Album: City Of Evil (2005)

License This Song 

• I slide through the wasteland that's my world
  My hunger takes your life, preyed on to keep me alive, yeah
  Mercy's all that you need, mercy's empty in me
  
  Can't you feel the poison rising out of the morning and clear through the night
  You can feel my strength destroy you straight to the heart from the venomous bite
  
  That's right I shed my skin tonight but my fangs are hard to hide
  And you know that you're going to die, yeah
  Mercy's all that you need, mercy's empty to me
  
  Can't you feel the poison rising out of the morning and clear through the night
  You can feel my strength destroy you straight to the heart from the venomous bite
  
  
  I can't regret, can't escape decisions made for me, no control
  That burns and never dies, wrapped around I'll bury my fangs inside
  
  Making my way through the night you're still in my sight
  You're runnin' away cause ya' know you can't hide
  My instincts are cold blooded hate; to you I'm the bearer of fate
  Wrong place and now the wrong time, now terror is all that you'll find
  
  Can't you feel the poison rising out of the morning and clear through the night
  You can feel my strength destroy you straight to the heart from the venomous bite
  
  I can't regret, can't escape decisions made for me, no control
  That burns and never dies, wrapped around I'll bury my fangs inside
  
  Stay inside tonight, you're out there all alone
  Vanish from my sites, venomous control
  You can't make it right, my appetite has grown
  Lost your final fight, no love will be shown
  
  Stay inside tonight, you're out there all alone
  Vanish from my sites, venomous control
  You can't make it right, my appetite has grown
  Lost your final fight, no love will be shown Writer/s: BRIAN HANER, JAMES OWEN SULLIVAN, MATTHEW CHARLES SANDERS, ZACHARY JAMES BAKER
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

• Ivan from New Mexico as someone who's dabbled in the occult and has had experiences with this figure, i think Connor is right. Its kind of scary how they portray the figure. its almost as if it has possessed the band to make this song.
• Darian64 from Randle, WaSome have speculated that the meaning of this song can also be interpreted as looking through the mind of a serial killer. With that being said, I have another theory. This song can also be a reference to The Shining. The song is called “Sidewinder” and that’s the name of the town where Jack Torrance and his family came from. Put that together with what I just said previously, and it’s pretty plausible that you can look at this song as a nod to The Shining, which I think is cool.
• Connor from British ColumbiaPLEASE READ I know the real song meaning everyone else is way off!!! This is a song about being a reptilian shapeshifter: real life vampire. That's when someone because of their genetics, temporarily transforms into a huge lizard humanoid while they are performing human sacrifice. This is what the divine right to rule is actually. For more information on this subject I suggest reading many books on the occult and this stuff will make sense like simple math. The truth is there for those who are strong enough to handle it.
• Caleb from Richmond, VaIt is a metaphor for drug addiction. The "sidewinder" is literally the addiction itself. It cannot feel any type of emotion and it leaves the person completely helpless to the strength of the addiction. "Stay inside tonight" is a plea from the people around this person who want to keep him away from the addiction. This song is most likely a triple entendre, as the literal meaning of this song is that of a snake hunting for it's prey. Another meaning that can be taken from this is that of a person who does only evil and selfish things. As previously stated, the lyrics can also be construed as being about drug addiction.
• Alan from The Meadow Of Rainbows, United KingdomI think its a metaphor for a person who knows that he will do bad things to the people he loves, so he tries to distance himself from them, e.g. "Stay inside tonight, vanish from my sight"
• Martin from Rostock, GermanyR.E.M. also mentioned that animal in "The Sidewinder sleeps Tonite"

More Songfacts:

All ApologiesNirvana

When the Christian band DC Talk covered Nirvana's "All Apologies" at concerts, they would change the line "Everyone is gay" to "Jesus is the Way."

The Rubberband ManThe Spinners

"The Rubberband Man" is a "short, fat guy" with rhythm and grace. Spinners producer Thom Bell wrote it to boost the self-esteem of his rotund son.

PegSteely Dan

"Peg" by Steely Dan is told from the perspective of Peg's jilted ex-boyfriend as he watches her launch an acting career.

Try AgainAaliyah

Until December 5, 1998, a song had to be issued as a single to make the Hot 100. Aaliyah's "Try Again" was the first tune to top the chart based on airplay alone, without any sales figures being included.

My Name IsEminem

Eminem sampled a song by Labi Siffre on "My Name Is." Siffre, a gay activist, made Em take out some gay humor in the lyric before allowing it.

BailandoEnrique Iglesias

Enrique Iglesias' single "Bailando" was the first ever Spanish-language song to reach one billion views on YouTube.

Editor's Picks

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

David SanciousSongwriter Interviews

Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.

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.

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.