Layne Staley, Jerry Cantrell (vocals, guitars);
Michael Starr (bass); Sean Kinney (drums).
Brutal and hard but exciting and surprisingly melodic, Dirt made Alice In Chains national stars in 1992 after being around the Seattle alternative rock scene for many years. They produce a blindingly together sound, with the bass of Mike Starr able to switch between following the bass drum beat and cloning Layne Staley's guitar note for note, albeit a few octaves lower. They have such polish that they are often reminiscent of the heyday of Led Zeppelin. Lyrically they plow the familiar angst furrow with tracks such as 'Junkhead', 'Sickman' and 'God Smack'. Equally satisfying are 'Them Bones' and 'Rooster', which saw them start in a direction that led to Jar Of Flies two years later.
Here is the complete list of songs found on the album, along with lyrics and sound samples...
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I believe them bones are
me
Some say we're
born into the grave
I
feel so alone, gonna end up a
Big old pile a them bones
Dust rise right on over my
time
Empty fossil of
the new scene
I feel
so alone, gonna wind up a
Big ole pile a them bones
Toll due bad dream come
true
I lie dead gone
under red sky
I feel
so alone, gonna end up a
Big ole pile a them bones
I broke you in the
canyon
I drowned you
in the lake
You a
snake that I would trample
Only thing I'd not embrace
Oh, you couldn't dam that
river
And maybe I
don't give a damn anyway
So you couldn't dam that river
And it washed me so far away
I pushed and then you
stumbled
I kicked you
in the face
You stare
at me so hollow
Got
to keep that killin' pace
Oh, you couldn't dam that
river
And maybe I
don't give a damn anyway
So you couldn't dam that river
And it washed me so far away
I burned the place around
you
I hit you with a
rake
You piss upon my
candle
So proving
you're a fake
Is she ready to know my
frustration?
What she
slippin' inside, slow castration
I'm a riddle so strong, you can't break
me
Did she come here
to try, try to take me
Did she call my name?
I think it's gonna
rain
When I
die
Was it something I said, held
against me?
Ain't no
life on the run, slowly climbing
Caught in ice so she stares, stares at
nothing
I can help
her but won't, now she hates me
She won't let me hide
She don't want me to
cry
Will she keep on the ground, trying
to ground me
Slowly
forgive my lie, lying to save me
Could she love me again, or will she hate
me
Prob'ly not, I
know why, can't explain me
Bury me softly in this
womb
I give this part
of me for you
Sand
rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In a tomb...in bloom
Down in a hole and I don't know if I
can be saved
See my
heart I decorate it like a grave
You don't understand who they
Thought I was supposed to
be
Look at me now a
man
Who won't let
himself be
Down in a hole, losin' my
soul
Down in a hole,
losin' control
I'd
like to fly,
But my
wings have been so denied
Down in a hole and they've put
all
The stones in
their place
I've
eaten the sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty
Of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more
of my feelings
beneath
Oh I want to be inside of you
Down in a hole, losin' my
soul
Down in a hole,
feelin' so small
Down
in a hole, losin' my soul
Down in a hole, out of control
I'd like to fly but my
Wings have been so
denied
What the hell am I?
Thousand eyes, a fly
Lucky then I'd be
In one day deceased
Sickman, sickman, sickman
I can feel the wheel, but I can't
steer
When my
thoughts become my biggest fear
Ah, what's the difference, I'll
die
In this sick
world of mine
What the hell am I
Leper from inside
Inside wall of peace
Dirty and diseased
Sickman, sickman, sickman, sickman
I can see the end is getting
near
I won't rest
until my head is clear
Can you see the end?
Choke on me my friend
Must to drown these
thoughts
Purity over
rot
Yeah, though I walk through the
valley of rape and despair
With head high and eyes alert
I tread on a plane of many
We who are of good nature and
intention,
But cannot
touch on the dark
Recesses of memory
And pain learned, so come walk
With me, feel the pain,
And release it
What the hell am I worn eroded
pride
Saddened 10
mile wide
I'm gonna
let it slide
Sickman, sickman, sickman, sickman
I can feel the wheel, but I can't
steer
When my
thoughts become my biggest fear
Ahh, etc., etc.
Ain't found a way to kill me
yet
Eyes burn with
stinging sweat
Seems
every path leads me to nowhere
Wife and kids household pet
Army green was no safe
bet
The bullets
scream to me from somewhere
Here they come to snuff the
rooster
Yeah here
come the rooster
You
know he ain't gonna die
Walkin' tall machine gun
man
They spit on me
in my home land
Gloria sent me pictures of my boy
Got my pills 'gainst mosquito
death
My buddy's
breathin' his dyin' breath
Oh god please won't you help me make it through
A good night, the best in a long
time
A new friend
turned me on to an old favorite
Nothing better than a dealer who's
high
Be high,
convince them to buy
What's my drug of
choice?
Well, what
have you got?
I don't
go broke
And I do it
a lot
Seems so sick to the hypocrite
norm
Running their
boring drills
But we
are an elite race of our own
The stoners, junkies, and freaks
Are you happy? I am,
man.
Content and
fully aware
Money,
status, nothing to me
'Cause your life is empty and bare
You can't understand a user's
mind
But try, with
your books and degrees
If you let yourself go and opened your mind
I'll bet you'd be doing like me
And it ain't so bad
Say, I do it a lot!
Say, I do it a lot!
Say, I do it a lot!
Say, I do it a lot!
I have never felt such
frustration
Or lack
of self control
I
want you to kill me
And dig me under, I wanna live no more
One who doesn't care is one who
shouldn't be
I've
tried to hide myself from what is wrong for me
For me
I want to taste dirty, stinging
pistol
In my mouth,
on my tongue
I want
you to scrape me from the walls
And go crazy like you've made
me
You, you are so
special
You have the
talent to
Make me
feel like dirt
And
you, you use your
Talent to dig me under
And cover me with dirt
Care not for the men who
wonder
Straw that
broke your back, you're under
Cast all them aside who care
Empty eyes and dead end stare
Don't you know that none are
blind
To the lie, and
you think I don't find what you hide?
What in God's name have you
done?
Stick your arm
for some real fun
For the horse you've grown much
fonder
Than for me,
that I don't ponder
As the hair of one who bit you
Smiling bite your own self, too
And I think that you're not
blind
To the ones you
left behind
I'll be
here
So be yearning all your
life
Twisting,
turning like a knife
Now you know the reasons
why
Can't get high,
or you will die
Or
you'll die
So your sickness weighs a
ton
And God's name is
smack for some
What's gone wrong, I can't see
straight
Been too
long, so full of hate
What the fuck will it
take
Drown myself in
my wake
Another
shaggy D.A.
Now a
dog, shake my leg
Plastic man, paper face
Candy heart, what a waste
Gotta change, set a
date
Stare at me with empty eyes
and
Point your words
at me
Mirror on the
wall will show you
What you're scared to see
I can see, yeah - (wish I couldn't
see at all)
I can
feel - (wish I couldn't feel at all)
Hate to see - (wish I couldn't see at
all)
Hate to feel -
(wish I couldn't feel at all)
So climb the walls,
Thin my blood now
And I crawl, back to bed
now
What the hell, gotta
rest
Aching pain in
my chest
Lucky me,
now I'm set
Little bug for a pet
New Orleans, gotta
get
Pin cushion
medicine
Used to be
curious
Now the
shit's sustenance
All this time I swore I'd
never
Be like my old
man
What the hay it's
time to face
Exactly
what I am
Sitting on an angry
chair
Angry walls
that steal the air
Stomach hurts and I don't care
What do I see across the
way
See myself molded
in clay
Stares at me,
yeah I'm afraid
Changing the shape of his face
Candles red I have a
pair
Shadows dancing
everywhere
burning on
the angry chair
Little boy made a
mistake
Pink cloud
has now turned to gray
All that I want is to play
Get on your knees, time to pray,
boy
I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
I don't mind, yeah,
I don't mind, I-I-I
Lost my mind, yeah
But I don't mind,
I-I-I
Can't find it
anywhere
I don't
mind
Corporate prison, we
stay
I'm a dull boy,
work all day
So I'm
strung out anyway
Loneliness is not a
phase
Field of pain
is where I graze
Serenity is far away
Saw my reflection and
cried
So little hope
that I died
Feed me
your lies, open wide
Weight of my heart, not the size
Pink cloud has now turned to
gray
All that I want
is to play
Get on
your knees time to pray
Know me broken by my
master
Teach thee on
child of love hereafter
Into the flood again
Same old trip it was back
then
So I made a big
mistake
Try to see it
once my way
Drifting body it's sole
desertion
Flying not
yet quite the notion
Am I wrong?
Have I run too far to get home
Have I gone?
And left you here
alone
If I would,
could you?