The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane
Jeffrey Lewis Lyrics

It was a night in July, I think six years ago
The singer recalls the setting of the event, which occured six years ago, in July.

Why did I eat the acid? I don't know
The singer wonders why he took acid, and does not know the answer.

I wasn't thinking and I wasn't scared
The singer took the drug without thinking about the consequences and was not scared.

Why did I eat the acid? I wasn't prepared
The singer questions why he took acid, as he was not prepared.

The last time I did acid I went insane
The singer reveals that he went insane the last time he took acid.

I was hanging with some friends just getting loaded
The singer was with friends and using drugs.

When all of a sudden my mind exploded
The singer's mind was suddenly overwhelmed and shook him.

I had a flash that I was gay and I got paranoid
The singer had a sudden, fearful realization that he might be gay and became paranoid.

I was sitting on the floor listening to Pink Floyd
The singer was sitting on the floor and listening to Pink Floyd.

And I was drawing crazy pictures and before I was done
The singer was making crazy drawings that constantly shifted while he was creating them.

The pictures started pulsing like an alien lung
The drawings began to morph and throb in a way that made them seem otherworldly.

And I said "oh my god this is just begun"
The singer realized the trip had only just started and things could still get more intense.

And it was twelve more hours before I was done
The trip lasted for twelve more hours before it ended.

We were up on the rooftop and I’ll tell you the truth
The singer and his friends were on the rooftop during the trip.

I was convinced I'd already fallen off of the roof
Despite not having fallen, the singer believed he had.

And these weird metal things rolling around in outta space were teleporting me from place to place
The singer hallucinated that strange metal objects in space were transporting him between locations.

So we ran back downstairs where it was better to be
The singer and his friends left the roof and went downstairs where it felt safer.

But I was trapped in spiral staircase infinity
The singer felt like he was stuck in an endless spiral staircase that led nowhere.

And when we got to the door I couldn't go inside
After leaving the rooftop, the singer could not bring himself to enter the room they were in.

Cos it was the gates of heaven and I had died
The room's entrance felt like the gates of heaven and the singer felt like he had died and could not enter.

And this kid named Graham he punched a cat in the head
A person named Graham punched a cat while the singer was tripping.

He could read my thoughts, that's what he said
According to Graham, he could read the singer's thoughts during the trip.

And he described what it was like but I didn't believe it
Despite hearing Graham's perspective, the singer did not believe him.

Like lifting a rug and seeing stars beneath it Ooo-ooo
Graham's explanation of what it was like to read the singer's thoughts was like looking beneath a rug and seeing stars, something unbelievable.

And the first rule of tripping was
The singer starts to lay out the rules of tripping.

Don't be with people you don't trust
One of the rules of tripping is to only be with people you trust.

The second rule of LSD
The singer continues discussing rules of tripping, now specifically about LSD.

The rooftop is not a good place to be
Another rule of LSD is to avoid being on a rooftop during a trip.

The third rule is to be prepared
One of the rules of tripping is to be prepared for the experience.

The fourth rule is to not get scared
Another rule of tripping is to avoid getting scared during the experience.

The fifth rule is to stay serene
A rule of tripping is to maintain a sense of serenity and calm during the experience.

Turn off your mind and float downstream
The singer advises the listener to let go of their thoughts and surrender to the experience.

The sixth rule's to have a good friend at hand
Another rule of tripping is to have a good friend present to assist if necessary.

The seventh, I hope that you understand
The final rule is deeper and the singer hopes the listener grasps its meaning.

Is not to look to deep into your soul
The last rule is to not delve too deep into one's own soul or psyche.

Or you might find a hideous, hopeless hole
Looking too deeply into one's soul can reveal a dark, hopeless void.

Of hatred, hunger, infinite, idiot
The dark void one may encounter can be full of negative emotions and cravings.

Mindless, meaningless, nothingness, nothingness
The void is characterized by emptiness and meaningless.

Nothingness, nothingness, nothingness, nothingness
The singer emphasizes the emptiness and meaninglessness of the void.

And that's what I did
The singer admits to looking too deeply into his own soul during the trip.

And every aspect of life that I selected
During the trip, the singer reexamined every aspect of his life.

Was instantly and brutally dissected
Every aspect of the singer's life was analyzed with unforgiving scrutiny.

I saw the horrible emptiness within
The singer saw the hollowness that permeates life.

The reasons behind everything
During the trip, the reasons behind everything became clear to the singer.

And it was at that moment that I went insane
The profound realization that life is meaningless instigated the singer's insanity.

Cos I figured why bother doing anything again
The singer concluded, as a result of the trip, that there was no reason to continue living or engaging with the world.

I didn't understand my thoughts revealing themselves to be
The singer experienced thoughts during the trip which he did not comprehend.

The truth behind everything I'd ever wanted and believed
The thoughts that the singer experienced revealed the truth behind everything he wanted and believed.

Revealed itself to be
The truth behind everything that the singer wanted and believed was revealed.

Unwinding
The truth behind everything the singer wanted and believed was unraveling.

I Stood up
The singer stood up during the trip.

I brushed
The singer brushed himself off.

My head
The singer brushed his head.

I turned
The singer turned his head.

To my right
The singer looked to his right.

All in my eye
The singer saw something with his right eye.

And I said
The singer said something out loud.

There are things which we feel to be so terrifically true
The singer shares a deep insight about things we believe to be true.

That what were all but madness
These beliefs seem insane to most people.

For any good man in his own proper character
A good person, in their right mind, would not believe them.

To utter or even hint of them
It is difficult to share these beliefs because they seem so insane to others.

I've just discovered the meaning of life
The singer claims to have discovered the meaning of life.

I've just discovered the meaning of life
The singer repeats his claim.

I've just discovered the meaning of life
The singer repeats his claim again.

I've just discovered the meaning of life
The singer is convinced he has discovered the meaning of life.