Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_the_Well_(band)
Studio albums
The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation (1999)
Tear From the Red (2001)
You Come Before You (2003)
Versions (2007)
The Tropic Rot (2009)
Soma
Poison the Well Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And all I've left to do
Is run away from you
And she led me on
Down with secrets I can't keep
Close your eyes and sleep
Don't wait up for me
To me
Wrapped my hurt in you
And took my shelter in that pain
The opiate of blame
Is your broken heart, your heart
So now I'm all by myself
As I've always felt
I'll betray my tears
To anyone caught
In our ruse of fools
One last kiss for me, yeah
One last kiss, good night
Didn't want to lose you once again
Didn't want to be your friend
Fulfilled a promise made of tin
And crawled back to you
I'm all by myself
As I've always felt
I'll betray myself
To anyone lost
Anyone but you
So let the sadness come again
On that you can depend on me, yeah
Until the bitter, bitter end of the world, yeah
When God sleeps in bliss
And I'm all by myself
As I've always felt
And I'll betray myself
To anyone
The lyrics to Poison the Well's song "Soma" capture the complex emotions of a failed relationship. The singer has nothing left to say and feels like he must run away from the person he once loved. The song suggests that he has been hurt and has been unable to find shelter from that pain. Instead, he's relied on the "opiate of blame" which is his broken heart. The relationship has devolved into a ruse of fools, and the singer is filled with sadness.
The lyrics are emotionally charged and show the relationship's discontent. The singer is full of pain, hurt, and sadness. At the same time, he's conflicted about his emotions and wants to protect the person he's leaving. He tells her to close her eyes and sleep and not wait up for him. He'll betray himself to anyone but her, indicating that his loyalty remains intact to the person he's leaving. The song ends on a somber note with the singer accepting his isolation and admitting that he'll betray himself to anyone but her.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothing left to say
There's nothing more to say between us.
And all I've left to do
I've done everything that I could have done.
Is run away from you
I need to escape from you and this situation.
And she led me on
Someone else led me to believe that we could be happy together.
Down with secrets I can't keep
I am burdened by secrets that I cannot confide in you.
Close your eyes and sleep
You don't need to worry about me anymore. Just rest and let me go.
Don't wait up for me
I won't be coming back, so don't bother staying up for me.
Hush now don't you speak
There's no need to say anything more. Let's just let this be.
Wrapped my hurt in you
I trusted you with my pain and you used it against me.
And took my shelter in that pain
I found comfort in the hurt you shared with me, but it was only temporary.
The opiate of blame
We both used blame as a way to numb our pain and avoid taking responsibility.
Is your broken heart, your heart
Your own heartbreak is the source of your need to blame and hurt others.
So now I'm all by myself
I am alone, but it's not a new feeling.
As I've always felt
This feeling of loneliness is familiar to me.
I'll betray my tears
I won't let myself cry in front of others anymore.
To anyone caught
Anyone who gets too close to me and makes me vulnerable.
In our ruse of fools
We were both playing a game, pretending that our love was real when it wasn't.
One last kiss for me, yeah
This is the end. Just one last fleeting moment before it's over.
One last kiss, good night
I'm saying goodbye, but not in a way that feels final.
Didn't want to lose you once again
I didn't want to go through the pain of losing you a second time.
Didn't want to be your friend
I can't just be friends with you after everything we've been through.
Fulfilled a promise made of tin
I kept the promise I made to you, but it was hollow and worthless.
And crawled back to you
I gave in to my own weakness and came back to you, even though I knew it was a mistake.
So let the sadness come again
I know that the sadness will inevitably return.
On that you can depend on me, yeah
I will always be there for you, even if it hurts me too.
Until the bitter, bitter end of the world, yeah
I will keep my promise until the very end, no matter how long it takes.
When God sleeps in bliss
The world is at peace, and everything is finally calm and still.
And I'm all by myself
I am alone once more, but this time it feels final.
And I'll betray myself
I will continue to hurt myself by holding onto this pain.
To anyone
I will hurt myself before I allow anyone else to hurt me like you did.
Contributed by Jayden G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.