The lyrics "Hey little sister, I heard you went to Mr. so and so knock,
knock, knocking
on his
door again last night saying you needed it bad" mean that this girl went
to her drug
dealer
and said she needed more drugs. Also, by saying she needed it bad, she
could mean
that she
was starting to go through withdrawal symptoms. "You know that ain't right
'cause
so many
times you've come to me cry, cry, crying trying to stop. You said that
it hurts so
bad, but
please don't let you go back for more." These words imply that at one point
she
went to
her sister trying to seek help for her drug problem, but habits are hard
to break,
especially
when the habit is something you're addicted to.
The lyrics "My little sister is a zombie in a body with no soul, a role
she has learned to
play in
a world where nothing else matters" mean that this girl is a person, when
on drugs,
walks
around unaware to the things going on around her. Also, this is implying
that in her
world
nothing else matters to her. She thinks that it makes her happier. That
is why she has
learned
to play the role of being a zombie. Just because nothing else matters to
her doesn't
mean that
it doesn't matter to her sister. By saying this, it implies that
her sister cares about
her.
The lyrics "We've gotta start feeding our souls, not our addictions or
afflictions of pain,
"mean
that you have to start doing things that will help you in the long run,
not keep taking
the drug
to keep you satisfied at the moment. The words "We've gotta start feeding
our
souls
which have been lost to the millions who feed on addictions, selling pills
and what's
hot, and
I wish I could save them from all their delusions, "mean that many people's
lives
have been
taken over by drugs and now that's all their life is. Their life is not
friends or
family
anymore. Her sister wants to help her. Also, she wants her to understand
that the
things
that drug use promises doesn't actually happen.
The lyrics "All the confusion of a nation that starve us for salvation,
but clothing is the
closest
approximation to God and he only knows are drugs are all we know of love,"
mean
that this
nation is depriving us from being saved from drugs because the use of drugs
is growing
rapidly.
When we have problems some people turn to drugs for answers instead of
going to
someone
who loves and cares about them. "Instead of a handshake or a hug we spill
the pills and
sweep
them under the rug." These words mean that instead of going to a person
when we are
down,
we turn to drugs "to make us feel better."
I think that this song was written to relay a message. The message is that
drugs are
addictive
and promise you things, when in reality, what they promise you isn't what
you get.
I also
think that this song's story has happened to or is happening to the artist's
sister. I
came to
this opinion by the way she sang this song and by the way it was written.
The song “Little Sister” by Jewel discusses someone who has a sibling with a drug problem and their struggle with trying to help them. The song also takes about why the narrator thinks that so many turn to drugs.
The narrator discusses her sister in the lines “My little sister is a zombie in a body/with no soul a role she has learned to play/in a world where nothing else matters”. She said that her sister is a zombie, because she can’t find any way to find herself, so she turns to drugs and becomes an addict. The narrator talks about her struggle with trying to help her sister quit in the first seven lines: “Hey little sister I heard you went to Mr. So and So, knocking on his door/again last night, said you needed it bad/you know that ain’t right/’cause so many times you’ve come to me crying/trying to stop, you said it hurt so bad/but please don’t let you/go back for more”.
The narrator feels that people turn to drugs because they feel alone and feel that they have nowhere else to turn. The song compares drugs and clothes to religion. Religion used to be where people found support and love, but now people are only interested in the material world, and turn to drugs to find a way out. The song says that we need to stop ignoring the drug problem and “start feeding our souls, not our addictions or afflictions of pain”.
The narrator wishes she could help her sister get clean and stay clean,
but she knows that she will probably start using again like she did before.
Many people have no idea how to start fighting the addiction, and
no one is willing to help them. She says “ We gotta start feeding our souls/have
been lost to the millions with lots/who feed on addiction selling pills
and what’s hot/ I wish I could save her from all their delusions/all the
confusion/……Everyday we starve while we eat white bread/and beer instead
of a handshake or a hug/we spill the pills and sweep them under the rug”.
This song deals with someone’s
struggle helping someone beat a drug addiction. It faces the subjects
of the addiction itself, and then the reasons the narrator feels are why
so many people don’t want to face drug problems. I feel that the
song approaches the subject from a point of few that many people don’t
think about: what do you do if you had to help someone quit. I think
that it raises an interesting point when it discusses how many people will
simply ignore that someone they know has a problem and acts like nothing
is wrong.