Slipknot is well known for its attention-grabbing image, aggressive style of music, and energetic and chaotic live shows. The band rapidly rose to fame following the release of their eponymous debut album in 1999. The 2001 follow-up album, Iowa, although darker in tone, made the band more popular. After a brief hiatus, Slipknot returned in 2004 with Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses, before going on another hiatus and returning in 2008 with its fourth album, All Hope Is Gone, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. After another long hiatus, Slipknot released its fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter, in 2014. Their sixth studio album, We Are Not Your Kind, was released on August 9, 2019. Their seventh studio album, The End, So Far, was released on September 30, 2022. The band has released two live albums titled 9.0: Live and Day of the Gusano: Live in Mexico, a compilation album titled Antennas to Hell, and five live DVDs. The band has sold 30 million records worldwide.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipknot_(band)
Studio albums
Slipknot (1999)
Iowa (2001)
Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (2004)
All Hope Is Gone (2008)
.5: The Gray Chapter (2014)
We Are Not Your Kind (2019)
The End, So Far (2022)
Heartache and a Pair of Scissors
Slipknot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before I cut my heart open and let the air out
Three bugs, a pound of dust
Some wind spilled before me
In the strangest manner that had broke away my tear spout
As I lie there with my tongue spread wide open
A black widow had offered me a sweetheart tube
She said don't hesitate, just do what you have to do to me
It's hard to stay between the lines of skin
Just 'cause I have nerves, don't mean that I can feel
I wasn't very much fun to be with anyway
Just let the blood run red 'cause I can't feel
It's hard to stay between the lines of skin
Just 'cause I have nerves, don't mean that I can feel
I wasn't very much fun to be with anyway
Just let the blood run red 'cause I can't feel
Biding my time until the time is right...
Biding my time until the time is right...
Biding my time until the time is right...
Biding my time, its time
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time, its time
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time, its time
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time until the time is right
Biding my time, its time
Biding (my time)
Biding (my time)
Biding (my time)
Biding
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
Someone in behind me...
Someone inside me...
Everyone, against me...
Everyone beside me...
Clawing away the pieces...
Scratching away the abscess...
One more, two more
Everyone once more
One more, two more
Everyone once more
Inside the faces that I hide from you
I want to see you displayed before me
You are the only one that I would rather see
Before me
You want it, you need it
You want it, you need it
You want it, you need it
You want it, you need it
Don't lie
I die, you lie
I lie? Oh why
I don't want you to pay anyone when I die
I wanna die
I'd rather die
I wanna die
You purge
You burn
You purge
I don't need you anymore
I don't need you
Yeah
No time
No time
No time
No time
No time
Lemme lie
Lemme die
Lemme die
No time
No time
No time
No time
"Heartache and a Pair of Scissors" is a song by Slipknot that showcases the band's blend of heavy metal and industrial elements. The lyrics are poetic and emotional, but also somewhat cryptic. The first verse refers to the singer acting as a "doctor" by cutting his heart open, an act that he compares to letting out the air from a tire. He then describes finding a black widow spider that offers him a "sweetheart tube" which he injects with a "candy heart." The second verse seems to be from the perspective of the spider or another person, urging the singer to take action. The chorus repeats the phrase "It's hard to stay between the lines of skin / Just 'cause I have nerves, don't mean that I can feel / I wasn't very much fun to be with anyway / Just let the blood run red 'cause I can't feel," which could be interpreted as a commentary on self-harm or numbness.
The song becomes more chaotic in the later verses, with references to someone behind, inside, against, and beside the singer, and frantic repetition of the phrase "One more, two more / Everyone once more." The lyrics also touch on themes of death, purging, and wanting to die. The song ends on the repeated phrase "No time / Lemme lie / Lemme die," which could be seen as a plea for release or a desire for oblivion.
Line by Line Meaning
I play doctor for five minutes flat
I try to fix myself in a quick and careless manner
Before I cut my heart open and let the air out
Before opening myself up to the world and showing my emotional pain
Three bugs, a pound of dust
My insignificant existence as a small, dirty creature
Some wind spilled before me
Unexpected changes, throwing me off balance
In the strangest manner that had broke away my tear spout
In a weird way that made me lose any capability of crying
As I lie there with my tongue spread wide open
As I expose myself to someone else, ready to take any action
A black widow had offered me a sweetheart tube
A dangerous, tempting option has presented itself
As I injected the candy heart that I selected
As I take a dangerous and self-destructive decision
She said don't hesitate, just do what you have to do to me
A voice of temptation and encouragement, that feeds on my self-destructive tendencies
It's hard to stay between the lines of skin
It's hard to remain in one's own boundaries and to maintain order and proper behavior
Just 'cause I have nerves, don't mean that I can feel
Even though I am alive and have emotions, I still struggle to feel happiness or pleasure
I wasn't very much fun to be with anyway
I'm not particularly entertaining company, even to myself
Just let the blood run red 'cause I can't feel
Let my destructive tendencies take the wheel, as I have lost ability to feel anything else
Biding my time until the time is right...
Waiting for the perfect moment to take action and make a change
Inside the faces that I hide from you
The secret inner thoughts and emotions that I refuse to let others see
I want to see you displayed before me
I long for a way to see my own dark thoughts and emotions mirrored in the outside world
You want it, you need it
You crave the same as I do, to indulge in our self-destructive tendencies
Don't lie
Don't pretend that you're any different than me
I don't need you anymore
I have reached a point where I don't want to rely on any external factors to help me
Lemme lie
Let me continue to pretend, distort the truth and avoid reality
Lemme die
Let me be consumed by my destructive tendencies and slowly die inside
I wanna die
I soothe myself with the thought of death, as I cannot find any other way out
You purge
You try to remove yourself from the destructive cycle, but fail
You burn
You harm yourself in trying to escape, but still stay captive within the cycle
Yeah
A statement of affirmation, yet also despair
No time
No time left to fix the situation
Biding
Waiting for the perfect moment to take control
You
A direct addressing of the reader or listener, acknowledging their presence in the destructive cycle
Someone in behind me...
A hint of paranoia, feeling like someone or something is always lurking behind
Someone inside me...
A realization that the destructive tendencies are within the self
Everyone, against me...
The feeling that the whole world is out to get the self and prevent change from happening
Everyone beside me...
The presence of others, but feeling entirely alone in the struggle towards change
Clawing away the pieces...
The self-destructive tendencies slowly ripping apart any semblance of hope
Scratching away the abscess...
Trying to remove the infected and festering wounds, yet not succeeding
One more, two more
One moment at a time, one step at a time, slowly making progress towards change
Everyone once more
Every person has the opportunity to change, but this may require taking hard and undesirable paths
Contributed by Charlie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
James Smith
on Snuff
This song helped me cope with a heartbreak and it was not until then that I felt the same pain as Corey Taylor