Alice In Chains: The Rooster Meaning

The Rooster Lyrics

Ain’t found a way to kill me yet
Eyes burn with stinging sweat
Seems every path leads me to nowhere
Wife and kids 'n household pet
Army green was no safe bet
The bullets scream to me from somewhere

Yeah they come to snuff the rooster, oh...

1. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Apr 22nd 2007 !⃝

   I agree with the Rooster meaning that squad but I differ in most of everyone's opinion. Jerry's dad did serve in Vietnam and use to tell jerry stories of the horrible things he had seen. The Rooster is symbolic for America. The Marines carried a flag with an eagle on it. No eagles were in Vietnam but they were very active in rooster farming. Therefore, Vietnam soldiers thought the eagle was a rooster so every time they would attack they would say "It's time to snuff the Rooster" or it's time to kill the Americans. When the song says "Yeah they've come to snuff the Rooster. Oh, here comes the Rooster. you know he ain't gonna die." It refers to the Americans fighting back and surviving.
2. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 15th 2007 !⃝

   The rooster is a a nickname given to the 101st airborne division in which his father was part of by the vietamese. The 101st wore two patches on their sleeves that had a bald eagle on them. There are no bald eagles in vietnam, so the enemy didn't know what they were. So they called them the roosters.
3. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 23rd 2006 !⃝

   The Rooster refers to the Viet Cong killing roosters and other animals to leave "blood trails" for the American soldiers to follow thinking they were going to capture a prisoner only to walk into an ambush.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
4. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 2nd 2006 !⃝

   The name rooster was given to jeery father way before the vietnam war, the name was given to his father because his hair used to stand up like a roosetr s hair in the morning an became a nickname.
   
   The actual song puts across the point as a soldiers point of view, discusing he fact that ''they aint found a way to kill me yet'' meaning the army hasn't killed him yet. The songs discuses army personels feelings about the war and not dieing, the fact that they are missing their family etc.. Its an heartfelt and talented pice of song writing by Cantrell, one of alice's best songs musically and lyrically.
5. Giants2256

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 24th 2006 !⃝

   I agree that the song is about reliving horrible memories brought on because of vietnam. I also know that the song is about Jerry's father. I might be wrong but the way I love at it is that the rooster is a nickname probably because he was red headed or some other reason. I also feel that the song shows a lot of confidence like reliveing those days on the battlefield and knowing deep down that for some reason you were gonna make it even when bullets are going by your head. Let me know what you think.
6. luken5

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 20th 2006 !⃝

   Rooster is a lot simpler then you may think. Rooster is the interpretation of a Kalishinakof rifle (weapon) of choice for (charlie) think peck peck peck. There are many references to vietnam or a jungle war or flashback. "Ya they have come to snuff the rooster" reference to military coming to kill men with guns (A bird when it fights it will fight to the death). "you know he aint going to die" reference to us losing the war. Even the song itselfs melodic value adds to the song, peaks valleys peaks valleys. Its the intuition of a soldiers fighting spirit that is lost. let me know what ya think luken5@yahoo.com
7. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 19th 2006 !⃝

   Well I aree with it all, except the drug thing because snuff is actually slang meaning to kill. So the whole song is about killing the rooster, so maybe just trying to kill the flashbacks he was having.
8. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 5th 2006 !⃝

   Jerry cantrells father did server in Vietnam. I don't beleive rooster is a nickname for anyone. My theory is based on the music video and the interpretation of my fathers (whom has never seen the video and is a big into war history and never heard of the rooster being a nickname for anything related to vietnam). As hard as it is to explain I beleive the rooster is something that would wake up Jerrys father and maybe other Vietnam vets. In the music video they focus on flashbacks a lot. The horrible flashbacks cause him to wake in the morning hence the name rooster. Snuffing the rooster is a little tough to interpret but I was to guess I'd say it was the drugs they would give the vietnam vets to ease the pain of these flashbacks and try to snuff the rooster.
9. King Fish

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Oct 18th 2004 !⃝

   This is a ballad to pay homage to Jerry Cantrell’s father A.K.A. the “Rooster” who served in Vietnam.

Latest Articles

• 
  A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park
• 
  Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable
• 
  Dolly, we need you
• 
  The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media
• 
  The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s
• 
  Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)