anonymous 2006-02-27 20:19:46    

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Well I'm still analizing this song further, but it's blatantly obvious that it's about society's dependancy on scripts, upon scripts, upon scripts. our obsession with hypocondriacism, need pills to sleep, to wake up, to eat, to lose weight, to look youger, to deal with our miserable existence......instead of just living like "God" intended.

I believe it's maybe talking about one wealthy, worthy bitch of a person who is constantly pumping him/herself full of pills, pills to offset the shakes, to offset the pills.......a repetitive circle of unfortunate events.

The "she" in the song is maybe a nurse or a caregiver or psychiatrist. She never gets rid of the pain, the illusions, the depression, whatever.......but at least she pumps the character full of enough pills to make him/her forget that she's "sick" and fucked up.

anonymous 2006-03-04 18:10:42    

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To elaborate my point further, not sure if there really are legitimate 'script nicknames, such as "nails" and "tacks" but it makes a lot of sense if certain drugs are known by these names, even if not, they are good metaphors for such. I'm also beginning to think that there is no physical "she" in the song, he's just talking about pills in human form, well documented in history as being common:
"lady heroin", "mary jane" etc

anonymous 2006-04-21 21:19:09    

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I think that point about "she" being the drugs is a great interpretation! I would never have thought of that!>bravo<

You've also already touched on what I thought about the 'nails' and 'tacks' being drugs. In that these things are supposed to make you better, but really theyre destoying you from the inside out.

The demo includes another verse [thats also in the album booklet]

'a pessimist? no, I just can't help it
to say what everyone else is thinking
let me state the obvious again'

That might help you with your interpetation. Also after 'to offset the shakes. To offset the pills' it says in brackets 'fix a vice with a vice'.
the whole dependancy on drugs thing?

Another plausible meaning of this song I've heard is that this is about an attention seeking hypochondriac. who is feigning mental illness.

They've been sent to the hospice after a suicide attempt and are given special attention. "a >cut< above all the rest" is a play on words.

To keep themselves there theyre faking stutters [with the way youve been talking every word gets you a step closer to hell - you're lying with every stutter.] to 'the support on the line' aka the staff and faking delusions etc.

Everyone knows they're a fake but no one will say anything except the narrator. [see the extra verse]. I assume the narrator is another carer who is just fed up with this person's act.

I know there's a lot missing from that but it does give you a little bit of an idea as to the song's meaning.

The other possibility is that this is about Ryan's father. I know that's what Camisado is about and in the interview with rolling ston ryan mentioned it wasn't the only song about his father.

SeikenIX 2006-05-01 18:40:28    

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This one is talking about the dangers of addictions how I can about this idea is the line "Prescribed pills/To offset the shakes/To offset the pills/You know you should take/It a day at a time." Simply put, addiction is just a never ending chain that may most likely ruin your life, sure it states that pills are the addiction here but I think the overall message is about any addiction.

anonymous 2006-06-11 20:41:11    

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This song has to do with pills/meds/drugs/whatever, no doubt. Brava above.

anonymous 2006-06-12 23:33:33    

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I agree with all the above interpretations. I think the title "Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks" have to do with the drugs the person in the song is taking, but it's also kind of irony, as the phrase "I eat nails for breakfast" means being tough.

anonymous 2006-07-30 18:20:33    

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This song, like camisado is about his father and alcoholism. It was in an article in the july issue of kerrang!

anonymous 2006-08-05 17:43:00    

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I think it's about addiction:
slurred speech
"should've taken it one day at a time"
talks about pills

simple. Right?

anonymous 2006-08-17 20:53:58    

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It is about Ryan's father and his alcoholism. Ryan said so himself.

anonymous 2006-08-22 21:23:31    

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This song is about ryans dads alcholism hence" your speech is slurred enough that you just might swallow your tongue" although it does seem like it is putting some human personalities to the drugs like others have said before me.

anonymous 2006-09-30 02:44:56    

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Well actually I read in a magazine article interview with Ryan Ross that he actually wrote this song about his dad, and Camisado was written about his dad as well so haha!! Lol

anonymous 2006-10-09 13:22:56    

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Ryan's dad died on July 28 2006. He was an alcoholic. That's at the time he wrote these songs he didn't know his dad would die so soon. But he did know he was addicted to alcohol.

anonymous 2006-10-20 20:57:57    

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I'm convinced it's about his father's alcoholism.
For some reasons like:

1)"you know you should take it a day at a time"
--> it's what they always tell you at aa meetings.

2)"I am
alone in this bed, house, and head
and she never fixes this
but at least she..."
--> "she" is alcohol.
--> he talks about beiing alone in your house, room and head (empty of thoughts) and that you can overcome the moment with "her" ... Not "fix it", just overcome that situation.

3)"the hospice is
a relaxing weekend getaway
where you're a cut above all the rest
sick and sad patients
on first name basis with all the top physicians"
--> this means that when his father is in the hospice (health care facility), it's the only moment he can enjoy like you do in a "relaxing weekend getaway"

anonymous 2006-10-22 12:15:27    

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This song is about Ryan's father. He died earlier this year, but this is what it used to be like for him (*tear*)

anonymous 2006-11-14 17:04:14    

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This song is about ryan and his alcoholic father.
The 'she' is probably someone (a nurse) who knew his dad had problems and was an alcoholic but never really did anything to help the situation.
It's just a song ryan wrote to try and express how he felt about his dad.

anonymous 2006-11-18 14:19:50    

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The song happens to be about Ryan Ross' father an alcoholic. When he was young his father had to go to a hospital for it. His mom was dead, and so basically at that time he was alone, confused and depressed. He's talking about his feelings about the subject and his father's illness.

allxofxme 2006-11-21 11:49:36    

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To me, this song is about how society doesn't want to deal with thier problems, mainly the terminally ill. A hospice is a care center for the terminally ill. The lines about stuttering and being closer to hell are the patients trying to communicate with thier family and receive love. Then come the lines perscribe pills, this is again how society doesn't want to deal with the problem.

anonymous 2006-11-26 02:38:50    

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I read in an article that one of the member's father's was an alcoholic. This song is clearly an ode to him.

Watch your mouth
Oh, oh, oh
Because your speech is slurred enough
That you just might swallow your tongue
I'm sure you'd want, want to give up the ghost
With just a little more poise than that
--
when you are drunk, you're speech is usually slurred and hard to understand. "with just a little more poise" possibley refers to how drinking is horrible and ruins what the public thinks of you. "wouldnt you want to go with a little more dignity," is probably what that means.

Or was it God who chokes
In these situations, running late?
No, no, he called in
Or was it God who chokes
In these situations, running late?
No, no, he called in
--
this verse mentions how God clearly didn't help his father's situation, and wasn't there. it's really quite sarcastic.

The hospice is
A relaxing weekend getaway
Where you're a cut above all the rest
Sick and sad patients
On first name basis with all the top physicians
--
this verse reminds me of the late great show everwood, where jake goes to rehab for drug abuse. Here, I think PATD is making reference to an AA meeting, where the acloholics spend the weekend.

Prescribed pills
To offset the shakes
To offset the pills
You know you should take
It a day at a time
--
medication, but seems to be a little more poetic...i can't tell.

That's when you stu-stu-stutter something profound
To the support on the line
And with the way you've been talking
Every word gets you a step closer to hell
--
stuttering...you can't think straight when you are drunk or have been drinking. the say he has been talking--slurred, aka, when he is under the influence, he is getting closer to dying...and going to hell.




and that's basically it.
it's a really sad song, but really poetic and I love it.

anonymous 2006-11-28 06:52:57    

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brendon has said that the title for this song is something that ryan's dad used to say to him: 'well, if you're not tough enough you'll just have to have nails for breakfast and tacks for snacks'. I think this song is about ryan's father and his alcoholism, as ryan has said it is about his dad.

'with the way you've been talking every word sends you a step closer to hell' - about being told by his father that his life is so awful (ergo, he drinks) and feeling like he was the one that caused him to feel like that.

'prescribed pills, to offset the shakes, to offset the pills you know you should take (it a day at a time)' - about trying to convince his father that he should stop drinking and persuading him to take medications and then other medications to counteract the effects of the first ones. He feels helpless because he'd watching his father kill himself and there's nothing he can do about it.

'thats when you st-st-stutter something profound to the support on the line' - taking the piss out of how easy it is for his father to convince the outside world that there is no problem with a few well chosen words. feeling like he's the only one who could do something but he can't because he's a kid and no one would listen to him.

to sum up: ryan's feelings and experiences with his father's alcoholism

anonymous 2006-11-30 17:07:17    

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Well, Ryan Ross wrote the song and he said it was about his father, [[who died recently]] who was an alcoholic, i.e "Watch your mouth 'cause your speech is slurred", "The hospice is a relaxing weekend getaway where you're a cut above all the rest"
Thats what I read recently. So, yeah.