I know this take is probably very wrong, but literally every time I hear this song it sounds like it's about the Vietnam War.
Drug use was really, really rampant during the war among soldiers, and why many who came back from the war became homeless.
The song's main guitar riff kind of evokes a sense of paranoia and dread when I listen to it, and the lyrics seem to be talking from the perspective of a soldier who wants to support his country because of what he's taught, but getting swept up in the carnage of guerilla warfare and has turned to heavy drug use for relief from pain, lack of sleep, excessive anxiety, etc.
"In the jungle you can sleep, with the commandments at your feet, where the devil lays his hand."
Soldiers often could not sleep at night in Vietnam due to needing to constantly be hypervigiliant. Laying the commandments at your feet refers to soldiers carrying bibles with them as a sort of totem of protection.
"You don't even need to think. I'm tearing holes without a sink. But I know just where I stand."
You don't need to think in the military. You just need to follow orders. As long as you believe your convictions are 'just,' the government will take responsibility for what you do.
"Lines from the story you put before me. I don't know what to choose."
Many Americans believed that the intervention in Vietnam and Cambodia was not justified, and just made the situation much worse. Many soldiers expressed being very conflicted and confused as to why they should even be there.
"Under the oak tree, tin all around me, I don't know what to prove."
The narrator is taking shelter under tin plates for protection against gunfire as he's trying to sleep.
"Yeah! She! Felt! You! Felt! Like! Hell!"
A cryptic line, but if I had to guess, perhaps a personification of a drug like heroin calling to him because of how addictive it is. Just an absolute guess here.
"And I'll be waiting for a hit, yeah. Ain't gonna seem fair tonight. And I'll keep having other fits, yeah. Because it makes me feel alright."
An obvious drug reference, as any stoner knows what it means to 'take a hit' of anything. And 'having other fits' refers to withdrawal symptoms.
So if you should need a hand, write down the address of the land. But I'm running out of time."
The narrator strongly believes they are not going to come back from the war alive.
"I'll tell you when it's time to leave."
Either the jungle itself does not want the narrator to be able to leave, or the drugs are telling the narrator that they will only be able to stop using whenever the drugs say so.
"Can't do without me like I could."
Likely another addiction reference from the perspective of a drug personified.
"You're never gonna get clean."
One of the last lines that kinda hammers home the point. Drug problems followed many Vietnam veterans home, compounding with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, which made them want to continue using drugs more.
I know this is a weird take, but try giving the song a listen with this framing in mind.
I know this take is probably very wrong, but literally every time I hear this song it sounds like it's about the Vietnam War.
Drug use was really, really rampant during the war among soldiers, and why many who came back from the war became homeless.
The song's main guitar riff kind of evokes a sense of paranoia and dread when I listen to it, and the lyrics seem to be talking from the perspective of a soldier who wants to support his country because of what he's taught, but getting swept up in the carnage of guerilla warfare and has turned to heavy drug use for relief from pain, lack of sleep, excessive anxiety, etc.
"In the jungle you can sleep, with the commandments at your feet, where the devil lays his hand."
Soldiers often could not sleep at night in Vietnam due to needing to constantly be hypervigiliant. Laying the commandments at your feet refers to soldiers carrying bibles with them as a sort of totem of protection.
"You don't even need to think. I'm tearing holes without a sink. But I know just where I stand."
You don't need to think in the military. You just need to follow orders. As long as you believe your convictions are 'just,' the government will take responsibility for what you do.
"Lines from the story you put before me. I don't know what to choose."
Many Americans believed that the intervention in Vietnam and Cambodia was not justified, and just made the situation much worse. Many soldiers expressed being very conflicted and confused as to why they should even be there.
"Under the oak tree, tin all around me, I don't know what to prove."
The narrator is taking shelter under tin plates for protection against gunfire as he's trying to sleep.
"Yeah! She! Felt! You! Felt! Like! Hell!"
A cryptic line, but if I had to guess, perhaps a personification of a drug like heroin calling to him because of how addictive it is. Just an absolute guess here.
"And I'll be waiting for a hit, yeah. Ain't gonna seem fair tonight. And I'll keep having other fits, yeah. Because it makes me feel alright."
An obvious drug reference, as any stoner knows what it means to 'take a hit' of anything. And 'having other fits' refers to withdrawal symptoms.
So if you should need a hand, write down the address of the land. But I'm running out of time."
The narrator strongly believes they are not going to come back from the war alive.
"I'll tell you when it's time to leave."
Either the jungle itself does not want the narrator to be able to leave, or the drugs are telling the narrator that they will only be able to stop using whenever the drugs say so.
"Can't do without me like I could."
Likely another addiction reference from the perspective of a drug personified.
"You're never gonna get clean."
One of the last lines that kinda hammers home the point. Drug problems followed many Vietnam veterans home, compounding with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, which made them want to continue using drugs more.
I know this is a weird take, but try giving the song a listen with this framing in mind.
[Edit: For better wording, I guess?]