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Mother's Spinning In Her Grave
Jerry Cantrell Lyrics


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Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't save

Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't save
You wouldn't leave it alone
Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't save
You couldn't leave it alone

Glass cuts up your hide
Black mark on your soul
Burning up your life
Feed the glass dick jones

Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't tame
Your need to be the dog
Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't save
The you that's already gone

Glass cuts up your hide
Black mark on your soul
Burning up your life
Feed the glass dick jones

Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't save
You wouldn't leave it alone
Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't tame
Your need to be the dog

Glass cuts up your hide
Black mark on your soul
Burning up your life
Feed the glass dick jones

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jerry Cantrell's song "Mother's Spinning in Her Grave" are filled with intense and vivid imagery that explores themes of addiction, loss, and the destructive nature of human behavior. The song is a haunting and melancholic tribute to the singer's mother who he feels is helpless and powerless to save him from his self-destructive tendencies.


The phrase "Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't save" implies a sense of eternal duty and responsibility that a mother has towards her child. It is a plaintive cry from the singer, acknowledging that his actions are beyond his mother's control even in death. The usage of the phrase 'spinning in her grave' adds to the sense of despair and denotes a restlessness beyond the confines of life and death.


The lines "Glass cuts up your hide, black mark on your soul" convey a sense of physical and emotional damage caused by addiction. The image of feeding "the glass" (drugs) to "Dick Jones" (a reference to the character of the same name from the dystopian movie "Robocop") is a metaphor for an addiction being a cruel and dangerous entity that eventually consumes and destroys everything one holds dear.


Overall, "Mother's Spinning in Her Grave" is a moving and poignant portrayal of a son's struggle with addiction and his mother's helplessness in the face of it.


Line by Line Meaning

Mother's spinning in her grave 'cause she can't save
The mother is turning in her grave because she cannot rescue her child from their destructive behavior.


Glass cuts up your hide
Using drugs, specifically meth, is tearing apart the user's body and causing physical harm.


Black mark on your soul
The addiction is staining the user's soul and causing immense harm to their character and inner self.


Burning up your life
Drug addiction is consuming the user's life, leading to nothing but destruction and pain.


Feed the glass dick jones
The user is repeatedly succumbing to their addiction to meth, which is also known as 'glass,' as if it were a living and insatiable entity.


Your need to be the dog
The user is willingly surrendering their autonomy and self-control to their addiction, becoming passive and enslaved to their urges and impulses.


The you that's already gone
The individual that the drug user used to be, prior to becoming consumed by addiction, has been lost and replaced by someone unrecognizable and consumed by their addiction.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Jerry Cantrell

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Duff787


on Dickeye

It's all about Layne. Jerry was pissed that he recorded with mad season. Born traitor. Layne and Jerry did lots of drugs together. Only thing he came here looking for. Injected concrete is a not so subtle reference to what dealers cut heroin with. Layne frequently shot up between his toes to hide track marks. Hide bloody feet.

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