KORN
SONG MEANING
Blind
A
reference to Jonathan's drug use during his early years.
"Another
place I find to escape the pain inside" The
drugs controlled his life. They provided an escape from the
pain he endured as a young adult, and he couldn't see any
future direction for himself.
"see
through the grey that clouds my mind"
He
wants to escape the confusion in his mind but his self esteem
is so low that he is not confident enough to make change for
himself. He wants to leave the world and start again but he
doesn't know how, so he uses drugs to distort reality.
Ball
Tongue
"The
meaning of ball tongue is simple. Some thought it had to do
with oral sex, but infact its about a guy we had to work with
on a t-shirt. He either had a pierced tongue or a wart or something
on his tongue and he was a dick to us" - Jonathan Davis
While
the lyrics to Ball Tongue would have you believe otherwise it
has always been said that the song a guy with a pierced tongue
who used to make t-shirts for the band but ended up screwing
them all over.
"There
you are alone, with no hope of ever having something to be proud
of, something earned without begging"
It
appears that the person was close to Jonathan but he had doubt
that what he was doing for the band made any difference, so
s/he backstabbed them. S/he disconnected her/himself from Korn
and ended up doing nothing, in the hope that they would come
running back to save him/her from his own self pity.
"Why
are you at home buried in your own self pity? Why do you insist
on living the life clean out of me? "
The
person was one of few who shared time with Jonathan but became
obsessed with him, expecting him to give all his attention.
"Yes,
I know you're the person, the person that took time with me.
Does it give you the right to expect your life revolves around
me?"
Need
To
Need
To is about being in a relationship with someone you love so
much but you are too scared to get close to them because you're
paranoid that they may stop loving you.
"You pull me closer, I push you away, You tell me it's
okay, I can't help but feel the pain"
Jonathan was used to being fucked over by people he loved and
any future relationship was going to feel the same. Every time
he thought he was getting too close he would push her away.
"I hate you .... Fuck you, bitch"
Jonathan already resents tthe girl because he's so confident
that she will end up breaking his heart. He hates her before
she has even done anything.
Clown
"We
were playing at this show in San Diego and this skinhead guy
came up and said 'Fuck You! Go back to bakersfield!' I didn't
understand that I bent down and he took a swing at me. Our road
manager Jeff knocked his ass out" - Jonathan Davis
"A
tatooed body to hide who you are, Scared to be honest, be yourself"
It
seems that this incident was a breaking point for Jon. As the
Clown video shows he was a victim of torment from his peers
at school because he was different. He was an individual, and
this was hard for others to accept. Everyone else hid behind
an image that wasn't representative of themselves, but of what
others wanted them to be.
Divine
Divine
is about the sting of revenge. Jonathan wanted someone who didn't
want him. Then the tables turned and he found that this person
wanted him now.
"You're
suffering 'cause of me, it's divine"
"Did you really think you'd beat me at my own game"
He
wanted to show her how it felt to want someone you can't have,
and he knows now that since he lost interest in her she realises
what she's given up. Now it's his turn to have some fun, and
he is enjoying it.
"You
know what, Fuck you, I'm fed up with you, I'm not as good as
you, Fuck no, I'm better than you"
Jonathan
knows he's a better person than her by showing that he's not
a doll that can be picked up and put down at will.
Faget
"Everyone
thinks I'm bashing gay people in this song, and I'm not. It's
really about me going through highschool being called 'pussy',
'queer', and all that stuff, about getting picked on by all
these jocks." - Jonathan Davis
Spend
any time with Davis and one is likely to be subjected to an
endless barrage of queer references and gay jokes. But what
might initially come across as small-town homophobia turns out
to be something more, a by-product of a lifetime of sexual confusion.
One Davis-penned song, entitled "Faget," reflects
on time spent as a Duran Duran-loving New Romantic, when the
singer would don makeup and hang out in gay bars. "Everyone
thought I was gay my whole life," says Davis, "so
I have to joke about it just to deal with it." - Spin Magazine
Shoots
and Ladders
"It
was written because all these little kids sing these nursery
rhymes and they don't know what they originally meant. Everyone
is so happy when singing but 'London Bridge' is about the Black
Plague. All of them have these evil stories behind them."
"The lyrics are all from nursery rhymes, and a lot of nursery
rhymes go back to the Middle Ages. They're actually pretty twisted
if you know the stories behind them, like about Black Death
and stuff." - Jonathan Davis
Predictable
Another
relationship cliche that Jon finds so predictable. Every relationship
he goes into he's going to find himself hurt at the end. He
wonders why there is any point in it at all because he'd rather
die than feel the pain.
"I
can in every way, mistake the pain I feel inside. It comes to
me, evil thoughts is creeping through my mind"
How
can he deal with the situations of a failed relationship but
to remove himself from the world, or remove the other person.
If he can't have them, noone can.
Fake
This
is another song with a theme similar to Clown. Everyone around
him hides behind an image of what their peers want them to be.
"I
can't stand the sight of you, I can't stand what you put me
through. Your life's a lie, that you hide. Is it that terrible
being you inside?"
Jonathan
is persecuted for being himself rather than another person trying
to fit in with the crowd.
"You
try so hard to be wanted. False emotions tells you fronted.
I think being a person relies on one thing. Be yourself, let
you come through"
Everyone
wants to fit in so badly that they will change their appearance
and opinions to that of the mainstream crowd.
"Fake,
you'll regret it, you'll regret it"
Once
they are older they will realise that they've wasted their youth
by trying to be something they're not.
Lies
Again
with the same theme of Clown and Fake, Lies picks on those who
are too afraid to be themselves. People who hide behind a conformed
society
"I
want you to see the life you have disguised"
"Do you ever see from outside your fears"
He
is pointing out those who fear they too will be persecuted if
they step outside the line of individuality.
Helmet
in the Bush
"It's
about a speed problem that I had. You know, you do a lot of
speed and -- if you're a male -- your penis retracts severly."
In the song he says: 'Please God let me sleep tonight.' Jonathan
had trouble sleeping, becuase that's what it does to you. The
guy heard at the beggining of the song is La Caco, a friend
of the band. His real name is Michael and like taco bell. He's
a really Nice Guy and he has been friends with the band for
years." - Jonathan Davis
Daddy
"People
think Daddy was written because my dad fucked me up the ass,
but that's not what the song's about. It wasn't about my dad
or my mom. When I was a kid I was being abused by someone else
and I went to my parents and told them about it. They thought
I was lying and joking around, so they never did shit about
it. They didn't belive it was happening to their son."
- Jonathan Davis
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