The Bottle
Bottled Lives: Unveiling the Struggles within the Melody
Lyrics
Time after time
Expressing the recurrence of a situation
See that black boy over there, runnin' scared
Observing a scared African American boy
His ol' man's in a bottle
His father is addicted to alcohol
He done quit his 9 to 5 to drink full time
He quit his job to drink full time
So now he's livin' in the bottle.
Living a life dominated by alcohol
See that Black boy over there, runnin' scared
Another scared African American boy
His ol' man got a problem
His father has a serious problem
Pawned off damn near everything, his ol'
His father pawned valuable items for alcohol
Woman's weddin' ring for a bottle
Mention of the woman's wedding ring traded for a bottle
And don't you think it's a crime
Questioning the morality of the situation
When time after time
Reiteration of the negative impact of time
And don't you think it's a crime
Repeating the question on the morality of the situation
When time after time, people in the bottle
People continuously trapped in the cycle of alcoholism
See that sister, she look fine before she
Introduction of a woman who appeared fine before drinking
Started drinkin' wine
Her descent into drinking wine from the bottle
From the bottle
Reference to the bottle as a source of her troubles
Said her ol' man committed a crime
Mentioning a crime committed by her partner
And he's doin' time
Her partner is now serving time in prison
So now she's in the bottle
She's now succumbed to the bottle herself
She's out there on the avenue, all by herself
Describing her lonely presence on the avenue
Sho' needs help from the bottle
She needs help but turns to the bottle instead
Preacherman tried to help her out
A preacher attempts to help, but she reacts violently
She cussed him out and hit him in the head with a bottle
She physically assaults the preacher with a bottle
And don't you think it's a crime
Reiteration of the moral questioning of the situation
When time after time, people in the bottle
People stuck in the cycle of alcoholism over time
See that gent in the wrinkled suit
Introduction of a man in a disheveled suit
He done damn near blown his cool to the bottle
He has lost control due to the bottle
He wuz a doctor helpin' young girls along
He was a doctor helping troubled young girls
Ff they wuzn't too far gone to have problems
Girls too troubled for him to assist
But defenders of the dollar eagle
The system criticizes his actions
Said ""What you doin', Doc, it ain't legal, ""
Criticism from those who prioritize money over people
And now he's in the bottle
Now he's also succumbed to the bottle
Now we watch him everyday tryin' to
His daily struggle to keep birds away from his bottle
Chase the pigeons away from the bottle
A symbolic battle against his addiction
And don't you think it's a crime
Reiteration of the moral question on the situation
When time after time, people in the bottle.
Continued observation of people trapped in the bottle
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