"Chemical Addiction"
I was only 15, standout on the Ave.
You're chasing a bad dream, a luxury I never had.
Living my life in the box, or sleepin in the trash.
Taking girls for the things I need, like booze, drugs, and
ass.
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone.
Yeah, our teens meant everything, alright.
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black.
Death trap, watch me going blind, oh.
I don't care what you say, or what you do...
Chemical addiction is getting rid of you.
So high, colors turn to sound
Goodbye, let us in and we'll lay you in the ground
Chosen on the floor, take another drag
Bought a bunch of valiums from some skinny broadway hag.
I don't know much about heroin, but I, I wanna try
Just about everything once before I die.
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone.
Yeah, our teens meant everything, alright.
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black
Death trap, watch me going blind, ah
I don't care what you say,
Or what you do,
Chemical addictioni is getting rid of you.
So high, colors turn to sound
Goodbye, let us in and we'll lay you to the ground.
Now Jerry, do me like this...
Get stoned, daily survival in the war zone.
Yeah, our teens meant everything, alright.
Half rack, smoking out till it's all black;
Death trap, watch me going blind...oh.
This is one of the first tracks off of the album "Heroin",
which was unreleased by any major record company, but was probably distributed sometime in '87 or '88 while the band was just
beginning to make a name for itself. Here we see the formation of Layne's most definate anti-drug message. From the very
beginning, it seems, Layne knew the consequences of his mistakes, and set out on a musical quest to enlighten others out there
who neither knew, nor cared, nor understood.
"I Can't Remember"
Turn around, you say
'Scuse the 'tude, but I haven't eaten today
And my eyes are turning grey
--What's your name?--
I...can't remember
Bring me down, you try
Feel the pain and keep it all in till you die
Without eyes, you cannot cry
--Who's to blame?--
I...can't...
Remember identity,
The vision's in my mind from screamin' at me
And Mama, Mama oooohhh...my angry brains of infancy
Knocked down but I have enough hate to breathe
Down your throat and steal your energy
Took everything but my will to be
Now the loss of your god won't make me bleed...
I am alive.
This particular song, taken from 1989's
"Facelift" may be the first (other than "Real Thing") to fully depict Layne grappling head-on with addiction through his music,
and the first to reveal his eloquent gift for expressing tumultous emotion with pen, paper, and vocals. His choice of
words is very deliberate and well-thought out; the better to paint a well-intended picture of intense confusion, frustration,
rage, and pain.
This next song is one of my absolute favorites. I would
describe it as one of Layne's more definitive works, as it quite prominently defines Layne's intense regret at having
made "a big mistake."
"Would?"
Know me, broken by my master...
Teach thee on child of love hereafter
Into the flood again
Same old trip it was back then
So I made a big mistake
Try to see it once my way
Drifting body, it's sole desertion
Flying? Not yet, quite the notion.
Into the flood again,
Same old trip it was back then...
So I made a big mistake...try to see it once my way.
Am I wrong?
Have I run to far to get home?
Am I gone?
Left you here alone?
(Repeat)
If I Would, Could You?
I think this is one of the most definitve Alice In Chains
peices I have ever heard. Think about it. There's a question he asks in this peice. And that is this: If I could
quit...If I could give up this addiction and become a whole, happy, healthy person again...could you? WOULD you? This
makes sense considering the song is about Andrew Wood, of Mother Love Bone who passed away of an overdose. Also, this song
is credited to Jerry Cantrell. I put this up because many people have corrected me on it, so its only fair to give him the
credit he deserves. Thanks, guys.
