Welcome to "Behind the Lyrics" with Elise Chandler. Each week, I find a song that I feel is understated both musically and lyrically, and I analyze it through several critical lenses.
This week, we're looking at a popular 90s alternative hit "Inside Out" by Eve 6. This song, lyrically, has a ton of imagery, strong rhythm, and interesting use of rhyme. However, what I find so interesting about the 90s is the influence of Grunge rock on the rest of the genres. This song, while happy and uplifting sounding, is quite depressing just like a similar song by Third Eye Blind "Semi-Charmed Life". While this song and its counterpart were played on a lot of the pop stations, the influence of Grunge cannot be denied with a closer listen to the lyrics, which only shows how much Grunge and its dark analysis of the human psyche influenced other genres as well.
Let's delve into the lyrics, and although I am sure you have all heard this song a hundred times, why not play the music in the background for a quick, fun refresher?
"Inside Out" -- Eve 6
"I would swallow my pride,
I would choke on the rinds, but the lack thereof would leave me empty inside. Swallow my doubt, turn it inside out, Find nothing but faith in nothing. want to put my tender Heart in a blender, Watch it spin round to a beautiful oblivion. Rendezvous, and I'm through with you.
I burn, burn like a wicker cabinet. Chalk white and oh-so-frail. I see our time has gotten stale. The tick-tock of the clock is painful, all sane and logical. I want to tear it off the wall. I hear words and clips and phrases, I think sick like ginger ale. My stomach turns and I exhale
I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rhymes, but the lack thereof would leave me empty inside. I would swallow my doubt, turn it inside out, Find nothing but faith in nothing. want to put my tender Heart in a blender, Watch it spin round to a beautiful oblivion. Rendezvous, then I'm through with you.
So Cal is where my mind states, But it's not my state of mind. I'm not as ugly sad as you. Or am I origami, folded up and just pretend. Demented as the motives in your head
I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rhymes, but the lack thereof would leave me empty inside. I would swallow my doubt, turn it inside out, Find nothing but faith in nothing. want to put my tender Heart in a blender, Watch it spin round to a beautiful oblivion. Rendezvous, then I'm through with you.
I alone am the one you don't know you need, Take heed, feed your ego. Make me blind when your eyes close, Sink when you get close, tie me to the bedpost. I alone am the one you don't know you need, You don't know you need me. Make me blind when your eyes close, Tie me to the bedpost
I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rhymes, the lack thereof would leave me empty inside. Swallow my doubt, turn it inside out, Find nothing but faith in nothing. want to put my tender Heart in a blender, Watch it spin round to a beautiful oblivion. Rendezvous, then I'm through, Now I'm through with you.
Through with you
Rendezvous, then I'm through with you."
This song, like many we have analyzed before, is one of those songs that while
the author may have had an explicit purpose with it, so many people have
looked
at the vague lyrics and found it to symbolize something else to them. Below, I
will list some of these options.
A Bad Breakup
What does it feel like when the love of your life leaves? That's what many fans
of this song believe is being described in detail. Phrases like "put my tender
heart in a blender watch it spin round to a beautiful oblivion" and "rendezvous,
then I'm through with you" lead many fans to see that the narrator's heart has
been broken, and he is describing that pain, yet when given the option to be
used again, he'll always take it.
Fighting Depression or Another Mental Illness
Many fans feel like this is a detailed description of a mental illness -- but they do
not always agree on what type. Some say the sad tone of the lyrics leads them
to believe it is depression. Others argue it is something else that would lead to
the sounds of the clock becoming too much. They use the line "tie me to the
bedpost" to argue that the narrator is in a mental hospital and is so out of
control that they must restrain him. These are his thoughts unfiltered.
A Written Rant on the Difficulty of Writing Music
Some fans feel that this song is clearly just a rant on the difficulty in writing
music, and they mainly use the chorus as their justification. Lines like "swallow
my doubt" and "find faith in nothing". It is hard to write good music, especially when there are a lot of people tearing you down and when such great songs and legends already exist. However, you must overcome your doubt and find faith to do better.
Lines like "swallowing my pride" and "choking on the rhymes" lead listeners to
feel you can't be cocky and write good music. The Muse of Music is a fickle one,
and you must go to her humbly and work hard for your efforts to pay off. Which
could lead to the line which some fans argue seems sacrificial to this "Muse" of
placing the "tender heart in a blender". He is willing to go to extreme lengths just
to produce quality.
These are just three of many ideas that stem from this upbeat, fun alternative
90s hit. What do you think? Until next time.