In 2004, the band achieved commercial success with their debut album, Contraband. Despite positive reviews, some critics initially described Velvet Revolver as a mere combination of Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N'Roses, and criticizing them for a "disconnection" between Weiland and the rest of the band. With their single "Slither", they won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The band released Libertad in 2007, driven by the release of the single "She Builds Quick Machines", and embarked on a tour with Alice in Chains.
In April 2008, Weiland was fired from Velvet Revolver and reunited with Stone Temple Pilots. Velvet Revolver was put on indefinite hiatus and in November of that year, requested to be released by their record label RCA Records to allow themselves "complete freedom to go through whatever process it would take to accomplish" replacing Weiland.
Although Velvet Revolver worked on new material and auditioned new singers following Scott Weiland's departure, the band has not released any new material and only performed publicly once since 2008, when they reunited with Weiland for a one-off reunion show on January 12, 2012, at a benefit concert. This proved to be their last performance together before Weiland's death on December 3, 2015. Slash and McKagan later rejoined Guns N' Roses in 2016. On December 3, 2015, Weiland was found dead on his tour bus around 9 pm, one day before he was to perform in Minnesota with his band the Wildabouts, which ended the possible reunion. Both Slash and McKagan rejoined Guns N' Roses in 2016.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Revolver
Studio albums
Contraband (2004)
Libertad (2007)
Set Me Free
Velvet Revolver Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're mother nature and an atom bomb
As long as you're kept full of pretty bodies
Your little secret will be safe with me
Around again
Insane again
It comes again
So set me free, set me free
'Cause I think you need my soul
Set me free, set me free
You're kept alive and polarized with one thing in mind
Metabolize everything that you see
But now and then or a little later
Now I'm gonna take you down with me
Around again
Insane again
She comes again
And sets me free
So set me free, set me free
'Cause I think you need my soul
Set me free, set me free
So set me free, set me free
'Cause I think you need my soul
Set me free, set me free
So take me down
Take me, down, down, down, down
Take me down, take me down
So take me down
Take me, down, down, down, down
Take me down, take me down
So set me free, set me free
'Cause I think you need my soul
Set me free, set me free
So set me free, set me free
'Cause I think you need my soul
Set me free, set me free
So set me free, set me free
'Cause I think you need my soul
Set me free, set me free
So set me free, set me free
'Cause I think you need my soul
Set me free, set me free
My freedom!
That's a wrap!
The lyrics of Velvet Revolver's song Set Me Free seem to critique society's obsession with power and control. The lines "You operate and motivate on synthetic fuel, You're mother nature and an atom bomb" suggest the power-hungry individual being likened to a nuclear weapon, capable of destruction and chaos. The metaphor "As long as you're kept full of pretty bodies, Your little secret will be safe with me" seems to imply that the individual derives power by being surrounded by people who are dependent on them. The singer seems to have been caught in this web of power play and is desperately seeking release from it.
The repeated lines "Around again, Insane again, She comes again, And sets me free" suggest that the singer has been in this cycle of control and manipulation before, and that it drives him to a breaking point where he is set free. The lines "But now and then or a little later, Now I'm gonna take you down with me" suggest that the singer is not content with simply being free, but seeks to take the power-hungry individual down with him.
Overall, the lyrics of Set Me Free seem to be a commentary on power dynamics and control in society, and the need to break free from these toxic relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
You operate and motivate on synthetic fuel
You function and drive on artificial, manufactured energy
You're mother nature and an atom bomb
You're both nurturing like nature and destructively explosive like a bomb
As long as you're kept full of pretty bodies
As long as you have a steady supply of attractive people to fuel you
Your little secret will be safe with me
Your secret behavior will remain confidential with me
Around again
Repeating the same cycle
Insane again
Driving towards madness again
It comes again
The same thing repeats
And sets me free
But it actually brings me freedom
So set me free, set me free
Allow me to break free and gain independence
'Cause I think you need my soul
I believe you're dependent on me
You're kept alive and polarized with one thing in mind
You're sustained by and focused on one thing
Metabolize everything that you see
You consume and process everything you encounter
But now and then or a little later
At some point in the future
Now I'm gonna take you down with me
I will bring you down along with me
She comes again
The same thing repeats
So take me down
Bring me down or destroy me
Take me, down, down, down, down
Bring me all the way down
So set me free, set me free
Allow me to break free and gain independence
My freedom!
I've finally gained my freedom
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAUL HUDSON, DUFF ROSE MCKAGAN, DAVID G KUSHNER, SCOTT RICHARD WEILAND, MATHEW WILLIAM SORUM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind