Lyric discussion by Scout21 

Cover art for Essence lyrics by Lucinda Williams

Man, this song is as raw as they come. So much need and hunger for this lover expressed in its total earthiness. The essence is clearly the lover's cum, no two ways about it. And the narrator is so in need of it, that she waits for him wherever he goes. Even hanging outside his house, following him to his favorite bar, sitting in her car, so damn needy.

But yeah, "Shoot your love into my veins" and "Even though you flirt with death".... these lines suggest a different kind of neediness. So it's easy to transpose a hooker/pimp relationship onto this. Real easy, in fact.

What makes this song work is that the meaning of that essence swims from one to the other, like Roxy Music's "Love is the Drug." Love can have a neutralizing narcotic effect that causes some to debase themselves for it.

Mixed
Subjective
Mixed
Raw
Need
Lover
Desperation
Narcotic

@Scout21 It changes the whole thought when you make a mistake in quoting it. It’s not veins, it’s vein. Yes, that vein. Not the one in your arm.