"White Slavery" is referring to Type O Negative's lead singer Peter Steele … Read Full Bio ↴"White Slavery" is referring to Type O Negative's lead singer Peter Steele and his experiences as a relapsing cocaine addict. Type O's earlier albums (Origin Of The Feces, Slow Deep and Hard) promoted violence, drug abuse, and suicide. Peter Steele strays from that tone with "White Slavery"; the lyrics actually contain anti drug references such as "Let me say pepsi generation, a few lines of misinformation, watch your money flow away oh so quick, to kill yourself properly coke is it!"
He includes vivid and accurate descriptions of the depths of a cocaine binge and come down; such as "I make a call so far to fall, restless craving, inundating."
Years after World Coming Down was released Peter Steele was served jail time and sent to involuntary drug rehab after being committed by his own family. On their 2007 album Dead Again, Peter indirectly references this experience in the song "Tripping A Blind Man."

White Slavery
Type O Negative Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I make a call
So far to fall
Restless craving
Inundating

The summer snow
but it's not cold
Once it's tested

thus infected

I've lost myself again
I've lost myself again
It's a nightmare
But it's clear
It will end but when?

The break of day
I rot away
With every breath
I pray for death

Let me say
Pepsi Generation
A few lines
of misinformation
Watch your money
flow away so quick

To kill yourself properly
Coke is it

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Type O Negative's song White Slavery seem to describe the experience of struggling with addiction, particularly to drugs such as cocaine. The first verse suggests a sense of desperation and craving, with the singer feeling like they've fallen into a deep hole. The second verse alludes to the destructive effects of addiction, with the singer feeling like they are wasting away and praying for death. The chorus repeats the idea of losing oneself and experiencing a nightmare, but also suggests that there is hope for an eventual end to the suffering.

The third verse introduces a new theme, with the singer referencing the Pepsi Generation - a marketing term used by the soft drink company in the 1960s - as well as lines of misinformation. This appears to be a critique of consumer culture and the way in which advertisers and corporations manipulate individuals into buying products that ultimately harm them. The final line - "To kill yourself properly, Coke is it" - could be interpreted as a bleak joke about the self-destructive tendencies of addiction.

Overall, the lyrics to White Slavery convey a sense of hopelessness and despair, but also hint at the possibility of breaking free from addiction and escaping the nightmare. The references to consumer culture suggest a broader critique of societal values and the messages we are fed about what we should aspire to.

Line by Line Meaning

I make a call
Initiating an action that will lead to something undesirable

So far to fall
Anticipating the magnitude of the negative outcome

Restless craving
Uncontrollable urge that creates instability

Inundating
Overwhelming and consuming

The summer snow
Something out of place and unexpected

but it's not cold
Deceptive outward appearance

Once it's tested
Exposing a dangerous truth

thus infected
Becoming tainted and impure

I've lost myself again
Being consumed by inner demons

I've lost myself again
Battling to regain lost identity

It's a nightmare
A perpetually hopeless reality