Wait and Bleed by Slipknot

Album: Slipknot (1999)

Charted: 27

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Songfacts®:

This song is about a man who keeps having repetitive black-and-white dreams about lying in a bathtub full of his own blood with his wrists slit. One day he wakes up and sees that his dream has become a reality, but he doesn't want to believe it and he tries to fall back asleep again.
One of Slipknot's most popular songs, "Wait And Bleed" is part of their 1999 self-titled album, their first on a major label (Roadrunner Records). The band came out of music-industry nowhere: Des Moines, Iowa, where the nine self proclaimed "tribe of misfits" came together to create a very intense brand of metal with striking visuals - they wear orange jumpsuits on stage and gnarly masks. They quickly built a following and became one of the most talked-about bands of the next decade.
Many Slipknot songs have very personal lyrics by lead singer Corey Taylor and make strong connections with the band. "Wait And Bleed" isn't one of them.

Slipknot drummer Chris Fehn (#3) explained to Songfacts: "It was just a basic song. We didn't know it was going to be that popular. The funny thing is, the record label, especially new guys at the record label, were coming around when we started getting big, and they're like, 'Oh, the next record you can write like three Wait And Bleeds.' And we're just like, You are an idiot. Therefore, we don't do that.

But obviously the band, believe it or not, we have so much control over what we do that we don't write anything for money, we don't write anything for popularity, we have to like it first. And it's just a song that we liked, and it just so happened that it got on the radio and got the attention that we didn't expect."
In the lyrics when Corey says, "I am a victim, a Manchurian Candidate!" he is referring to a movie from 1962 about communist mind control. Slipknot often add cinematic references to their songs; "sic," for instance, samples a line of dialogue from the movie Carlito's Way.
The photo on the album cover shows the band in a classic pose with their masks and jumpsuits. It was taken in percussionist Shawn Crahan's parents' garage.
Thomas Mignone directed the video. His other credits include "Death Blooms" and "Dig" for Mudvayne and "Dress Like a Target" for Superjoint Ritual.
Asked by Revolver in 2023 what he considers to be Slipknot's most overrated song, Corey Taylor chose this one. "I'm very much on the record saying that 'Wait and Bleed' is a pain in my f---ing ass," he said. "I've been singing it for 26 years and it hasn't gotten easier, folks!" he admitted. "But I still sing it with Slipknot and with my solo project, which tells you how much of a psycho I am, because I know people love that song. So, you gotta do it - and listen, it's a good problem to have."
In 2000, Slipknot released a remix of "Wait And Bleed" mixed by Terry Date. This is the version usually played by radio stations.

Comments: 70

MaggotI felt the hate rise up in me kneel down and clear the stone of leaves I wonder out wear you can’t see in side my shell I wait and bleed
Dixie from NormousLove that song man. The intro is next level.
AnonymousBulls--t....this song is about killing someone while being possessed. Crossing over into that life. Fully stepping in and accepting where you belong now after you've taken someone breath away. It's the only way to get rich and famous. Fits right along with the pentagrams portrayed on almost every album. Get real man. But I love me some slipknot for sure.
Mmhmm from SomewhereI think it's about self harm?
Branden from Orange Park, FlRIP Paul Grey one of the best bassist that ever exist in my opinion. Seen slipknot live in Florida back in 2013 great times man!
Tyra from Fortville , Ini love slipknot this song is a true heavey metal song i love rock so :)
Marc from Scra, PaI lost interest in reading. But it looks like alot of you think this is about suicide. uh-uh. oer side of tha fence lil dumplings. its murder. its killing. whats so hard. lyrics is clear. smiles
Jo from Corsicana, TxAll you maggots out their sayin Wait and Bleed is Slipknot's best song, I've got 5 songs that r 10x better; (sic), Spit it Out, Eyeless, My Plague, and Liberate.
Chris from Canberra, AustraliaWhats with the Black and White dreams bit where did that come from in the lyrics and what does "Clear the Stone of Leaves" mean?
Jambi666 from Belgrade, YugoslaviaI think it's about this world,and s--t in it...My eyes are red and gold, the hair is standing straight up..This is not the way I pictured me..he is trying to say that he has been shoven differently then he is...that now everything can be made,and be plastic!!!
Slip-k-riste-n-ot from Sydney, Australiathis is the very first slipknot song i heard. i can relate to it alot in life and i still like it to this very day and ill even die with this song. i live and ill die for slipknot. theyve changed me into the person i wanna be. i love this song so much
Drew from Knoxville, Tnin my opinion.wait and bleed is about the dangers of life and how some people want to get away.and stay safe.they will just wait.....
Erik from Brownwood , Txive heard some crazy things about this song. like the lead singer who wrote the song was the one they had before cory. and it was about the prom and wanting to kill the people who made fun of him.
Alex from Saint Paul, Mnawww i'm just laughing how sooooo many people so called "love" this band, yet they all argue with eachother.
stay sic maggots
Keith from Lexington, KyFor all of you who say Wait and Bleed is slipknots best song YOU ARE WRONG! You only like it because its not as hard as everything else. Iowa is slipknots best album and Joey Jordison is the best drummer ever, ive not heard their new cd yet but from the 2 songs i have heard from it it sounds like they are going back to the sounds of IOWA. BE happy they are making music the way they do and stop wanting them to follow the fads of those other bands like the Hawthorne Homos and the Fall Out Fagots. Ohh and one more thing bands are just mad cause they cant bring elements of rap and other genres into their music and do it GREAT. and to all my MAGGOT brothers out there ALL HOPE IS GONE!!!
Patty from Alamo, Txcan anybody tell me wat rapcore is?????.....this band is awesome...i fell in love with this band by hearing one of there songs well by wait and bleed....everyone can relate to this song in some way....and corey does not belong in hawthorne heights or good charlotte...thats just wrong...he is fine the way he is and i agree his voice is so awesome!!!!love this band....and love to the other band mates to everyone is awesome!!!!!!
Patty from Alamo, Txi love every song of them!!!!!!....they are so awesome you guys are coming to san antonio!!!!...i want to go so bad....well you guys rock...cant wait for the album release...=D
Matt from Cape May, Nji aint a big slipknot fan but this is a good song!
Azreal from Nampa, Idthis song is one of there best and has helped me a lot with life...stay (sic) maggots
Justin from Franklin, Vaalso a little interesting fact, VH1 (yea i know big deal lol) rated Wait & Bleed #37 on its top 40 metal songs of all-time
Yoseph from Cupertino, CaWhy is there no guitar solos in slipknot?

I mean they have 2 guitarists...Maybe i havent heard enugh slipknot yet.
Jeff from Helena, Mtthere is something wrong with everyone. but dont think you have it the worst because there is someone out there that has it way worse than you will ever have it
Joel from Los Angeles, CaHeard this song again on a road trip. We were on anti-depressents (I was at least). I don't know exactly what to say about the song now cause I'm sort of sick of Slipnot and sh*t.
Gabreya from Pine Bluff, AkI love this song. It's like it's very scary,wierd,alarming,and exiciting! I think this song is about injuring yourself,anger, and going completely insane from all the crap you been through in life. Self injury is a crazy,bad thing. Personally,I think it's also about rage. 50% of it is about sucide/self injury, 25% of it is about insanity, and the other 25% is about being angry. Being angry at yourself,everyone else,stuff like that. The chorus seems to imply, especially the tones that the person who's contemplating sucide is also going crazy for doing that and angry at everything, even himself for getting himself involved in that type of situation.
Geneva! from City 0f Evil, CaI think this about Corey's life before getting sober and stuff.....he's been through some seriously rough times,and he turned his life around and made things better for himself I respect Corey soooo much.
Taylor from Malburn, Alu all r emo
Tommy from Marietta, GaThis is one of the songs from Slipknot that I can really relate to. SLIPKNOT IS DEFINETLY MY KIND OF BAND!!!
Chenel from Salamanca, Nywe're all a little crazy sometimes. that's why this song is perfect.
Vanessa from Orlando, FlCorey had a dream that he had slit his wrists in a bathtub and was drowning in his own blood. I heard him say it. So there you go. This song is genius. It was created in 5 minutes and I don't know one person who doesn't like it.
Thecyndicate from Las Vegas, NvI thought it was common knowledge that this song was about a record executive that killed himself?

And Slipknot is "Rapcore" Although I take offense to that catagory. The original term was "Pimprock".

They have somewhat morphed into something else.
Nothing at ALL is wrong with RapRock. It shows a progression towards acceptance and tolerance.

When this song dropped, they were for sure "RapRock". I just wouldn't label them that anymore.
Billy from Edmonton, CanadaThis song is amazing... but NOT RAPCORE! Slipknot is metal! yes, they have some rap elements... but they are not rapcore. the song is about a dude who's dreaming about bleeding from his wrists in a bathtub, but when he's almost dead, he realizies that he's not dreaming, so he simply "Waits and Bleeds"... i also think he was on weed or acid... because he talks about his eyes being red and gold... so he might've been high.
Joel from Columbia, ScI think this song is about Corey's attempt at suicide.
-Joel, Columbia,SC
Joel from Columbia, ScWait and Bleed is a good song. I agree with rachel on that one.
-Joel, Columbia,SC
Adriana from Hurst, Txi love slipknot they can be wild,crazy, sad, slow, fast... their the best! im always in the mood for slipknot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ryan from Elizabethton, Tnslipknot kicks a** this their best song and there is no reason to argue
Iris from San Diego, TxI love Slipknot, i've been a fan 4 2 years. The first song that i heard was Duality. Then i got there cds. Slipknot f***ing awsome band. I love them, Wait and Bleed is 1 of my fave songs of the Slipknot cds. Joey Jordison is a badass drummer.
Tristan from Omaha, Nethis and "Before I forget" are the 2 songs that made me listen to slipknot everyday and that this song is what made slipknot huge back in 2000
Brett from Rockton, Il2 words describe this song BAD ASS
Richard from Chino Hills, Cagreat song, but then again all their songs r great.
Medusa from Spokane, Wai loved this song it is asume but arnt 95% of there songs good
Wendy from Ft. Worth, TxGreat song. I've loved it since day 1 when my bro came over and we listened to it together. We wrote the lyrics on his wall in glow paint. It's still there and that was YEARS ago.
Marissa from Palmdale, CaBad ass song, Slipknot totally great band
Mike from Lisbon, NdThis is the song that made slipknot my favorite band, and turned me toward metal. At the time i was really depressed and angry and extremely insane. I heard the song on the radio and was immediatly hooked. In a way slipknot changed my life, and im proud to be a maggot
Linz from Buxton, MeWait and Bleed is a really good song. Slipknot is one of my favorite bands, most of their songs are good but this is one of my favorites and I'm sure others can agree with me :)
Robert from Pickering, Canadaslipknot is the greatest band in the world and is the band that got me in to heavy metal
Dylan from Yorkville, IlSlipknot is Industrial-Metal my friend; Not rapcore.
Rony from Houston, TxSLIPKNOT IS NOT METAL!!!! They are rapcore!
Sam from Chicago, IlThis song is what really got me into heavy metal and realted music. This song is absolutely the best of slipknot.
Rob from Massapequa, Nythis is the song that made slipknot my favorite band
Hayley from Mckinney, TxThis song is really awesome. Corey taylor is an amazing song writer as well as joey. But i think that they could have wrote this song based on somethng else, to make it stornger like a life story or something. <3
Cool Guy from Compton, CaWhatever of the how many number of band members there are (8,9,or 10?) he sounds real emo. He should be singing in Hawthorne Heights, or Good Charlotte.
Summer from Midilothian, Txcorey taylor's voice is sooooo sexy at the beginning of ths song!!!
Brad from Danville, VaI can relate to this song because i do a lot of motocross racing, infact its my life. Anyhow this song makes me think of every injury or wipeout ive ever had. It reminds me of this ebcause when u wipe out, it seems liek to just wait and bleed for hours b4 the medics get there. And the lyrics are similar to what im thinking when i lie there after a big wreck, infact almost identicle.
Izzy from Tampa, Flmy friend toldme about this song and it quickly became my #1.
Rachel from Raleigh, Ncthis song makes me happy everytime i listen to it!
Rachel from Raleigh, Nchey everyone has something wrong with them and the only people that i have seen that snapped are SlipknoT fans and i have snapped before and i am a SlipknoT fan! i love this song! i think this song is about suicide or self injury and that is why i like it even more.
James from Australia, Australiai have a version of wait and bleed where instead of it going i felt the hate rise up in me it goes i felt the air rise up in me is this the remix version aaron is talking about??
Magdalena from Mo I Rana, NorwayI really love this song! it's the first song I've heard with SlipKnoT, and after I heard it, I loved the band!!
Aaron from Chicago, IlThis song was also featured on the 'Scream 3' soundtrack album. And by request of Creed (the album's producers) they did a remix which features a mellower version of the 'get out of my head' verse. However, its not listed as a remix.
Zachary from North Adams, MaA good site to go to is www.black-goat.com It has lots of info for Slipknot and It has Song Meanings for all of their albums accept Vol. 3 [The Subliminal Verses]
Hassan from Nyc, NySlipknot is really awesome, adn i love there songs, i mean i agree with derek because slipknot might have something wrong with each member, but every people have a problmes, no one's perfect, and i inspire there style of wearing mask. it's the coolest thing i ever saw and if there is a band htat could inspire any one, it would haev to be slipknot!
Ian from New York, NyThat graveyard comment is very accurate. It's like he's looking at his own grave which fits in to the rest of the song.
Derek from Upper Scioto Valley, OhWait and Bleed is one of the best songs done by slipknot up to date, and if you think that all slipknot fans have something wrong with them, not all but some of us just like to snap on others and let it all go, so snap and go crazy.
Tanen from Wurtsboro, Nymy question about this song that noone ever explains is "kneel down and clear the stone of leaves" that gives the picture of a graveyard to me...and to the idiot that said all slipknot fans hav something wrong with them..DUDE get a life everyone and i mean everyone ah something wrong with them
Chris from Newmachar, ScotlandThe first time i heard this song was in 2001 which was not the best of years for me personally. Whenever i played this it actually made me feel better and still does to this day. Isn't that ironical?
Maryalice from Virginia Beach, Vaif you go to the slipknot website it tells you.. this song is about someone dreaming they are bleeding to death and then waking up in a bathtub (the shell in the song) and realizing it wasnt a dream and they cant do anything besides wait and bleed (to death)
Marc from Sarasota, FlI really don't see how this song is about repetitive suicidal B&W dreams. If anything this song is about hurting others (Or dreaming about it). Take the lines "I wander out where you can see" and "just making my mind up and taking your breath away". Also, the song references the movie Manchurian Candidate, starring Frank Sinatra (about to be remade with Denzel Washington). The movie was about a WWII soldier who was captured and brainwashed into becoming an unwitting assasin. The first verse of "Wait and Bleed" fits in very well with the paranoia of the movie "This is not the way I pictured me...how the hell did I get here?...something is very wrong...Is it a dream or memory?" This song is about committing violence (to yourself or others), but not being sure why you did it.
Jayson from Sacramento, Caactually its about Corey...He had a dream that he was laying in a bathtub of blood (hence the music video) and he would wake up and be in a bathtub of blood, and he would wake up it would happen again, and etc... so its just talking about how you can never wake up and your just going to sit there and "wait and bleed."
Nick from Paramus, NjI just added songfacts for 74261700027, (sic), Spit It Out, Scissors, (515), and Everything Ends. Hopefully this site will put them up. If you have any info on their songs feel free to ad to the site the info isn't hard to find.
Mandie from Martinsville, InI love this song!! If it really is about SI(self injury) or suicide I like it even more, I can relate to that stuff.

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