Cry for Help

Album: The Sound of Madness (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about drug abuse. The person in the song is living off his friends while trying to raise money to pay off the "monkeys in the rabbit hole" (drug dealers).

    "The white witch" is heroin. "Mama Kin" is a character in the song "Mama Kin" by Aerosmith (One interpretation of the song is the hallucinations you get when high). The wolf implies that the hallucinations from the drug abuse are getting stronger and out of hand.

    The drug addict in the song better pray that he can find a way out because he's in too deep and nobody is going to help him. The drug addict may have thought it funny to say he was fine and have everyone fooled, but they only had one friend and now not even the friend is agreeing to help, because that friend was done being fooled.
  • The song was released on Shinedown's 2008 album The Sound Of Madness. Their frontman, Brent Smith, later admitted that he was in the throes of addiction during this time, so the song could have really been his cry for help. He was able to cut out drugs soon after but it took him longer to ditch alcohol.

Comments: 2

  • Zero from The Abyss, NjBy they way, this song perfectly describes my cousin.
  • Zero from Nowhere, NjI always thought the lyrics were "smokin' tea with Mama Kin" like the Aerosmith song goes, "Sleepin' late and smokin' tea". Tea, of course, being another word for marijuana.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

Janet Jackson

Janet JacksonFact or Fiction

Was Janet secretly married at 18? Did she gain 60 pounds for a movie role that went to Mariah Carey? See what you know about Ms. Jackson.

Who Wrote That Song?

Who Wrote That Song?Music Quiz

Do you know who wrote Patti Smith's biggest hit? How about the Grease theme song? See if you can match the song to the writer.

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.

Chris Isaak

Chris IsaakSongwriter Interviews

Chris tells the story of "Wicked Game," talks milkshakes and moonpies at Sun Records, and explains why women always get their way.

David Bowie Lyrics Quiz

David Bowie Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.