Mood Swing Whiskey
Jeff Buckley Lyrics


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Mood swing whiskey
Drank it all in the morning
Waiting for the dark to move in
Sitting in my step-sister's kitchen
Horseflies on the window sill
Eyes trained on the lemon king
And wishing it were a gun
I'm thinking of our wedding rings
Trapped inside the heater
Spring water on the floor of this
Sex starved room

The nightmare's fires burn
The waves of bliss
I tried to stop it with my hand
I was lost in the kiss
With you

Mood swing whiskey
Your bliss, the actress,
Bliss, the assassin
Bliss, the abyss

Did a crazy shot of whiskey
In about zero to sixty
All I could see was the beer

I face the future with a drink in my right
Eyes to the sparkling gloom
Body naked, afraid, and amazed

Say boost me up to your junkyard paradise
Boost me up to your junkyard paradise
With a sweet-ass photo of you

She cheated, and she lied, and you stole her
Stung my tongue just like
Sweat from her shoulder

Ooh, mood swing whiskey
Your love, the destroyer
Love, the destroyer
Love, love...

Yes mood swing whiskey has my brain
Only you can break this chain
Are you here in my bed again
Can you hear my love again (x4)

Run down the subway station babe
I'm packing my rod
All and present histories erased
I am a punishing god
Mood swing whiskey
Yeah the leaves are made of
Messy things again

And I said this is all the headless acrobats
Faces crushed in the circus dust
All for the law of gravity
And the price of admission

Beautiful loser warm hearts have let you down
Beautiful loser warm hearts have left you
Oh no, you...

I think of mankind in quotation marks
Ever since I took a drink from you
This is for all the headless acrobats
Faces crushed in the circus dust
All in the name of gravity
And the price of admission

Beautiful loser while eyes have let you now
Beautiful loser while eyes have let you now
Cause you're beautiful





I think of mankind in quotation marks
Ever since I took a drink of you

Overall Meaning

In "Mood Swing Whiskey," Jeff Buckley sings about the intense emotions that come with a tumultuous relationship. The singer drinks heavily, and the alcohol seems to fuel his anger and confusion about the woman he loves. He describes feeling trapped by their wedding rings and the heat in the room, as well as the pain of being cheated on. The chorus repeats the phrase "mood swing whiskey," which serves as a metaphor for the ups and downs of the relationship. The song ends with the singer proclaiming himself a "punishing god," feeling powerful but also alone and disconnected from other people.


Throughout the song, Buckley's lyrics contain vivid and often surreal imagery that intensify the emotional landscape of the song. For instance, he describes "the lemon king" and its metamorphosis into a gun, which implies feelings of aggression and danger. He also refers to a "sex starved room," which suggests sexual longing and frustration. Additionally, the repeated image of headless acrobats crushed in circus dust adds a sense of poetic fatalism to the song.


Overall, "Mood Swing Whiskey" is a complex and enigmatic song that explores the dark side of desire and the ways in which intense emotions can be both exhilarating and destructive.


Line by Line Meaning

Mood swing whiskey
The catalyst behind the emotional turbulence being experienced


Drank it all in the morning
Consumed the aforementioned whiskey early in the day


Waiting for the dark to move in
Anticipating the arrival of nightfall


Sitting in my step-sister's kitchen
Positioned in his familial acquaintance's culinary space


Horseflies on the window sill
The presence of the unpleasant insects on the windowsill


Eyes trained on the lemon king
Gaze intently fixed onto a citrus fruit


And wishing it were a gun
Desiring for the fruit to transform into a firearm


I'm thinking of our wedding rings
Recollections of matrimonial bands previously exchanged


Trapped inside the heater
Restricted in the heating apparatus


Spring water on the floor of this
Limbs of liquid present on the flooring in this space


Sex starved room
The locale of prolonged abstinence from sexual acts


The nightmare's fires burn
The inferno of the unpleasant dream rages on


The waves of bliss
The undulating sensation of pleasure


I tried to stop it with my hand
Attempted to impede it manually


I was lost in the kiss
The embrace had entranced the singer


Your bliss, the actress,
The euphoria, now compared to a performer


Bliss, the assassin
The elation, now likened to a killer


Bliss, the abyss
The ecstasy, now identified as a chasm


Did a crazy shot of whiskey
Consumed an unusually potent measure of the spirit


In about zero to sixty
Almost immediately


All I could see was the beer
The only sight available is the malt beverage


I face the future with a drink in my right
Front the impending moments with an alcoholic beverage in the correspondent hand


Eyes to the sparkling gloom
Stare towards the glistening obscurity


Body naked, afraid, and amazed
Physique unclothed, fearful and astounded


Say boost me up to your junkyard paradise
Express desire to be elevated to a disheveled Eden


With a sweet-ass photo of you
Possessing a captivating image of you


She cheated, and she lied, and you stole her
She was unfaithful and deceptive, and you deprived her of something


Stung my tongue just like
Caused the same discomfort as a bite from


Sweat from her shoulder
The perspiration from her bodily joint


Your love, the destroyer
Your affection, the annihilation


Are you here in my bed again
Are you present beside me once more?


Can you hear my love again (x4)
Can you detect my adoration once more?


Run down the subway station babe
Hastily proceed toward the train terminal


I'm packing my rod
Preparing a personal firearm


All and present histories erased
Abliterated all notable and current records


I am a punishing god
Claiming responsibility for retribution


Yeah the leaves are made of
Affirming the components of the leaves


Messy things again
Chaotic components have once more arisen


And I said this is all the headless acrobats
Addressing the absent aerial performers


Faces crushed in the circus dust
Visage impacted and battered by the dirt of the circus floor


All for the law of gravity
All due to the principles dictated by gravity


And the price of admission
In addition to the cost of entrance


Beautiful loser warm hearts have let you down
Commiserating over being deceived by once-compassionate individuals


Beautiful loser warm hearts have left you
Acknowledging another previously-being deserted


I think of mankind in quotation marks
Regarding humanity with cynicism


Ever since I took a drink from you
Since the consumption of your liquid offering




Lyrics Β© Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: MICHAEL TIGHE, JEFF BUCKLEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@LostSoulAscension

This version's Lyrics(interpreted by me):
Moodswing whiskey
Drink it all in the trailer
Waiting for the dark to move in
Sitting in my step sisters kitchen
Horse flies on the window sill
Eyes trained on the lemon peel
And wishing it were a gun
I'm thinking of my wedding ring
Trapped inside the heater
Spring water on the floor of this sex starved room.

Your nightmare falls around me
In waves of bliss
Tried to stop it with my hand, I was lost in a kiss with you,
Moodswing whiskey
Your bliss, the actress, bliss the assassin, bliss the abyss.

Took a sleezy shot of whiskey from zero to sixty,
All I could see was the bill.
I'm singin to a melody, with a drink in my right hand
Eyes sparkling flame and (can't hear)
Said buzz me up to your junkyard paradise.(2x)
Baby I need a sweet ass photo of you.
I cheated and I lied,
And you stole her;
Stung my tongue just like the sweat from her shoulder.
Ooh moodswing whiskey
You love the destroyer(3x)

Yes moodswing whiskey fuck my brain.
Only you could break this chain.
Lend me her in my bed again.
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah oh yeah.(4x)
Go down to the subway station packin a ride.
All unnecessary histories erased.
I am a punishing God,
Moodswing whiskey,
Your prodigal son has returned.

This is for all the headless acrobats,
Faces crushed in the circus dust.
All in the name of gravity and the price of admission.
Beautiful loser, while eyes have let'ch you know.(2x)
Cause youre beautiful,
I think of mankind in quotation marks.
Ever since I took a drink of you.



@LostSoulAscension

This version's Lyrics(interpreted by me):
Moodswing whiskey
Drink it all in the trailer
Waiting for the dark to move in
Sitting in my step sisters kitchen
Horse flies on the window sill
Eyes trained on the lemon peel
And wishing it were a gun
I'm thinking of my wedding ring
Trapped inside the heater
Spring water on the floor of this sex starved room.

Your nightmare falls around me
In waves of bliss
Tried to stop it with my hand, I was lost in a kiss with you,
Moodswing whiskey
Your bliss, the actress, bliss the assassin, bliss the abyss.

Took a sleezy shot of whiskey from zero to sixty,
All I could see was the bill.
I'm singin to a melody, with a drink in my right hand
Eyes sparkling flame and (can't hear)
Said buzz me up to your junkyard paradise.(2x)
Baby I need a sweet ass photo of you.
I cheated and I lied,
And you stole her;
Stung my tongue just like the sweat from her shoulder.
Ooh moodswing whiskey
You love the destroyer(3x)

Yes moodswing whiskey fuck my brain.
Only you could break this chain.
Lend me her in my bed again.
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah oh yeah.(4x)
Go down to the subway station packin a ride.
All unnecessary histories erased.
I am a punishing God,
Moodswing whiskey,
Your prodigal son has returned.

This is for all the headless acrobats,
Faces crushed in the circus dust.
All in the name of gravity and the price of admission.
Beautiful loser, while eyes have let'ch you know.(2x)
Cause youre beautiful,
I think of mankind in quotation marks.
Ever since I took a drink of you.



All comments from YouTube:

@WolfAtTheDoor28

The last line always gets me, "I think of mankind in quotation marks, ever since I took a drink of you." Utterly beautiful, I really love this song. He died a year after I was born,yet a feel really connected to him. Rest in peace, Jeff.

@jemmace2586

One of my favourite Jeff Buckley tunes, it's poetic and raw in angry and disgruntled way, very unique.
Your monicker... One of my favourite Radiohead song's, the best rap I've ever heard, and the drumming. Wow.

@DemonJohn97

This is an absolute masterpiece of a song. It's angry, poetic, mysterious, damn what a poet and artistic juggernaught Jeff was. I wonder if he would have wanted this on that second album. It's probably the Jeff track that has grown on me the most since I first heard it.

@finzband3767

Totally agree - this song both unnerves me and excites me

@Kyle-91

The Memphis demo version that was left off Sketches is incredible. The closest thing there is to a studio recording.

@snoozieboi

One of my top favs, might even be top 3 of his. So good it makes me not worry about dying, but worry about not hearing this song anymore and at the same time try to stay away from it as if I'd wear out the bliss one day.

@malikaaebischer2039

what a song ! what an artist ! can t stop listenning this piece of art...

@charlesscott7782

I cant stop singing it sometimes. tryin. :) Like most of his. :/

@malikaaebischer2039

+charles scott i can relate to what u said :D he was a poet and incredible guitatist with an angel's voice. oh and yes little bonus he was funny smart and handsome as hell. this guy win at the lotery for our biggest pleasure!

@sofianoiti

A masterpiece! We lost a genius. This song could have changed rock music forever. Big loss for the music world.

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