Alice In Chains - Man in the Box

Alice In Chains - Man in the Box - Meaning of the song

"Man In The Box" deals with censorship, with animal cruelty used as a metaphor. The "man in the box" is like a veal calf trapped in confinement. The song was inspired by lead singer Layne Staley's impressions of both censorship and meat consumption, but saying the song is "about" either of those things would be stretching the facts. Staley didn't like it when musicians got political because he didn't feel they (including himself) should be preaching about things they weren't qualified to elaborate on. The final lyrics for "Man In The Box" are rather opaque, but Staley did explain the meaning. The song started out being about censorship alone, but then Staley and AIC went to dinner with some Columbia Records executives. Some of the executives were vegetarians, and the conversation turned to the way calves were raised in tiny boxes to be slaughtered for veal. As explained in Alice In Chains: The Untold Story by David De Sola, Staley incorporated thoughts inspired by that conversation into the song he was working on. In its final version, "Man In The Box" is written from the perspective of a calf in a box waiting to be slaughtered. The censorship aspect of the song is basically indecipherable and would probably be lost entirely if not for the fact that Staley mentioned it in some interviews.

Man in the Box - Lyrics

I'm the man in the box [Album version:] Buried in my shit [Music video version:] Buried in my pit 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 Feed my eyes. Now you've sewn them shut I'm the dog who gets beat [Album version:] Shove my nose in shit [Music video version:] Shove my nose in spit 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 Feed my eyes. Now you've sewn them shut Feed my eyes. Can you sew them shut? Jesus Christ, deny your maker He who tries will be wasted Feed my eyes. Now you've sewn them shut

Alice In Chains - Man in the Box - Live