Third Eye Blind: Narcolepsy Meaning

Narcolepsy Lyrics

I'm on a train, but there's no one at the helm
And there's a demon in my brain who starts to overwhelm whelm whelm whelm whelm
Ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh
And there it goes, my last chance for peace
You lay me down, but I get no release, and I say...

1. anonymous

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   Jun 2nd 2012 !⃝

   (I will just interpret every line.) I'm on a train, but there's no one at the helm-The literal meaning of this line is the guy is on a train, but there's no one steering or in control of it. In the song, the train represents life. He's saying that he feels like he's going crazy and he's not in control of himself and he lacks direction. And there's a demon in my brain-The demon is a metaphor for a nightmare and bad thoughts that he cant get rid of.
   I try to swim beneath-He's trying to swim under the obstacle that is the demon.
   But I, I can feel this narcolepsy slide into another nightmare-Great imagery in this line. He has fits of sleepiness and when he slides into sleep, he is sliding into his nightmares.
   And there's a demon in my head who starts to play A nightmare tape loop of what went wrong yesterday.-The nightmares seem to keep coming like they're in a nightmare tape loop.
   I try to keep awake x3-You know when you're trying to remember something so you say it to yourself over and over again? Thats like what he's saying here.
   I read dead Russian authors volumes at a time-He reads long books to try to keep awake.
   I write everything down except what's on my mind-He knows that if he writes what's on his mind, he will write about the nightmares.
   Cause my greatest fear is that sucking sound And then I know that I'll never get back out-The sucking sound is like getting sucked into a whirlpool where he is trapped inside his nightmares.
   And there's a bone in my hand that connects to a drink In a crowded room where the glasses clink- His hand always seems to have a drink in it because drinking helps him to not fall asleep. And a crowded room always would keep me from falling asleep too.
   
   Basically something 'went wrong yesterday' and no matter what he tries he cant stop thinking about it. Narcolepsy is when you can't keep awake; you fall asleep constantly. His thoughts are related to that in that he can't stop thinking about it and he's kinda going crazy from it.

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