. The real catch and utterly intriguing thing about this is - The Marvel backstory for The Sentry, who's real name was Bob Reynolds, was a meth addict (same with me) who broke into a research facility to get high or steal shit, ended up coming across a serum called Project Sentry, drank it and gained the power of a million exploding suns. He became the superhero The Sentry. What he didn't know was he also became the supervillan The Void, at the same time. For everything good the Sentry did, the Void did something horrible of equal value. So in a sense he became THREE different people. He was still Bob Reynolds and both alter egos. He substituted his addiction for meth with an addiction to the serum. He was constantly struggling to figure out which one he was at any given time.
That's exactly like what being a recovering addict is like.
When you're in the throes of addiction, you're the void. Nothing good comes from you, you just go around ruining lives and being horrible, even if it's not on purpose. You're the lowest you can possibly get. And the power the low has over you is overwhelming.
When you're actively in recovery, you feel like the Sentry. The drugs are gone and you start to feel super human, not just like you used to, you are overwhelmed with the realization that you can finally be a normal person again. It makes you feel happier than you've ever been in your life, you feel invincible.
Once you're off of dope for long enough, the high of recovering goes away, and real life and reality start to settle in again. You turn back into the Bob that you always were, before the drugs. And you start to realize that all of the problems you had before it all, all of your hangups, insecurities, all of that, are still there. You aren't some super human, you're just back to being human again, and all that entails, good and bad. And you realize that you will have to struggle every day to avoid becoming the Void again.
That's when the strength of your high is the strength of your low. You remember all the people you hurt, let down, how you let yourself down. You remember what rock bottom really feels like, and all you know is you never want to be there again. It was so horrible that it motivates you to avoid it - at all cost. Your low was so strong, that it has empowered your high.
I can go on and on really. I'm just amazed at the lyrics and even the Sentry story. I don't find much in life that I feel I can truly identify with, but his story, this song, what it's all talking about really hits home.
HTB lyrics can range from utterly nonsensical to incredibly profound. This is certainly some profound shit.
I just thought I would share this with you guys.
Reading the comment about the song being about the Sentry has had a profound effect on me. I always interpreted this song, like some others, as being about addiction and recovery, and the constant struggle that never ends. I was/am an addict so obviously that's why I saw that in the words.
Turns out, the song is 100% blatantly about the Marvel superhero The Sentry. The real catch and utterly intriguing thing about this is - The Marvel backstory for The Sentry, who's real name was Bob Reynolds, was a meth addict (same with me) who broke into a research facility to get high or steal shit, ended up coming across a serum called Project Sentry, drank it and gained the power of a million exploding suns. He became the superhero The Sentry. What he didn't know was he also became the supervillan The Void, at the same time. For everything good the Sentry did, the Void did something horrible of equal value. So in a sense he became THREE different people. He was still Bob Reynolds and both alter egos. He substituted his addiction for meth with an addiction to the serum. He was constantly struggling to figure out which one he was at any given time.
That's exactly like what being a recovering addict is like.
When you're in the throes of addiction, you're the void. Nothing good comes from you, you just go around ruining lives and being horrible, even if it's not on purpose. You're the lowest you can possibly get. And the power the low has over you is overwhelming.
When you're actively in recovery, you feel like the Sentry. The drugs are gone and you start to feel super human, not just like you used to, you are overwhelmed with the realization that you can finally be a normal person again. It makes you feel happier than you've ever been in your life, you feel invincible.
Once you're off of dope for long enough, the high of recovering goes away, and real life and reality start to settle in again. You turn back into the Bob that you always were, before the drugs. And you start to realize that all of the problems you had before it all, all of your hangups, insecurities, all of that, are still there. You aren't some super human, you're just back to being human again, and all that entails, good and bad. And you realize that you will have to struggle every day to avoid becoming the Void again.
That's when the strength of your high is the strength of your low. You remember all the people you hurt, let down, how you let yourself down. You remember what rock bottom really feels like, and all you know is you never want to be there again. It was so horrible that it motivates you to avoid it - at all cost. Your low was so strong, that it has empowered your high.
I can go on and on really. I'm just amazed at the lyrics and even the Sentry story. I don't find much in life that I feel I can truly identify with, but his story, this song, what it's all talking about really hits home.
HTB lyrics can range from utterly nonsensical to incredibly profound. This is certainly some profound shit.