Man in the Box Lyrics
I'm the man in the box
Buried in my shit
[Pre-Chorus: Layne Staley]
Won't you come and save me?
Save me
[Chorus: Layne Staley & Jerry Cantrell]
Feed my eyes
(Can you sew them shut?)
Jesus Christ
(Deny your maker)
He who tries
(Will be wasted)
Oh, feed my eyes
(Now you've sewn them) shut
[Verse 2: Layne Staley]
I'm the dog who gets beat
Shove my nose in shit
[Pre-Chorus: Layne Staley]
Won't you come and save me?
Save me
Feed my eyes
(Can you sew them shut?)
Jesus Christ
(Deny your maker)
He who tries
(Will be wasted)
Oh, feed my eyes
(Now you've sewn them) shut
[Instrumental Break 03:17-03:52]
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus: Layne Staley & Jerry Cantrell]
Feed my eyes
(Can you sew them shut?)
Jesus Christ
(Deny your maker)
He who tries
(Will be wasted)
Oh, feed my eyes
(Now you've sewn them) shut
About
Layne Staley said in a now-inaccessible interview that “Man In the Box” is a song is about censorship in the mass media. He also mentioned that he was stoned when he wrote it.
It is one of, if not the, most popular and well-known Alice in Chains songs, despite only peaking at #18 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.
The track was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1992, but Van Halen’s album, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, ended up winning the award. The music video was nominated for the Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, but lost to Aerosmith’s “The Other Side.”
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Those are the lines in the censored version. On the album version (uncensored), the lines are “buried in my shit” and “shove my nose in shit”.
- 1.We Die Young
- 2.Man in the Box
- 8.Sunshine
- 9.Put You Down
- 10.Confusion
- 12.Real Thing