Phil Demmel in an interview with Sonic Excess said:
“Pearls Before Swine”, which was a song about addiction. It was a song without lyrics really for a while, without a concept. We kind of came up with an idea to write about addicts and addiction, when talking to each other and watching Breaking Bad episodes to kind of catch up and start again to see it. (laughs) It’s not a song about hope. It’s just a song about about being in the throes of addiction, in its claws, and a lot of my lyrics are in there. So, there’s a lot of descriptive thoughts of addiction. It’s not a song of hope for sure. It’s not “Stairway to Heaven.” It’s not a song of hope for sure.
Phil Demmel in an interview with Sonic Excess said:
“Pearls Before Swine”, which was a song about addiction. It was a song without lyrics really for a while, without a concept. We kind of came up with an idea to write about addicts and addiction, when talking to each other and watching Breaking Bad episodes to kind of catch up and start again to see it. (laughs) It’s not a song about hope. It’s just a song about about being in the throes of addiction, in its claws, and a lot of my lyrics are in there. So, there’s a lot of descriptive thoughts of addiction. It’s not a song of hope for sure. It’s not “Stairway to Heaven.” It’s not a song of hope for sure.
http://www.sonicexcess.com/machine_head_interview2011.html