Author: Unknown
The Glass Prison deals with alcoholism and the way to get rid of the addiction; alone in the first moment, then through the support of Alcoholics Anonymous. The lyrics are dedicated to "Bill W and his friends". Bill Wilson is co-founder of AA, an organization that recovers alcoholics through religion and a 12-step program, which must be followed strictly for complete recovery.
The "Glass Prison" is a metaphor for the bottle of an alcoholic beverage, which "locks" the alcoholic inside the addiction. The song has a strong religious tone, based on the AA method of recovering alcoholics through the Bible and its messages. Some passages of the Bible, as well as references to famous quotes, are spread throughout the song.
The 3 parts in which the song is divided sum up the stages of recovery: Reflection, Restoration and Revelation. These are the 3 major points of recovery:
a) Reflection: "That we were alcoholics and couldn't manage our own lives"
b) Restoration: "That, probably, no human power could drive us away from alcoholism"
c) Revelation: "That God could do it, and so he would, if he was asked"
I. Reflection: the person realizes that he has a problem, tries to get rid of it by himself, but does not resist and falls into addiction again.
Lines 1-24:
Talk about the effects of abstinence; the character tries to get rid of the addiction by himself, but the appeal of the alcohol is stronger:
I can’t escape it
It leaves me frail and worn
Can no longer take it
Senses tattered and torn
Hopeless surrender
Obsession’s got me beat
Losing the will to live
Admitting complete defeat
Crawling to my glass prison
A place where noone knows
My secret lonely world begins
The glass prison is a bottle of an alcoholic beverage - used as a safe place away from the problems; at the same time, it is a "prison". The loneliness the addiction causes is present in the lyrics.
So much safer here
A place where I can go
To forget about my daily sins
Alcoholics usually are aware they have a problem, but still think that, after all, the drinking is an easy way out for an unbearable situation.
Fall in nocturnal bliss again
There are two interpretations here, and maybe the intention was to use both interpretations in one. “Nocturn” is part of the Divine Office (praise to God) practiced during the night, which consists in three prayers in three different moments of the night. It is one of the moments when the person feels closer to God, reaching bliss during the night.
In the character’s situation, the "nocturnal bliss" is reached through alcohol, in a lonely way, without any other presence. It is his "nightly Divine Office", practiced with the same intensity and regularity of a religious person.
Chasing a long lost friend
I no longer can control
Just waiting for this hopelessness to end
The character is away from the booze, but "no longer can control", which means he can't get over the addiction by himself. This is the bridge for the second part.
II. Restoration: first step of 12 in the AA recovery program, the admittance of guilt is the main theme of the lyrics in this section, and the beginning of the healing process. It is the symbol of the character’s quest for help, seeking the end of the addiction, a thing no human power can reach by itself.
All action seems to take place in a church, which is the place for AA meetings. All over the world, churches are home for AA groups, mostly because of the religious core of the treatment.
Cry - desperate crawling on my knees
Begging God to please stop the insanity
Help me - I’m trying to believe
Stop wallowing in my own self pity
The character seeks for spiritual aid to get rid of the addiction, since he just couldn’t do it by himself. He's probably in a church at this point, when a group of people approaches him.
We've been waiting for you my friend
The writing’s been on the wall (*)
All it takes is a little faith
You know you’re the same as us all
The AA group approaches the character after listening to his pledge on the church, and offers the help he needed.
About (*):
"On the night mighty Babylon fell to the Persians, this writing appeared on the palace wall: "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN" (Dan. 5:25), written with the finger of God. The king of Babylon was having a huge drunken party--they felt safe and secure inside the city with its massive walls. Then came the sudden appearance of the handwriting on the wall, which put an end to the party and replaced revelry with terror; and adding to their bewilderment, no one could as much as read the writing, let alone interpret what it meant!
Then the terrified king called for Daniel the prophet. By the light of a candlestick, Daniel both decoded and interpreted the writing. It foretold the immediate end of Babylon and her king. So it came to pass: on that same night the king of Babylon was slain by his Persian conquers; a new era was born.
The writing on the palace wall is comparable to the greatest Writing of all - the Bible. For like the writing on the wall, some things in the Bible are mysterious and impossible to understand apart from God's help. Only by the light of the candlestick (that is, by the Spirit of God) can a man understand its mysteries".
Help me - I can't break out this prison all alone
Save me - I'm drowning and I'm hopeless on my own
Heal me - I can't restore my sanity alone
The AA recovery program is made of 12 steps, through which the person must follow to achieve full recovery. These 12 steps lead the person to make amends with his past, to the search for forgiveness from those he’s done harm, the spiritual redemption and the meeting with God.
AA's step 1 / 12:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable
Lines 78-81:
We'll help you perform this miracle
But you must set your past free
You dug the hole, but you can’t bury your soul
Open your mind and you will see
At this point, the character feels the urge to to make amends with his past, with the ones he has done harm and with God, according to AA’s steps 4-10.
AA's steps 4-10:
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
III. Revelation: The last of the 12 AA steps refers to a "spiritual awakening". On this last part of the song, the character remembers his own lack of ability to get rid of the addiction himself, and the freedom found when helped by the "Higher Power" (God).
Way off in the distance I saw a door
I tried to open
I tried forcing with all of my will and still
The door wouldn’t open
Unable to trust in my faith
I turned and walked away
I looked around, felt a chill in the air
Took my will and turned it over
At this point, the character returns to his memories of the failed attempts of getting rid of the addiction. The door mentioned above is the way out of the Glass Prison.
The glass prison which held me is now gone
A long lost fortress
The character gets rid of the Glass Prison. Here, the expression "long lost fortress" replaces the "long lost friend", as seen in line 34. This contrast shows that he does not depend on the alcohol, seeing it as it really is, a prison from which he must escape, a place where he no longer wants to be at.
Armed only with my liberty
And the key of my willingness
The door which he previously struggled to open was open through his freedom and willpower, supported by the contact with the higher power.
Fell down on my knees and prayed
'thy will be done' (*)
I turned around saw a light shining through (**)
The door was wide open
Opening the door of his Glass Prison, the character achieves the spiritual awakening foreseen in step 12 of the AA.
AA's step 12 / 12:
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
About (*), once again the lyrics confirm the religous tone, as the AA does:
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
(Mateus 6:9-13)
About (**), the aforementioned religious tone is evidenced, which harks back to line 46, in which the spirit of God is a guiding light to uncover the misteries of faith. In these last lines the spirit of God glows at the exit of the Glass Prison, calling the character to fulfill his wish of leaving the addiction behind.
The Glass Prison
I'm not sure about the religious tone. I say this because even though Portnoy is Jewish (presumably in upbringing), he has openly said that he doesn't practice the religion.
Great analysis. I always assumed that it was just about religion, but religion and alcoholism combined make so much more sense.
Portnoy did say that he doesn't practice religion, but does anyone know how old that interview was? Glass Prison is a relatively new song.
Portnoy did say that he doesn't practice religion, but does anyone know how old that interview was? Glass Prison is a relatively new song.
He said that as part of Ytsejam.com's 10 Quick Ones, a fair time after SDOIT was released.
Is the "This Dying Soul" a sequel to "Glass Prison"??
Brokedown as Part 4 - Reflections of Reality & Part 5 - Release.
The lyrical dedication is once again to Bill W.
Brokedown as Part 4 - Reflections of Reality & Part 5 - Release.
The lyrical dedication is once again to Bill W.
This Dying Soul is most definately the sequel to The Glass Prison.
After SDOIT was released, MP hinted at his desire to write a song on each upcoming album that continues the story and goes into the next 3 AA steps. This Dying Soul is steps 4-6.
After SDOIT was released, MP hinted at his desire to write a song on each upcoming album that continues the story and goes into the next 3 AA steps. This Dying Soul is steps 4-6.
Im sorry but you are off base in several points having to do with the AA program.
AA, an organization that recovers alcoholics through religion and a 12-step program,... Totally untrue. AA is not a religious program.
" The song has a strong religious tone, based on the AA method of recovering alcoholics through the Bible and its messages."
Again untrue. AA suggests "contact with a higher power of your understanding" This could mean a Cristian God for those who choose that or an AA group of people for those unable or unwilling to use a God as thier higher power. And anything else one could imagine inbetween.
"All action seems to take place in a church, which is the place for AA meetings. All over the world, churches are home for AA groups, mostly because of the religious core of the treatment."
Wrong again. Many AA meetings are held in churches because the rent is cheap. Also many meeting are held in VFW halls (Vetrans of Foreign Wars) for the same reason. And in hospitals. And on the beach in Hawaii. And the beach on Long Island NY. They dont pay rent.
You seem to be knowledgeable in Bible passages but your predisposition to religious meanings in everything you see or hear mar your interpretation.
"We've been waiting for you my friend
The writing’s been on the wall (*)
All it takes is a little faith
You know you’re the same as us all"
Somehow the referance to wall for you refers to a biblical passage having to do with Bablonian kings scribbling on walls.I say its because the phrase "writings been on the wall" means it refers to something totally obvious to everyone, except the alchoholic blinded by the denial of his disease.To me its the members of AA welcoming him after he truly knows he's the same as them ,an alchoholic.
To sum up, AA is NOT religious. It is "not allied with any sect ,denomination ,or institution" That quote is from the AA preamble,read at the start of every AA meeting.
Steve
AA, an organization that recovers alcoholics through religion and a 12-step program,... Totally untrue. AA is not a religious program.
" The song has a strong religious tone, based on the AA method of recovering alcoholics through the Bible and its messages."
Again untrue. AA suggests "contact with a higher power of your understanding" This could mean a Cristian God for those who choose that or an AA group of people for those unable or unwilling to use a God as thier higher power. And anything else one could imagine inbetween.
"All action seems to take place in a church, which is the place for AA meetings. All over the world, churches are home for AA groups, mostly because of the religious core of the treatment."
Wrong again. Many AA meetings are held in churches because the rent is cheap. Also many meeting are held in VFW halls (Vetrans of Foreign Wars) for the same reason. And in hospitals. And on the beach in Hawaii. And the beach on Long Island NY. They dont pay rent.
You seem to be knowledgeable in Bible passages but your predisposition to religious meanings in everything you see or hear mar your interpretation.
"We've been waiting for you my friend
The writing’s been on the wall (*)
All it takes is a little faith
You know you’re the same as us all"
Somehow the referance to wall for you refers to a biblical passage having to do with Bablonian kings scribbling on walls.I say its because the phrase "writings been on the wall" means it refers to something totally obvious to everyone, except the alchoholic blinded by the denial of his disease.To me its the members of AA welcoming him after he truly knows he's the same as them ,an alchoholic.
To sum up, AA is NOT religious. It is "not allied with any sect ,denomination ,or institution" That quote is from the AA preamble,read at the start of every AA meeting.
Steve
I totally agree with Steve.. Thank you for getting it right!!!! AA has nothing to do with religion, it is all about recovery through "SPIRITUAL" growth.
The writing on the wall as I see it, is the list of 12 steps posted on the walls of AA meeting places.
And dont forget that AA is also not allied with politic or any organizations. AA stand for Alcoholics Anonymous which also sets up guidlines to be "anonymous at the level of press, radio and films" as to protect members and AA as a whole. So this subject is basically offlimits to any members that wish to argue the facts in a public forum, such as this. I do realize that I am wrong for responding to this but my ego wont let misinformation be passed on blindly.
The writing on the wall as I see it, is the list of 12 steps posted on the walls of AA meeting places.
And dont forget that AA is also not allied with politic or any organizations. AA stand for Alcoholics Anonymous which also sets up guidlines to be "anonymous at the level of press, radio and films" as to protect members and AA as a whole. So this subject is basically offlimits to any members that wish to argue the facts in a public forum, such as this. I do realize that I am wrong for responding to this but my ego wont let misinformation be passed on blindly.
Once again, DT has come up with great music followed by unexplicit and
beautiful meanings.Anyway, i agree with the fact that AA it is not religious
linked, but i think that it is very possible that many of it's "inmates" do
look for spiritual confortation, life restauration and mental/physical recovery
through religion as well. I remeber that when i was about fourth or fifth
grade, there was a conversation/lecture made with members of AA who came to my
school. They told us of their personal history of how they got into alcoholism
problems due to every kind of reason, many of the times, due to family
problems (for example, family members being alcoholics as well), told us also
of how another problems that came into their lifes because of the alcohol,
such as use of another drugs, such as cocaine (i remeber that a young and
pretty woman said that she turned into cocaine because she had "discovered"
that cocaine would make her not feel the effects of alcohol, so she would be
able to drink even more). Anyway, i dont remeber of them talking about a 12
step program, but one thing that they said more than once is that what was the
recomendation told everybody in AA: " Dont drink today, and come tomorrow ".
"come" means going to the AA sessions, that seemed to be daily. I believe that
AA program of alcohol-realese must be universal, along everywhere on the
globe, but i dont know if there must be small diferences.... that was an AA
gorup lecture here in Brazil (such place is where i live at) and it was about
1994 or 1995...
well, theres enough written here! Hope this has been interesting to you as the
analysis and comments above were to me. "good winds to you all" !
beautiful meanings.Anyway, i agree with the fact that AA it is not religious
linked, but i think that it is very possible that many of it's "inmates" do
look for spiritual confortation, life restauration and mental/physical recovery
through religion as well. I remeber that when i was about fourth or fifth
grade, there was a conversation/lecture made with members of AA who came to my
school. They told us of their personal history of how they got into alcoholism
problems due to every kind of reason, many of the times, due to family
problems (for example, family members being alcoholics as well), told us also
of how another problems that came into their lifes because of the alcohol,
such as use of another drugs, such as cocaine (i remeber that a young and
pretty woman said that she turned into cocaine because she had "discovered"
that cocaine would make her not feel the effects of alcohol, so she would be
able to drink even more). Anyway, i dont remeber of them talking about a 12
step program, but one thing that they said more than once is that what was the
recomendation told everybody in AA: " Dont drink today, and come tomorrow ".
"come" means going to the AA sessions, that seemed to be daily. I believe that
AA program of alcohol-realese must be universal, along everywhere on the
globe, but i dont know if there must be small diferences.... that was an AA
gorup lecture here in Brazil (such place is where i live at) and it was about
1994 or 1995...
well, theres enough written here! Hope this has been interesting to you as the
analysis and comments above were to me. "good winds to you all" !
Just taking a shot in a different direction here, but couldn't a "glass prison" also be a metaphor? Prisons are usually difficult to escape from, but glass is known to break easily, however, when it does break, if you step on an ambiet peice, you end up hurt. This could mean that the problem (in this case, alcoholism) is easier to escape from than other problems (i say "easier" because of programs such as AA, im in no way trying to demean the severity of alcoholism) but even after you've escaped, you can end up with open wounds (cuts).
And thus ends my analysis of the "Glass Prison" metaphor!
And thus ends my analysis of the "Glass Prison" metaphor!
i agree that there has been some misinformation about the religious influence of AA. however, i dont know if that should automatically negate a religious connection to "glass prision," especially when you consider the last stanza of the song...
Fell down on my knees and prayed
'thy will be done'
I turned around saw a light shining through
The door was wide open
while the original interpreters connection between the writing on the wall and babylon is a bit of a stretch, there is almost no mistaking this as some sort of connection to the bible- this phrase appears once in both luke and matthew (the lords prayer) and again in matthew when jesus is praying to god about his coming crucifixion.
the final two lines use images of light and a door being opened, two images jesus used extensively in his preaching, but the connection is not as obvious here.
either way, the song is amazing and one of my favorite. just thought id throw this extra bit into the discussion.
Fell down on my knees and prayed
'thy will be done'
I turned around saw a light shining through
The door was wide open
while the original interpreters connection between the writing on the wall and babylon is a bit of a stretch, there is almost no mistaking this as some sort of connection to the bible- this phrase appears once in both luke and matthew (the lords prayer) and again in matthew when jesus is praying to god about his coming crucifixion.
the final two lines use images of light and a door being opened, two images jesus used extensively in his preaching, but the connection is not as obvious here.
either way, the song is amazing and one of my favorite. just thought id throw this extra bit into the discussion.
Nina
Although the 12 steps are modeled from the bible, this does not mean AA is a religious program. AA; a spiritual program, is for people who have been to hell and religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell. People who argue this point may have a reason to be so afraid of AA. In AA a higher power can be whatever an individual chooses it to be... if this is religious to someone, then who cares? People get so caught up in semantics. Whatever works is the most important thing here. Afterall, alcoholism kills people!-Nina
Evan
This song only covers the first three steps. This Dying Soul covers 4-6, and The Root of All Evil covers 7-9. We can assume that one of the tracks off of Systematic Chaos will cover the final three.
Actually, Evan, TDS covers 4-5 and ROAE covers 6-7, I believe. Repentance now covers steps 8-9.
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The prison is glass because it's something that others can't see as the person see's it. To outsiders, the glass is transparent and there looks to be no prison at all.
Crawling to my glass prison
A place where noone knows
My secret lonely world begins