Alice In Chains: Man in the Box Meaning
Song Released: 1991
Man in the Box Lyrics
Buried in my shit
Won’t you come and save me, save me
Chorus
Feed my eyes, can you sew them shut?
Jesus christ, deny your maker
He who tries, will be wasted
Feed my eyes now you’ve sewn them shut
I’m the dog who...
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First, I'd like to respond to Shikkie. You obviously don't know anything about "Christianity" simply by the comments that you made. You are simply choosing to believe the lies that someone else has told you to believe without checking it out for yourself. This is rather obvious to anyone that does understand what Christianity really is, (not religion).
Secondly, Man in the Box is exactly what it says. It talks of a man that is frustrated with his own life, tries religion, and fails therefore frustrating him even more, so he blames God. He never takes the time to get to know Jesus Christ as his Savior, so he wants to blame Jesus rather that the one who is really at fault.....HIMSELF. Who is the one that committed the sin? Who is the one that has to pay for the sin? God's Word says in Romans 6:23, "For the wages (payment) of sin is death (separation, NOT annihilation), but the gift of God is eternal life (being freed from the "box") through Jesus Christ our Lord. So, one can either "TRY" religion, stay "stuck in the box", or accept the Gift of God which is Jesus Christ. I, for one, choose to "Live outside the Box". -
This song is about Censorship and how it is incorporated into Religion. Big religion, namely Islam and Christianity, tend to focus on the idea of "worship our god as your only god, or burn in hell." Meaning, you cannot believe in anything but our religion. notice the verse "Deny your maker. He who tries, will be wasted". Obviously this is what he was trying to express.
Imo, the reason for writing "Feed my eyes now you've sewn them shut" is: The man in the box who has been beaten and abused turns to christianity to "save" himself. In doing so, he gets Fed these bogus ideas, and in return, his eyes get Sewn shut to logical belief. Or perhaps its the other way around. He sews his eyes shut by believing in christianity, and now that he's crossed that point, he's asking to be fed more of these biblical lies.
This song is a big F-you to radical christians and muslims. You people force your ideas down desperate mens' throats, and brainwash them into believing that by sacrificing for the "greater good" will reward them in the afterlife. Look at the crusades, or the 9/11 attacks. It's ironic that some churches sport the poster saying "Think outside the box" when in reality, you're just shoving them into a box - a big box of ignorance. Wake up people, and get a life... for Christ's sake. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I think it's about homosexuality
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First of all, I just want to clear up something that Toolow123 said: the "Jesus Christ" is not connected directly with "deny your maker", and the "deny your maker" is meant to be interpreted as connected to the following passage "deny your maker...he who tries will be wasted", which follows right after, meaning that he who sins and denies existence of or spiritual connection to either god or jesus will be wasted.
The fact that the song is religious at least in a spiritual sense (i.e. using religion as a metaphor for morality, etc.) is undeniable in my view. What is questionable is the meaning of "feed my eyes....now you've sewn them shut". This likely has the meaning that god feeds his eyes by giving life and freedom and then withdraws freedom from those who abuse it. The part that is unclear is whether he is trying to say this in a sad or sarcastic way claiming that this is unfair, or whether he is simply illustrating a harsh reality, or whether he is accepting this reality and communicating to the listener the danger that is associated with falter, denial, and ultimately sin. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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While a lot of people are interpreting this song as a sort of hymn, I think that its attitude towards religion is not necessary all positive. I base this interpretation on the songwriter's comment that the song is about censorship, as well as the lyrics themselves.
In America, censorship is used to promote decency and traditional values. We associate decency with religion, and our traditional values - which condone sexuality, violence, and inappropriate language - originate in Christianity. If a member of an American rock band was angry about censorship, it's unlikely that he would write a song praising Christianity, which is responsible for censorship.
Now, to figure out this song.
Two things happen to the man in the box. The first is during the verses. He is "buried in my shit", "beat", etc. - being victimized, depressed, fake, suffering, living an unhappy and worthless life. At this point, he cries for someone - presumably "Jesus Christ" - to "come and save" him.
The second event happens during the chorus. His eyes are being "fed" and "sewn shut", in response to his cry for help. Metaphorically, he is being "fed" information, and then being completely cut off from information. By whom? Some people have said Satan, but I don't see Satan mentioned anywhere in this song. I think the person is clearly Jesus Christ. "Feed my eyes, can you sew them shut / Jesus Christ".
The man in the box, depressed and unhappy with his life, turns to religion to save him. And religion does "feed" him the ideas and information he craves - that he is being cared for and loved by a higher power, there is hope for an afterlife, that there is meaning in life. But after "feeding his eyes", religion "sews them shut", by closing his mind to new, potentially dangerous ideas and information. This is the act of censorship, what the entire song is about. -
I agree with the last person, I believe it is highly religious,
first of all the Chorus refers to Jesus Christ,
he then refers to his sight,
in the Bible, sight is a a key theme in the theological concept of salvation. The Bible reveals, I believe, that Christ alone can open ones eyes to the reality of God. He alone reveals God through his words, the message of salvation (i.e. The gospel.
what is curious to note is that he says,
"Jesus Christ, Deny your maker"
Whoa! That is a huge statement to make. I bet all the evangelicals were astirr when their youth group kids were found rockin out to this song...lol. No offense, but hey, its probably true even though the song stylisticly kicks but.
Anyway, to deny your maker means to reject God, and to reject Christ's salvation. In Christian terms, this would be considered apostasy, a turning away from the truth (light), and away from God - rejecting the salvation one supposedly has. The Bible talks about this in the book of 1 John, and in Hebrews chapter 6, and I deeply feel for people that get burned out and disgusted with the church, and their relationship with God and say to hell with it and to him. I also feel for those that deeply want to get out of their "shit" but can't, and in the midst of their pain and suffering and experience of justice, like in rape or abuse or severe depression and suicidal thoughts, cry out to God or Jesus but can't get the relief they want from him. It's hard to explain why such a good and loving God allows that stuff. Romans 8 touches on this a little bit, and so does the book of 1 Corinthians, the gist of it is God will give us justice in the end, and apparently, will certain give repay us for our sufferings in the afterlife.
But back to what I was saying about apostasy. It seems to me that maybe the singer of Alice in Chains was at one time a Christian, or at least, looking to God and Christ for answers. Maybe he chose something that resulted in him feeling rejected or abandoned by God, like he is now condemned for good and is like a man only waiting for judgement. Maybe he felt like their is no going back, and now it seems, in his anger, the only thing he can do in the pain of feeling such a rejection, is reject God and Christ altogether . .. kind of like "Fine, I f-you, I reject you too."
Anyway, that was the feeling I got from the song, he seems tormented in the music video, and the situation I described could very well be toture for someone that feels that way. But like the name of this site, it's only my interpretation. If it is the case, maybe you are feeling similar things, I could never know your experience, so I hope no one feels undermined, but there is a passage in Isaiah that says,
"Let us seek the LORD while he may be found.."
and somewhere in the book of John,
"And he will never drive away those who look for him"
Wherever you are, I hope your dying wish will not be that God show your eyes shut to the truth and to an eternal relationship with him.
ps. Sorry for all the Christian lingo - I hope you can figure it out, much respect to all who love this song
-toolow -
I think that the person in the box is someone who is very closed minded and believes everything that he hears about Jesus is true. But whoever wrote this song wants everyone to be more open minded and "deny your savior" and he wants to be saved from the box and wants to think more outside of the box.
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it is about veal
Jerry Cantrell tells exactly what this means in the AIC boxed Set. He says that they went out to dinner with some vegetarians, and they told AIC that veal was made from baby cows raised in a box. Jerry says that that is waht this song is about. RIP layne
The band got it's name from a 3-legged dog named Alice, who was tied up in chains and abused by it's owner, also the insparation for this song -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Quite possibly the greatest song ever. Though it will have many different meanings to many people. To me it's about life and a coming of age. Facing problems rather than running from them.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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