Best remembered for their 1993 single "No Rain", the group enjoyed critical and commercial success in the early 1990s with their neo-psychedelic take on alternative rock. The 1995 death of lead vocalist Shannon Hoon halted the band's activity, and the members went on hiatus until officially disbanding in 1999. The band reformed with new lead vocalist Travis Warren in 2006, and although Warren departed two years later, he has since resumed performing with the band.
Wilt
Blind Melon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You should have jumped a couple of cars before
Now if I may I'll walk away
I'm selling Silly Putty door to door
And up on the shelf it seems to help
If I can keep a little bit of disease
As its feeding on me
You see it's bringing me to my knees
As we all wilt
Watching you wilt
Come right away and help me bathe away
The filthy feeling, frigid and cold
Biting my nails to the fairy tales
About the magic monkey's total control
See I got Indian Ken and his fleabag friends
With their buckets full of elephant ears
And he's breathing on me
His breath is bringing me to my knees
As we all wilt
Watching you wilt
Pea green the feeling
Blind Melon’s song “Wilt” appears to be a commentary on the struggles of life and how experiences can weigh someone down over time. In the first verse, the singer describes someone who is “much too late”, having missed their chance to do something great. They are left selling a mundane product, Silly Putty, and are struggling with illness. The disease they are fighting is taking a toll on them, bringing them to their knees. This is a metaphor for the weight of emotional and physical burdens in life that can feel overwhelming.
The chorus repeats the word “wilt”, which implies that everyone is struggling with these burdens in their own way. The second verse introduces a new character, Indian Ken, and his friends with elephant ears. There is a sense of magic in their presence, but the singer is still struggling with a “filthy feeling” and biting their nails while hearing fairy tales. The visceral reactions indicate that they are tormented by their experiences and are struggling to find a way out.
Overall, the song “Wilt” showcases Blind Melon’s ability to convey difficult emotions through the combination of lyrics and music. The repetition of “wilt” creates a sense of unification in the struggle, while the vivid imagery and metaphorical language add depth to the meaning behind the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Hair raising shake you're much too late
You missed your chance to do something exciting and now it's too late
You should have jumped a couple of cars before
You should have taken risks earlier when you had the opportunity
Now if I may I'll walk away
I'm going to step back from this situation
I'm selling Silly Putty door to door
I'm doing something mundane and uninteresting
And up on the shelf it seems to help
Keeping a small amount of something negative can be helpful
If I can keep a little bit of disease
A small amount of sickness can be useful to build immunity
As it's feeding on me
Allowing something negative to consume me
You see it's bringing me to my knees
It's overwhelming and making me feel powerless
As we all wilt
As we all weaken and diminish in some way
Watching you wilt
Observing someone else's decline
Come right away and help me bathe away
Help me wash off this distasteful feeling
The filthy feeling, frigid and cold
The unpleasant sensation is cold and miserable
Biting my nails to the fairy tales
Obsessively worrying and clinging to false hope
About the magic monkey's total control
A belief in the power of an imaginary creature to change things
See I got Indian Ken and his fleabag friends
I have some unsavory acquaintances
With their buckets full of elephant ears
Carrying something useless and irrelevant
And he's breathing on me
Someone unpleasant is getting too close to me
His breath is bringing me to my knees
It's absolutely repulsive and overwhelming
Pea green the feeling
A sickly and nauseating sensation
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Glen Graham, Shannon Hoon, Brad Smith, Thomas Stevens, Christopher Thorn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@CCelsius
This song brings back so many memories from my childhood IT HITS DIFFERENT
@olemiss8712
thanks, thats why these guys are my fav. there songs never sounded the same. you dont find bands or singers like this anymore. rare talent.
@hernanschivalocchi2372
Uno de los mejores temas de esta emblemática banda y de las que podían ser de las mejores de la historia, sin dudas.
@4kirin4
TWO GUITAR GENIUS
@newrealization12
These lyrics are so energetic and wacky. I get a high just singing along to those verses!
@yousaypotatoandisay3
feelin a led zep vibe and likin it
@tjl8884
wow the guitar work is brilliant..love the intro riff
@saintjames7106
Added to the Covid 19 playlist. 2020
@kaeleenorwalt9254
trippy vibe
@michaelpal5807
Watching you Wilt!! We all watched Shannon Hoon Wilt into ADDICTION!!! Awesome song just sad all the lyrics on Soup were getting Darker!! Love the album just sucks that Shannon was deteriorating right before our eyes!! Such a Beautiful Man with a BEAUTIFUL SOUL and Spirit!!!