Spasmolytic
Deftones Lyrics


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Making time in a low rent highrise
No place to go downtown

Crushing crucifixion
Particles aching
Harmful descent

Take a shot and hide
Subway slam dance
Stale mattress
Slow throb bloating

Freshly open grave
Barefoot beggar
Barefoot beggar
Freshly open grave

Knotted finger
Turning pages in a book descending
No noise
The great trees fall

Calmly through the window see
Backward elevation
Faded spirit of the gold toothed whore
Moon dances wondering how could this ever be

Kicking the habit (x4)

Possession in the flesh
Loves made up melancholy
Kicking the habit
Kicking the habit

Trip back and unleash all anger
Emerging from the waterfall
Branch fork horse rear
Snorted downward a vulgar desire

Playing cards conjured on
Fly blown dimly lit
Round a room of shadows
Claw the side phantom pinches
Waking from a dream
Half eaten candy from some disordered heaven

Swirling tastes
Fornicate
Rotted meat
Swirling tastes
Fornicate
Rotted meat

A nested virus feeds eating dish
Aging
She sits alone in the worry shes created
More time put aside
Sorry, I'm fucked up inside
Holy hatred





Kicking the habit (x6)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Deftones’ “Spasmolytic” paint a bleak picture of life in a low rent, highrise building with no escape to the downtown scene. The crushing crucifixion and harmful descent are physical and emotional sensations experienced by the singer, who is turning to drugs and the subway slam dance to numb the pain. The stale mattress and slow throb bloating represent the mundane and suffocating qualities of life in such a confined space. The image of the freshly open grave and barefoot beggar suggest the singer is so desperate for relief that he is willing to undertake risky and harmful activities to achieve it. The voice of the singer switches momentarily with the knotted finger turning pages, suggesting the tone is introspective, reflective even. Then comes the line “kicking the habit” which is repeated often throughout the song as a kind of mantra, a quest to escape the vicious cycle of addiction, but the pursuit is elusive. The graphic and vivid imagery in the song describes the torment, the physical pain, and the mental struggle that those who are addicted can relate to.


Line by Line Meaning

Making time in a low rent highrise
Managing time in a cheap residential building with no good options in the city


No place to go downtown
No destination available in the city center


Crushing crucifixion
Experiencing intense pain


Particles aching
Small pieces of the body are in pain


Harmful descent
Falling into a harmful situation


Take a shot and hide
Drink alcohol and avoid reality


Subway slam dance
Dancing on the subway aggressively


Stale mattress
An old, uncomfortable bed


Slow throb bloating
A slow and painful swelling sensation


Freshly open grave
A recently dug, unused grave


Barefoot beggar
A person who begs for money without shoes


Knotted finger
A finger with a knot or tangle in it


Turning pages in a book descending
Flipping through pages in a book and feeling increasingly depressed


No noise
Complete silence


The great trees fall
The destruction of nature


Calmly through the window see
Watching something calmly through a window


Backward elevation
An unnatural rise in the opposite direction


Faded spirit of the gold toothed whore
A prostitute with a missing or worn out gold tooth who has lost her vitality


Moon dances wondering how could this ever be
The moon is in motion and wondering how something could ever happen


Kicking the habit (x4)
Stopping an addiction


Possession in the flesh
Being overtaken by a physical entity or condition


Loves made up melancholy
A feeling of sadness created by love


Trip back and unleash all anger
Going back in time and releasing all pent up anger


Emerging from the waterfall
Coming out on the other side of a difficult situation


Branch fork horse rear
A horse rearing up with a forked tree branch nearby


Snorted downward a vulgar desire
Experiencing a shameful or disgusting desire


Playing cards conjured on
Starting to play cards that were brought out of nowhere


Fly blown dimly lit
A poorly lit room with flies buzzing around


Round a room of shadows
Being surrounded by shadows in a dark room


Claw the side phantom pinches
Feeling a phantom pain in the side


Waking from a dream
Becoming conscious after sleeping and dreaming


Half eaten candy from some disordered heaven
A partially consumed sweet treat from an unorganized and chaotic divine realm


Swirling tastes
Sensations of flavor swirling in the mouth


Fornicate
Engage in sexual activity


Rotted meat
Decomposed animal flesh


A nested virus feeds eating dish
A virus within the body is growing and spreading, feeding off of a substance within the digestive system


Aging
Getting older with time


She sits alone in the worry shes created
A woman is sitting by herself, in a state of anxiety that she has caused


More time put aside
Allocating more time for something in the future


Sorry, I'm fucked up inside
Apologizing for feeling emotionally unstable


Holy hatred
A feeling of extreme anger or frustration




Contributed by Layla C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

MIKE MOORE

I remember playing this on the way to score in the 90s,in the days when you got it handed to you through the window of your car, and the sick being lifted by the mere feel of a bundle in the cold sweaty palm of your hand

Honky Dong

i dunno what you mean personally, but i'll give you a thumbs up cuz that's grimey as fuck.

Jetpack Gamer

DAMN THAT GUITAR RIFF KILLS

roy

goth strip club music is my favorite genre

korqatt

BEST GENRE

Sister Void

Eerie. I love it

Tiffany Adair

This slaps!

Antony Stark

Trippy, very trippy !
💀

QuestioningEverything

Def getting the groove going sone hardcore sex grind right here love s. P. So much nivek is a god

ng 024

Is there any info out there on who actually worked on this track? I mean are we to assume that the deftones, as a band, went into the studio and fiddled around until this was the result?

I've tried googling it and come up with pretty much nothing but that doesn't mean that the info isn't out there, it just means that google is crap.

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