Metalanarchist
12-06-2002, 10:53 AM
I think the analysis that considers "Sober" a criticism of religion is right on, grounded as it is in the "Jesus" and "Mother Mary" lines. Sobriety in this sense is indeed clearing the mind of mythology and religious fables that are "past and done" and learning to think rationally.
However, I had a friend in college who adopted this song as her favorite because of the negativity it seems to express on the surface, particularly in the "I am just a worthless liar, I am just an imbecile..." verses. She had a tendency to be depressed and beat herself up, and these lyrics for her expressed her poor self-image and nihilistic worldview. I thought it quite sad for her to interpret the line "Why can't we sleep forever" as a wish for death, because her life sucked so much. If we feel we have made many mistakes in life, enough to make us unworthy of any trust ("I will chew [a center in you] up and leave"), who wouldn't want the chance to "start things over"? In this context, the Jesus and Mary lines almost sound like a prayer that's offered even though you know it's hopeless that they could intervene to make things better, or anything other than what's past and done.
One thing that hasn't been touched upon yet is the closing line, "I want what I want." It smacks of a defiant ego, a strong will expressing itself. This could be a good thing for an unassertive person, but more likely may represent how hollow we are inside, and how we crave to fill that hollow (see A Perfect Circle, ha). We will fill it with religion if we feel we can't live without that comfort, or can't learn to think for ourselves outside the boundaries set by religion. Is that why can't we not be sober?
However, I had a friend in college who adopted this song as her favorite because of the negativity it seems to express on the surface, particularly in the "I am just a worthless liar, I am just an imbecile..." verses. She had a tendency to be depressed and beat herself up, and these lyrics for her expressed her poor self-image and nihilistic worldview. I thought it quite sad for her to interpret the line "Why can't we sleep forever" as a wish for death, because her life sucked so much. If we feel we have made many mistakes in life, enough to make us unworthy of any trust ("I will chew [a center in you] up and leave"), who wouldn't want the chance to "start things over"? In this context, the Jesus and Mary lines almost sound like a prayer that's offered even though you know it's hopeless that they could intervene to make things better, or anything other than what's past and done.
One thing that hasn't been touched upon yet is the closing line, "I want what I want." It smacks of a defiant ego, a strong will expressing itself. This could be a good thing for an unassertive person, but more likely may represent how hollow we are inside, and how we crave to fill that hollow (see A Perfect Circle, ha). We will fill it with religion if we feel we can't live without that comfort, or can't learn to think for ourselves outside the boundaries set by religion. Is that why can't we not be sober?