I think Chino intentionally likes to write his lyrics like that to mess with people. He likes messing with people’s heads a bit. Which is fine by me. Because I believe, (not that anyone really cares what I think) that music and lyrics should be more about the person listening to them. Whether or not it matches what the writer had in mind is irrelevant. It’s an individual journey that the listener is on, which is pretty awesome.
Everybody understands the lyrical meaning lol it's low-brow poetry in a way. The music raises it up on a platform of your own and is the real meat here.
Absolutely right even Chino in an article I read said he makes the lyrics so vague and mystical or mysterious that it can be interpreted any way you want. Very grundge vibe in that aspect.
To me, this song describes the experience of watching somebody you love more than anything, change into something you cant feel anything for. Like watching an angel turn into a fly, and you cant stop it. It's about losing people.
i think its about a toxic relationship actually, or atleast its more implied than losing people, "It's like you never had wings Now you feel so alive", why would you be impressed by someones freedom?
Here is a concept that I hope can help you with helping others. You don't have to look at it through either perception, you can view it as a third person. It's like when someone you know is in a bad relationship, whether romantic, professional, family, etc. From the outside we see them changing but they are too close to the problem to see it. Use this song to inspire you and to give you strength to help someone get away from a detrimental relationship.
Flat out wrong. He literally said that he's the one that ruined them and took pleasure in it. If I had to guess it's about drugs... "Now you feel more alive."
Deftones has a track with Maynard James Keenan of Tool called Passenger. It's about doing dirty things in cars. It's very cool and fun and sexy and all that good stuff.
@@Morph3usX Yeah, you know, I held onto that belief for a long time. But I can’t see any other way to interpret it. Obviously you do, so stop being cryptic and enlighten us!
You hit the nail on the head with the interpretation. It's about realizing how the someone can cause irreparable damage to someone else and physically see how they have changed due to the influence.
I've seen them 10 times and it's been a good 17 years since I saw them last. Hung out with them at the Euclid Tavern in Cleveland after a show once ..cool guys .Chino was kinda a douche though.
The song is about a girl that he fell in love with but she didn't love him back and he gets to watch her from a distance change as a person by dating other men then changed her as a person. She morphed into something that is repulsive to him in a person but she looks good on the outside. The fly symbolizes something that isn't good in a person and the wings is freedom. Those guys gave her freedom to do whatever and think whatever which made her feel alive which caused her to change because she never had wings before. So, he wants to just set her down on the glass and make out aka he wants her to no longer have those wings and instead of flying to other men one after the other. He wants her to be stuck with him but he knows that won't happen hint why he laughs because he knows this won't happen and he gets to see someone he loves to change for the worse. it doesn't have to be doing drugs or drinking. It could be be a good person that hang out with toxic bad people that got her to change into that fly. Someone that you no longer love because they change into something repulsive.
Deftones... One of the greatest bands I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. They've got a song for every mood. I have so many memories attached to their music, and every time I hear one of their songs, those memories flood back to the front of my mind and all I can do is smile, even if the memories aren't always good ones. I can only smile because, of course, I cannot change my past; but also because it never ceases to impress me how well their songs fit with those memories, and how vividly they replay before my mind's eye. I love Deftones.
4:57 I was literally typing that I always took this as being about drugs. Put you onto the glass- mirror. Pulled off your wings- used so much that the high disappeared. I watched you change- drugs affected the used.
That’s always been my interpretation as well. Feeling responsible for getting someone else addicted to drugs. Other lyrics that support this theory - ‘It’s like you never had wings’ - they liked the drugs so much and began using so heavily that either the protagonist or the other person can’t even imagine what they were like before they started using ‘Now you feel so alive’ - describing how drugs feel amazing when you first start using them ‘I look at the cross’ - the protagonist realizing what he’s done and feeling guilt ‘Then I look away’ - he can’t continue to watch them destroy themselves with drugs ‘Give you the gun, blow me away’ - if the protagonist lets the other person kill him, it would end his suffering through the guilt of ruining this person’s life Also - the pig mask in the video could be a symbol of gluttony in terms of drug consumption.
I was thinking it was about abuse: "I took you home, Set you on the glass I pulled off your wings (as if she was an angel to him) And I laughed" "I look at the cross(remorse for the abuse) Then I look away(it kills him to know he abused) Give you the gun(putting power back into the abused hands) Blow me away(give me what I deserve)"
yeah i think the video is pretty revealing. he's been living the rock star life and having groupies thrown at him who start out different people before the drugs change them. and the breakdown part is interesting where he says 'give you the gun, blow me away' which doesn't take a genius to interpret.
This is signature Deftones sound, thank you Chino for vocals with so much emotion but completely outside of the norm for early 2000s. Fun fact, while there were plenty of punk-influenced metal bands in the 70s who used pig paraphernalia, it was the combination of Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails and Tori Amos obsession with pigs that it became a more accepted aesthetic among alternative styles of music and subculture in the 80s and 90s. It is also symbolic of feeling like a slab of meat, or someone who goes with the crowd just to be lead to the slaughter... when not being used to insult police like Otep and GWAR do. For me, this song was what pulled me out of the funk when I was being overly dramatic about my life. It was just cathartic to sing along and emote as much as he does. It had me instantly feeling better. Can i recommend "Gave Up" by Nine Inch Nails.???
Chino and Maynard my 2 favorite vocalists .. All their side projects are amazing.. This album came out in 01 and it "Changed" the game.. Passenger off this album White Pony actually has Maynard on it from tool
Deftones is incredible and they've evolved a ton over the years. They've always kept that sexy ambient vibe in most things, but you can hear the growth. I love their song Rosemary - it's a good show of their range imo.
Wow, your take on this is impressive. Deftones is one of my fav bands, and I have heard this song hundreds of times, but I have never thought of it from the perspective of the fly. 🤔🙌🏼
No one can pull off the Magestic Vocality quite like the one and only.... ......Chino Moreno. God Bless the Deftones..... ........they saved my life.... .....in more ways than a few. 🤘😈😎
Your interpretation hit me bc i am the fly and i am the bad guy in my scenario. I have been dealing with a bunch of different issues the last few years and i've gained a lot of weight. I am now at the point where I am asking myself "how did i get here?" and lately I've been pretty hard on myself bc I let it get this far and how much work i have ahead of me to get back to a healthy place. Its been very tough mentally actually. But your analogy of toxic change moving slowly and to give myself grace when facing the changes really resonates bc climbing this mountain ahead of me will likely take me longer than it did to get to this point. I really appreciate the time you took to look at this from the fly's perspective bc the easy thing would be to analyze it from the singer's pov. I'm a fan of your channel and I've never commented before but i felt like i needed to let you know. Thanks
4:20 from a Jungian/Neumann perspective, pigs/boars are chthonic symbols, aligned with the chaotic Devouring Mother. Ref . pages 94-95 of Neumann, E. (1949). The Origins and History of Consciousness. Princeton University Press. Right after that he says he looks at the cross, then looks away, a clear rejection of the Great Father and the Logos. Then he gives the implement of destruction to the person he has been "changing" and invites her to destroy him. All of this matches the ritual sacrifice/castration motif of the sacrificial male who is fed to the devouring mother. Or not, just my opinion. Read Eric Neumann's Origins and History of Consciousness though, it's a brilliant book.
Amazing work, please keep it up! Thank you for keeping in the part where you were struggling to find something meaningful from the song, I related so much to being at a loss or feeling like you didn't have anything impactful to say. Thank you for being so vulnerable, it really makes a difference! I've always thought of this the song being spoken from the perspective of my younger self, how in order to survive, my younger self learned to isolate, create a narrative that I was broken in order for things to hurt less, therefore "I pulled off your wings." I also think of it in the more literal sense in my experience with self harm, and pulling off my wings, literally disfiguring myself, ignoring the physical pain to find the release of emotional pain, and "I laughed" representing the smile that would manifest when I practiced self-harm. The lyrics "now you feel so alive" really outlines the sick and twisted payoff you get from self-destruction, whether that's codependency, substance use, self-mutilation, eating disorders, gambling, sex addiction. The Peace of the song "it's like you never had wings" and "now you feel so alive" speaks to the experience of never having anyone of value to trust or be vulnerable with, further justifying my own isolation. It's such a common narrative I see in my work as I watch people destroy their bodies with fentanyl and xylazine everyday and justifying it because their life never was looking upward anyway, they never had wings that would let them fly so they continued to destroy them. In the classic analogy of reaching for the apple, not being able to grab it and saying "I never wanted the Apple anyway" in this case the Apple being well-being, the sense of fleeting pleasure, peace, fulfillment and adventure no matter how self-destructive still can feel as incredibly rewarding when you tell yourself it was never in your cards to have the alternative, or that healing isn't possible for someone like me. These lies we've told ourselves a long time ago can define us for a very long time. This is just my perspective. Thank you for letting me share!
you were accurate with the interpretation! It's about watching someone change into someone else in front of others and then revert back to their normal self afterwards.
I always found this song helpful because it’s cathartic, juxtaposing, and super subjective. It represents a balance between the abuser and the victim and how those roles can often swap, or how someone can gaslight someone into feeling like they are responsible for the detachment and change within another person, even if they aren’t. It’s very interesting to listen to, and it’s definitely gotten me through some hard times.
I love your way of describing to make something good out of the lyrics or whatever ... and yet again spot on almost about the feeling someone may have had
That’s objectively their weakest effort, literally just saw an old interview with the band promoting ATF & they were saying Adrenaline was more thrown together & they think it could’ve been much better
around the fur is when the band started to find their strengths in creativity, and white pony cemented it like an echo throughout the rest of the albums.
I've been a deftones fan since I was a15 year old. (1995) My interpretation of their lyrics had transformed over the years. but I keep listening and my viewpoint has changed multiple times. This video really vibes with the way I currently view this song.
This song is a complex work that explores themes of transformation and loss of innocence. The lyrics use the metamorphosis of a person into a fly as a powerful metaphor for change, possibly towards something darker and less human.
I feel like it is maybe about resilience after a traumatic experience. Like for most having ones “wings” pulled off is disabling and life- changing, which it may have been. But the change into someone that never had wings or needed wings was actually an awakening, now you feel so alive.
One of my favorite bands of all time. Chino and company have always remained consistent in delivering heavy, chuggy guitar riffs mixed with Chino’s insane vocals. Lyrically they can really trip you up as majority of it can be ambiguous but makes it fun. Please continue this rabbit hole!
You’re doing a few of our anthems from way back when! I love it! Unfortunately the way I see it, was in a toxic situation, nothing was ever enough for the dude. Cheating, lying, stealing and of course drugs. He cost me everything I ever earned or owned, and it still wasn’t enough. 30 years later, I watched him change into a fly after he laughed at jerking me around for decades….. I knew something was going on, I just had no idea how to fix it, how to help, when I realized it was over the top hard core drugs… I had to worry about getting MYSELF back to shore safely. I left, walked with clothes on my back. Started a new life. Narc-free. I feel bad. But *shrug* I didn’t deserve that, and I couldn’t pull him to shore!
You need to listen to more Deftones songs. Chino can write a song about sex without mentioning sex. They have so many albums. Combat is a cool song, Royal is a cool, Ceremony is awesome. Listen to more songs not just one. You will get hooked. They came in 1998 and I have all their albums and rock some cool ass Merch that people always comment on. I have had a Deftones sticker on every vehicle I have had. I am 45yro. Best therapy ever! Gotta get a daily dose :)
that second place you were talking about 'as the fly' it makes me think of how i was raised, by being trapped and prodded for others' entertainment and being changed because i refused to meet my families' uncommunicated wants
1:11 - I'm going to go out a little on a wing and say something about Deftones that may get me in trouble, it's not chronologically orthodox, but Chino's vocal style and mood in a lot of tunes (maybe not this one but more Digital Bath type stuff) gives me Weeknd vibes - ie. largely similar topics, Chino / Deftones aren't as egotistically combative as Weeknd's earlier stuff, but... I don't know... maybe it's just me, maybe it isn't but when I listen to Deftones I feel like I'm getting a rock version of Weeknd.
Nevermind, I'm not crazy on this front - I see there's an article where Weeknd actually admits to having been heavily inspired by Deftones. He's kind of like Michael, Chino, and Prince rolled up in one.
Makes me have flashbacks to a relationship where he encouraged drug use, pushed me to do things I didn't want to, told me why Noone but him could ever love me. I changed. My wings were ripped off. I've had several other changes since then.
The Deftones to me are 1 of the most original bands out there….before them nobody sounded like that & they consistently reinvent their sound with often really cool results 🖤
One of my favorite songs of all time and the ambiguous way Chino writes and from so many different perspectives and characters on this album is really interesting. Another sort of multi layered song lyrically is Stinkfist by Tool, there’s a lot of therapeutical qualities in most of Tool’s songs but this one has always spoken to me.
You had a very good interpretation for a first time listener. I spent some time digging and found an old interview with Chino saying this song was about him basically being toxic to a person he cared for deeply which makes me believe this is about his ex wife. He didn’t want to be with her but didn’t want her to leave. He was in the pits of addiction and was blinded by that.
I suspect the singer (Chino) read Kafka's "Metamorphosis". "Set you on the glass". Seems indicative... I think it's about introducing a partner to drugs and a decadent kind of callousness - because those were probably some fun times - in a decadent sense ;) Chino's (singer) been pretty open about his habits around this time frame. It's a song and the beauty is - especially with the vagueness of the lyrics, that you can hang your own meaning on it easily. With the added bonus of this being a great album to do the nasty to.
dive deeper into Deftones.. They are pretty deep like Tool. Change, Digital Bath, Beauty school, Minerva, My own summer, Passenger (he did with Maynard from Tool), Elite, RX Queen, Teengager, Knife Parrty.
This song hurts to listen to, but I absolutely adore it. I played it so much when I thought I met my lifelong partner, then she changed into something darker and far more negative which I ended up walking away from. I still regret it, but I know it was for the best; such a powerful song.
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. I'm interested in your perspective because people that talk about this song never have the same one that I do. I always felt like it was about two people that loved each other very much but grew apart. Possibly drugs and the other one changed while the other one watched
The house of flies being a drug den and she turned into a fly so he pulls off her wings then laughs. Also how he uses the cadence at the end give you the gun....blow me away... Accepting defeat and even the cross is symbolic for the fact that he needs help on a spiritual level
For me when Ive listened to the song I've always felt that it's not a song about a relationship between two people, but my relationship with myself. As a past drug abuser, I saw myself many times being someone I couldn't even recognize. I lost loved ones, friends, things in my life, I mine as well have been a fly feeding of the rot that I created. It always felt like the song was expressing that feeling of constantly wanting to run from yourself. "I looked away, you were on fire" I couldnt stand to see how I was burning myself to the ground. The glass verse to me is just bringing home cocaine, once again taking off my own wings (good elements of myself), and only being able to laugh/cry that I'm here once again. "Look at the cross, then I look away" looking for anyway to get out, any sign of light to point the way, and still ultimately choosing to look away from it, and in turn handing myself the gun by continuing a lifestyle that has no happy ending. It screams a fuck you to yourself for allowing yourself to become this piece of shit, or shit-eater in the case of a fly. I think Chino just sings in such a sultry voice that sometimes people dont notice an element of self-loathing in his lyrics. But then again, that's just my thoughts. Loved your reaction and critique.
I don't really listen to this song so much for its lyrics, which are haunting and ambigous (which is great) - I listen to it for the emotional states it surfaces in myself.
We like the way you express with your own unique choreography in listening to the song and articulating each metal song lyric, by the way you look like a film actress from Indonesia Wulan Guritno
I’ve watched almost all of your videos and I know your looking for more songs so I’d love to see your take on flaw -“the best that I am” it got me through a lot of my childhood with a dad the abuser and me the son who now has daughters and will never be that man.
Deftones is one of those bands that has some pretty ambiguous lyrics that you can interpret different ways depending on your perspective. I love it.
I think Chino intentionally likes to write his lyrics like that to mess with people. He likes messing with people’s heads a bit. Which is fine by me. Because I believe, (not that anyone really cares what I think) that music and lyrics should be more about the person listening to them. Whether or not it matches what the writer had in mind is irrelevant. It’s an individual journey that the listener is on, which is pretty awesome.
Everybody understands the lyrical meaning lol it's low-brow poetry in a way. The music raises it up on a platform of your own and is the real meat here.
Absolutely right even Chino in an article I read said he makes the lyrics so vague and mystical or mysterious that it can be interpreted any way you want. Very grundge vibe in that aspect.
Wait until you discover that every psychological music is the same
this.
To me, this song describes the experience of watching somebody you love more than anything, change into something you cant feel anything for. Like watching an angel turn into a fly, and you cant stop it. It's about losing people.
i think its about a toxic relationship actually, or atleast its more implied than losing people, "It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive", why would you be impressed by someones freedom?
this song doesn’t feel like watching this situation from afar to me.
“I pulled off your wings, then I laughed.”
As I remember Chino said that all songs in this album have fantasy lyrics and have nothing to do with reality
Here is a concept that I hope can help you with helping others. You don't have to look at it through either perception, you can view it as a third person. It's like when someone you know is in a bad relationship, whether romantic, professional, family, etc. From the outside we see them changing but they are too close to the problem to see it. Use this song to inspire you and to give you strength to help someone get away from a detrimental relationship.
Flat out wrong. He literally said that he's the one that ruined them and took pleasure in it. If I had to guess it's about drugs... "Now you feel more alive."
Deftones has a track with Maynard James Keenan of Tool called Passenger. It's about doing dirty things in cars. It's very cool and fun and sexy and all that good stuff.
That song is great, and the two singers combine to make the song sound so much more profound then it really should be, given the lyrical content.
except that is not what the song is about.
@@Morph3usX Yeah, you know, I held onto that belief for a long time. But I can’t see any other way to interpret it.
Obviously you do, so stop being cryptic and enlighten us!
@@Morph3usX copy paste the lyrics and let's talk about then
the first time i heard passenger i thought addiction was the passenger.
Deftones Be Quiet And Drive
best driving song ever imho
Passenger....Deftones and MJK, great song.
beware 👌
digital bath👌
I don't care where...just far
Digital bath is also a great song by deftones
Great song musically, lyrics are iffy lmao
@@earthscorchermeaning would definitely be content worthy on a therapy channel lol
Overrated imo
Chino said that's pretty much their epitome "Deftones sounding song"... Good intro to them as a band song. I'm guessing it's his fav.
@@earthscorcher digital bath was about him having a dream of luring a girl to a basement bathroom and throwing a toaster in when shes bathing
Whenever I listen to Cherry Waves or Rosemary I feel exactly like that scene in Breaking Bad where Jessie tries heroin for the first time
Rosemary actually makes me feel like Janes death scene, and Jessie subsequently trying to revive her.
I fucking love Cherry Waves
Bro, you cooked
nahhh you really cooked something here
All those and Beware make me feel like that.
You hit the nail on the head with the interpretation. It's about realizing how the someone can cause irreparable damage to someone else and physically see how they have changed due to the influence.
She was feeling it around 2:54 🤘🏽😎
Deftones changed the way i look at music when i was a young teenager with this song
I am a grown ass man, and I am grateful enough to say that Chino's voice is more beautiful than most vocalists out there! This man is a Legend!
hell yeah bro seen him live over 35 times ..
@@chrono050 only seen them once! But at least I will die satisfied knowing one time was one of the best shows I’ve seen with my own two eyes.
I've seen them 10 times and it's been a good 17 years since I saw them last. Hung out with them at the Euclid Tavern in Cleveland after a show once ..cool guys .Chino was kinda a douche though.
The Red by Chevelle, might be of interest to us
yes! new to this channel and I searched for it.
The song is about a girl that he fell in love with but she didn't love him back and he gets to watch her from a distance change as a person by dating other men then changed her as a person. She morphed into something that is repulsive to him in a person but she looks good on the outside. The fly symbolizes something that isn't good in a person and the wings is freedom. Those guys gave her freedom to do whatever and think whatever which made her feel alive which caused her to change because she never had wings before. So, he wants to just set her down on the glass and make out aka he wants her to no longer have those wings and instead of flying to other men one after the other. He wants her to be stuck with him but he knows that won't happen hint why he laughs because he knows this won't happen and he gets to see someone he loves to change for the worse. it doesn't have to be doing drugs or drinking. It could be be a good person that hang out with toxic bad people that got her to change into that fly. Someone that you no longer love because they change into something repulsive.
To bad it only took me 37years to finally snap
@@starlenesarabia8739 snap what?
@@starlenesarabia8739 what do you mean snap?
Minerva and Xerces are my go to "in my feels" Deftones songs
Deftones is not just music but an experience. Feels like a full on journey with every album and an insane emotional rollercoaster to boot
Deftones... One of the greatest bands I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. They've got a song for every mood. I have so many memories attached to their music, and every time I hear one of their songs, those memories flood back to the front of my mind and all I can do is smile, even if the memories aren't always good ones. I can only smile because, of course, I cannot change my past; but also because it never ceases to impress me how well their songs fit with those memories, and how vividly they replay before my mind's eye. I love Deftones.
This song was on the best movie soundtrack QUEEN OF THE DAMNED 2002 Wayne Static song “Not meant for me” is awesome too!!
Static X - Push it 🤘🏽😎
@@PML78 static-x Black and white!
@@DPRyan-vd5pp GET TO THE GONE... or ... THIS IS NOT 🤘🏽
That soundtrack was so much better than the movie deserved.
Best movie soundtrack...The Crow
4:57 I was literally typing that I always took this as being about drugs.
Put you onto the glass- mirror.
Pulled off your wings- used so much that the high disappeared.
I watched you change- drugs affected the used.
That’s always been my interpretation as well. Feeling responsible for getting someone else addicted to drugs.
Other lyrics that support this theory -
‘It’s like you never had wings’ - they liked the drugs so much and began using so heavily that either the protagonist or the other person can’t even imagine what they were like before they started using
‘Now you feel so alive’ - describing how drugs feel amazing when you first start using them
‘I look at the cross’ - the protagonist realizing what he’s done and feeling guilt
‘Then I look away’ - he can’t continue to watch them destroy themselves with drugs
‘Give you the gun, blow me away’ - if the protagonist lets the other person kill him, it would end his suffering through the guilt of ruining this person’s life
Also - the pig mask in the video could be a symbol of gluttony in terms of drug consumption.
I was thinking it was about abuse:
"I took you home,
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings (as if she was an angel to him)
And I laughed"
"I look at the cross(remorse for the abuse)
Then I look away(it kills him to know he abused)
Give you the gun(putting power back into the abused hands)
Blow me away(give me what I deserve)"
Yeah. I see it as someone's potential and future being changed. It's like you never had wings
yeah i think the video is pretty revealing. he's been living the rock star life and having groupies thrown at him who start out different people before the drugs change them. and the breakdown part is interesting where he says 'give you the gun, blow me away' which doesn't take a genius to interpret.
I agree. I always saw this as the perspective from a drug dealer. The addict turned into a fly. The house of flies being a crack house or drug den.
This is signature Deftones sound, thank you Chino for vocals with so much emotion but completely outside of the norm for early 2000s. Fun fact, while there were plenty of punk-influenced metal bands in the 70s who used pig paraphernalia, it was the combination of Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails and Tori Amos obsession with pigs that it became a more accepted aesthetic among alternative styles of music and subculture in the 80s and 90s. It is also symbolic of feeling like a slab of meat, or someone who goes with the crowd just to be lead to the slaughter... when not being used to insult police like Otep and GWAR do. For me, this song was what pulled me out of the funk when I was being overly dramatic about my life. It was just cathartic to sing along and emote as much as he does. It had me instantly feeling better. Can i recommend "Gave Up" by Nine Inch Nails.???
Pigs could also be symbolic for mindless selfish consumption as well
@@jacobm2625 Very true, and to that point Tool comes to mind.
@@JMulvy absolutely. One of my favorite bands as well. 🫡
Chino and Maynard my 2 favorite vocalists .. All their side projects are amazing.. This album came out in 01 and it "Changed" the game.. Passenger off this album White Pony actually has Maynard on it from tool
I’m absolutely loving your vids, Deftones is and forever be the band closest to my heart.
Deftones is incredible and they've evolved a ton over the years. They've always kept that sexy ambient vibe in most things, but you can hear the growth. I love their song Rosemary - it's a good show of their range imo.
Wow, your take on this is impressive. Deftones is one of my fav bands, and I have heard this song hundreds of times, but I have never thought of it from the perspective of the fly. 🤔🙌🏼
No one can pull off the Magestic Vocality quite like the one and only....
......Chino Moreno.
God Bless the Deftones.....
........they saved my life....
.....in more ways than a few.
🤘😈😎
Your interpretation hit me bc i am the fly and i am the bad guy in my scenario.
I have been dealing with a bunch of different issues the last few years and i've gained a lot of weight. I am now at the point where I am asking myself "how did i get here?" and lately I've been pretty hard on myself bc I let it get this far and how much work i have ahead of me to get back to a healthy place. Its been very tough mentally actually.
But your analogy of toxic change moving slowly and to give myself grace when facing the changes really resonates bc climbing this mountain ahead of me will likely take me longer than it did to get to this point.
I really appreciate the time you took to look at this from the fly's perspective bc the easy thing would be to analyze it from the singer's pov.
I'm a fan of your channel and I've never commented before but i felt like i needed to let you know.
Thanks
Such a euphoric song
I wish I could go back and experience this for the first time again! It never gets old. The same for the rest of their stuff.
This is great to watch having listened to this song for the last 24 years.
When in doubt, Deftones songs are about drugs or sex or dugs and sex
Knife Prty, Cherry Waves, and Hole in the Earth are must listen
Spot on you are quite clever this is the best analysis of this song I´ve ever heard...
4:20 from a Jungian/Neumann perspective, pigs/boars are chthonic symbols, aligned with the chaotic Devouring Mother. Ref . pages 94-95 of Neumann, E. (1949). The Origins and History of Consciousness. Princeton University Press. Right after that he says he looks at the cross, then looks away, a clear rejection of the Great Father and the Logos. Then he gives the implement of destruction to the person he has been "changing" and invites her to destroy him. All of this matches the ritual sacrifice/castration motif of the sacrificial male who is fed to the devouring mother. Or not, just my opinion. Read Eric Neumann's Origins and History of Consciousness though, it's a brilliant book.
Deftones stands the test of time. I look forward to every album. Deftones forever!
Amazing work, please keep it up! Thank you for keeping in the part where you were struggling to find something meaningful from the song, I related so much to being at a loss or feeling like you didn't have anything impactful to say. Thank you for being so vulnerable, it really makes a difference!
I've always thought of this the song being spoken from the perspective of my younger self, how in order to survive, my younger self learned to isolate, create a narrative that I was broken in order for things to hurt less, therefore "I pulled off your wings." I also think of it in the more literal sense in my experience with self harm, and pulling off my wings, literally disfiguring myself, ignoring the physical pain to find the release of emotional pain, and "I laughed" representing the smile that would manifest when I practiced self-harm. The lyrics "now you feel so alive" really outlines the sick and twisted payoff you get from self-destruction, whether that's codependency, substance use, self-mutilation, eating disorders, gambling, sex addiction. The Peace of the song "it's like you never had wings" and "now you feel so alive" speaks to the experience of never having anyone of value to trust or be vulnerable with, further justifying my own isolation. It's such a common narrative I see in my work as I watch people destroy their bodies with fentanyl and xylazine everyday and justifying it because their life never was looking upward anyway, they never had wings that would let them fly so they continued to destroy them. In the classic analogy of reaching for the apple, not being able to grab it and saying "I never wanted the Apple anyway" in this case the Apple being well-being, the sense of fleeting pleasure, peace, fulfillment and adventure no matter how self-destructive still can feel as incredibly rewarding when you tell yourself it was never in your cards to have the alternative, or that healing isn't possible for someone like me. These lies we've told ourselves a long time ago can define us for a very long time. This is just my perspective. Thank you for letting me share!
lets goo been asking for deftones for a minute!
Thanks for your vision of the lyrics song. ❤ Greetings from Colombia
I absolutely love your little dance you do I've seen you do it a few times now and I love it ❤
you were accurate with the interpretation! It's about watching someone change into someone else in front of others and then revert back to their normal self afterwards.
I always found this song helpful because it’s cathartic, juxtaposing, and super subjective. It represents a balance between the abuser and the victim and how those roles can often swap, or how someone can gaslight someone into feeling like they are responsible for the detachment and change within another person, even if they aren’t. It’s very interesting to listen to, and it’s definitely gotten me through some hard times.
Your so adorable and I love how your not afraid to show your emotions in your videos, I grow as a human watching your videos fr
I love your way of describing to make something good out of the lyrics or whatever ... and yet again spot on almost about the feeling someone may have had
Ah I haven't listened to Deftones in forever, this was an awesome analysis! Now I'm gonna be listening to Deftones for the next month nonstop lol
Cheno Moreno’s vocals always give me chills. He’s one of the best in the business.
MORE Deftones!!! Risk, Knife Prty, Beauty School, Minerva, Passenger. This band is completely different within their era. Love them.
Please do You've Seen the Butcher! Its my favorite Deftones song! But all the other commented suggestions are great too of course!
Deftones have changed a lot over the years. If you're new to them, go back to their album Adrenaline
The Adrenaline album is so overlooked. It is still my favorite
That’s objectively their weakest effort, literally just saw an old interview with the band promoting ATF & they were saying Adrenaline was more thrown together & they think it could’ve been much better
around the fur is when the band started to find their strengths in creativity, and white pony cemented it like an echo throughout the rest of the albums.
Very true, I like your hoodie 😍😎
I've been a deftones fan since I was a15 year old. (1995)
My interpretation of their lyrics had transformed over the years. but I keep listening and my viewpoint has changed multiple times. This video really vibes with the way I currently view this song.
Deftones - Rosemary
This song is from one of the best albums ever recorded. Passenger is also an amazing track.
"i never listen to Deftones, i'm excited."
Oh, you poor soul, you've been blessed...
You have to do Rosemary!
Yes
This song is a complex work that explores themes of transformation and loss of innocence. The lyrics use the metamorphosis of a person into a fly as a powerful metaphor for change, possibly towards something darker and less human.
I watched you change... into someone catching flies 😮 when Chino's haunting voice kicks in. Great video! ❤
loved it, because the few hours of analysis after... (thanks for it)
Oops.. however, for the "analysis"... Men and women come from Mars and Venus, so.....sorry ;)
I feel like it is maybe about resilience after a traumatic experience. Like for most having ones “wings” pulled off is disabling and life- changing, which it may have been. But the change into someone that never had wings or needed wings was actually an awakening, now you feel so alive.
Deftones 🖤🖤🖤🖤
One of my favorite bands of all time. Chino and company have always remained consistent in delivering heavy, chuggy guitar riffs mixed with Chino’s insane vocals. Lyrically they can really trip you up as majority of it can be ambiguous but makes it fun. Please continue this rabbit hole!
You’re doing a few of our anthems from way back when! I love it! Unfortunately the way I see it, was in a toxic situation, nothing was ever enough for the dude. Cheating, lying, stealing and of course drugs. He cost me everything I ever earned or owned, and it still wasn’t enough.
30 years later, I watched him change into a fly after he laughed at jerking me around for decades….. I knew something was going on, I just had no idea how to fix it, how to help, when I realized it was over the top hard core drugs… I had to worry about getting MYSELF back to shore safely.
I left, walked with clothes on my back. Started a new life. Narc-free. I feel bad. But *shrug* I didn’t deserve that, and I couldn’t pull him to shore!
Have listen to Ceremony from Deftones. I think you'll enjoy it and find the meaning quickly.
Deftones one of the most influential bands you've never heard of
I thought this was about his first wife. She started to pull away from him and he then manipulated her into staying. Neither was happy
Saw them in 2000 with Metallica Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. My 11 year old daughters first concert.
If you love this, and love Maynard, listen to The Passenger…. It’s a duet/collaboration with both of them. It’s amazing!
You're exactly correct. This is about a narcissist who is trying to control a leader. And the leader pulls their wings off.
I want that shirt! Nice reaction too!!
Deftones Hole in the Earth! Amazing song!
You need to listen to more Deftones songs. Chino can write a song about sex without mentioning sex. They have so many albums. Combat is a cool song, Royal is a cool, Ceremony is awesome. Listen to more songs not just one. You will get hooked. They came in 1998 and I have all their albums and rock some cool ass Merch that people always comment on. I have had a Deftones sticker on every vehicle I have had. I am 45yro. Best therapy ever! Gotta get a daily dose :)
that second place you were talking about 'as the fly' it makes me think of how i was raised, by being trapped and prodded for others' entertainment and being changed because i refused to meet my families' uncommunicated wants
1:11 - I'm going to go out a little on a wing and say something about Deftones that may get me in trouble, it's not chronologically orthodox, but Chino's vocal style and mood in a lot of tunes (maybe not this one but more Digital Bath type stuff) gives me Weeknd vibes - ie. largely similar topics, Chino / Deftones aren't as egotistically combative as Weeknd's earlier stuff, but... I don't know... maybe it's just me, maybe it isn't but when I listen to Deftones I feel like I'm getting a rock version of Weeknd.
Nevermind, I'm not crazy on this front - I see there's an article where Weeknd actually admits to having been heavily inspired by Deftones. He's kind of like Michael, Chino, and Prince rolled up in one.
Makes me have flashbacks to a relationship where he encouraged drug use, pushed me to do things I didn't want to, told me why Noone but him could ever love me. I changed. My wings were ripped off. I've had several other changes since then.
The Deftones to me are 1 of the most original bands out there….before them nobody sounded like that & they consistently reinvent their sound with often really cool results 🖤
People always suggest I go to therapy. I always respond with, "Listening to Deftones is cheaper and readily available."
One of my favorite songs of all time and the ambiguous way Chino writes and from so many different perspectives and characters on this album is really interesting. Another sort of multi layered song lyrically is Stinkfist by Tool, there’s a lot of therapeutical qualities in most of Tool’s songs but this one has always spoken to me.
You had a very good interpretation for a first time listener. I spent some time digging and found an old interview with Chino saying this song was about him basically being toxic to a person he cared for deeply which makes me believe this is about his ex wife. He didn’t want to be with her but didn’t want her to leave. He was in the pits of addiction and was blinded by that.
Your facial expressions through this entire song is hilarious 😂. Best representation of what its like listening to this song for the first time
They are the biggest band to come out of my home town of SACRAMENTO.
I suspect the singer (Chino) read Kafka's "Metamorphosis".
"Set you on the glass". Seems indicative... I think it's about introducing a partner to drugs and a decadent kind of callousness - because those were probably some fun times - in a decadent sense ;) Chino's (singer) been pretty open about his habits around this time frame. It's a song and the beauty is - especially with the vagueness of the lyrics, that you can hang your own meaning on it easily.
With the added bonus of this being a great album to do the nasty to.
First one here! Super excited for you to react to Deftones! You should react to their song Beauty School next!
I love your vibe so much
We love you too!! ❤❤😊
This song will always be a banger!
Deftones is my ish.. been seeing them live since 1998! To me they are the NuMetal Goat
dive deeper into Deftones.. They are pretty deep like Tool. Change, Digital Bath, Beauty school, Minerva, My own summer, Passenger (he did with Maynard from Tool), Elite, RX Queen, Teengager, Knife Parrty.
Please do Entombed by Deftones!
i will always love Deftones all the albums
Deftones has been my go to wingman for a decade ina half. Perfect "getting it in" music despite the lyrical content being often anything but sexy.
Minerva is my favorite Deftones song. Great music video as well.
This song hurts to listen to, but I absolutely adore it. I played it so much when I thought I met my lifelong partner, then she changed into something darker and far more negative which I ended up walking away from. I still regret it, but I know it was for the best; such a powerful song.
without more deftones you're missing out on some incredible songs with vibes that don't exist otherwise.
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. I'm interested in your perspective because people that talk about this song never have the same one that I do. I always felt like it was about two people that loved each other very much but grew apart. Possibly drugs and the other one changed while the other one watched
The house of flies being a drug den and she turned into a fly so he pulls off her wings then laughs. Also how he uses the cadence at the end give you the gun....blow me away... Accepting defeat and even the cross is symbolic for the fact that he needs help on a spiritual level
For me when Ive listened to the song I've always felt that it's not a song about a relationship between two people, but my relationship with myself. As a past drug abuser, I saw myself many times being someone I couldn't even recognize. I lost loved ones, friends, things in my life, I mine as well have been a fly feeding of the rot that I created. It always felt like the song was expressing that feeling of constantly wanting to run from yourself. "I looked away, you were on fire" I couldnt stand to see how I was burning myself to the ground. The glass verse to me is just bringing home cocaine, once again taking off my own wings (good elements of myself), and only being able to laugh/cry that I'm here once again. "Look at the cross, then I look away" looking for anyway to get out, any sign of light to point the way, and still ultimately choosing to look away from it, and in turn handing myself the gun by continuing a lifestyle that has no happy ending. It screams a fuck you to yourself for allowing yourself to become this piece of shit, or shit-eater in the case of a fly. I think Chino just sings in such a sultry voice that sometimes people dont notice an element of self-loathing in his lyrics. But then again, that's just my thoughts. Loved your reaction and critique.
I don't really listen to this song so much for its lyrics, which are haunting and ambigous (which is great) - I listen to it for the emotional states it surfaces in myself.
Check out Deftones "Passenger" with James Maynard from Tool in it with Chino.
We like the way you express with your own unique choreography in listening to the song and articulating each metal song lyric, by the way you look like a film actress from Indonesia Wulan Guritno
I’ve watched almost all of your videos and I know your looking for more songs so I’d love to see your take on flaw -“the best that I am” it got me through a lot of my childhood with a dad the abuser and me the son who now has daughters and will never be that man.
Check out Passenger. Maynard James Keenan collaborated on that one.
for me this song is like watching your ex js go to the bottom after leaving you and you seeing they ain’t nun with out you
Love Chino man dude cant carry a tune in a bucket but his delivery works so well with the instruments i fuckin love it
This song gets inside you and opens a nest of vipers, what you do with those vipers and how you view them is the journey and the answer.
Late to the party but I am loving this channel!
Song called choke by the band bury tomorrow…… my life and anthem