| Alanis Morissette – Thank U Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| "How bout them transparent dangling carrots?" is my favortite line. Her words do sound off when you first hear them but if you think about it, they make perfect sense. What do people attach to horses heads to keep them walking? Carrots dangling infront of their noises, as they move so do the carrots- they are after the carrot but it keeps them going. In life we have transparent dangling carrots- something always infront of us to keep us going. Something we tie ourselves to so we always have hope and never give up. | |
| Linkin Park – Breaking The Habit Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Deadly Depression Linkin Park’s song Breaking the Habit describes a human being dealing with depression. The song does not directly state whether a man or woman feels the emotions in the song, however by the author’s word choice and overall tone it implies a man. The title, Breaking the Habit, refers to the overall ending of this certain man’s life. He finally breaks the habitual nature of his depression by dying. At times he is on an emotional high and then when something triggers his depression he hits rock bottom. The lyrics, “I don’t want to be the one the battles always choose,” appear several times throughout the song. With the word “battles” as a metaphor for depression, it not only refers back to the inner struggles the man faces, but it supports the common theme through the entire song. Depression, while undesirable, results in the ultimate fatality. In the beginning of the song he says, “Memories consume like opening the wound, I’m picking me apart again.” This line leads the reader to believe the man constantly refers to old times and lives in the past. Memories of the good times flood over his mind and haunt him and he drops to an emotional rock bottom. Defeat settles in. He becomes a victim of the “battles” once again. He longs for the time when he was happy. He longs for things to be like they were before something detrimental stepped in and depression took over his life. The symbolic line “ I don’t want to be the one the battles always choose,” supports and describes the man’s insistency of not wanting to be the one depression chooses. He does not want to be the one depression lays the black cloud on. “I don’t know what’s worth fighting for or why I have to scream,” shows that he has no life force or drive. Every reader will know how it feels to scream. The author relates the reader with the man and causes an automatic bond to tie through common actions and feelings. Through the bond the author creates, the song becomes more meaningful and powerful. He states, “You all assume, I’m safe here in my room, unless I try to start again.” The word usage of room is a metaphor for his brain and the lurking memories resurfacing. Everyone assumes nothing afflicts him because of the mask he puts on everyday to hide his pain. The lyric “I don’t know why I instigate,” refers to the probing of his mind of the memories and it resulting in bringing himself down. He cannot understand why he wonders into his mind and relives all his old memories when he knows it makes him feel worse. “I don’t know how I got this way, I know its not alright,” shouts to the reader that the man in the story feels helpless and lost. He cannot figure out how depression crept upon him. The hurtful memories and depression knock on his door everyday looking for a place to dwell. He recognizes that the average person does not feel the way he does. Overwhelming “confused” feelings do not depict a normal person. Once and for all he decides that he will break the habit tonight. The punctuating and repetitive usage of “tonight” enforces the idea that he is fed up with depression and that once and for all it will end tonight. The line “Clutching my cure,” symbolizes the clutching of his weapon he has chosen to kill himself with. This line, “I try to catch my breath again,” proves that depression not only weakens him emotionally it tears him down physically. The author accomplishes in transferring the pain of the man to a reader successfully by using a simple sensation that every reader will have felt in his or her lifetime. The idea of trying to catch one’s breath gives the reader a taste of the man’s feeling of desperation. “I hurt much more than any time before. I have no options left,” implies that the only solution left is suicide. With “no options left” his useless life becomes wasteful. He has no one to turn to. His memories have flooded and infused his brain to the point of no return. He has hit rock bottom so forcefully that he’d rather die than live in the past. “I’ll paint it on the walls cause I’m the one at fault,” means that he knows his faults are an enormous disturbance and illness. By “painting on the walls” he will shed his own blood and leave it on the wall for all to see. When something is in writing it has more validity and it is not as easily changed or taken away. Killing himself and leaving a stain on the wall places his death in stone for the world to finally realize that his suffering is over. In the line, “I’ll never fight again,” a good deal of emphasis is placed on the word “never” meaning that never will that inner battle attack him and kill again. He states “and this is how it ends,” concluding that he is done, he is over, he is no longer subject to pain. The endless ruthlessness of his depression sends him over the edge into the black void. The last line of the song simply states, “Tonight…” symbolizing the man’s death. It trails off leaving the reader with a taste of how deadly depression can be to one’s life. Throughout the song a few certain lyrics repeat themselves. In the world of music, they would represent the chorus. However they unconsciously describe the nature of depression. Depression is a wicked and unforgiving cycle, always following a similar pattern. It comes and goes, dropping anyone under the black cloud to an emotional rock bottom and bringing them back up for a few euphoric moments of happiness. Much like the depression comes and goes so does the chorus. The chorus lines, “ I don’t know what’s worth fighting for or why I have to scream. I don’t know why I instigate and say what I don’t mean. I don’t know how I got this way. I know it’s not alright, so I’m breaking the habit, I’m breaking the habit tonight…” follow the same pattern of depression. The author accomplishes in painting a gruesome and moody scene throughout the song to give the reader a true feeling of how undesirable depression really is; however, the author leaves the reader with another lingering thought. Did the man conquer depression or did depression conquer the man? |
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