Poison by Alice Cooper Lyrics Meaning – Exploring the Venomous Allure of Forbidden Love
Lyrics
Your blood, like ice
One look, could kill
My pain, your thrill
I wanna love you but I better not touch (don’t touch)
I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna kiss you but I want it too much (too much)
I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison
You’re poison, running through my veins
You’re poison
I don’t want to break these chains
Your mouth, so hot
Your web, I’m caught
Your skin, so wet
Black lace, on sweat
I hear you calling and it’s needles and pins (and pins)
I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name
Don’t want to touch you but you’re under my skin (deep in)
I wanna kiss you but your lips are venomous poison
You’re poison, running through my veins
You’re poison
I don’t want to break these chains
Poison
One look, could kill
My pain, your thrill
I wanna love you but I better not touch (don’t touch)
I wanna to hold you, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna to kiss you but I want it too much (too much)
I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison
You’re poison, running through my veins
You’re poison
I don’t want to break these chains
Poison (poison)
I wanna love you but I better not touch (don’t touch)
I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna kiss you but I want it too much (too much)
I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison
Yeah, well I don’t want to break these chains
Poison (poison)
Runnin’ deep inside my veins
Burnin’ deep inside my brain (poison)
Poisoning (poison)
I don’t want to break these chains (poison)
Poison
(Poison) I don’t want to break these chains (poison)
When Alice Cooper unleashed ‘Poison’ onto the airwaves in 1989, the track slithered its way into the hearts of rock enthusiasts with its gothic allure and hypnotic rhythms, leaving an indelible mark on the music scene. Beyond its seductive guitar riffs and Cooper’s signature gravel-tinged vocals, ‘Poison’ presents a narrative rich in lyrical intrigue and metaphorical complexity. The song’s exploration of desire and danger has continued to captivate listeners, navigating the treacherous waters of forbidden love and obsession.
Cooper’s ability to juxtapose the allure of temptation with the poison of consequence makes ‘Poison’ a tantalizing study. It’s a song that still resonates with its audiences as a timeless dilemma; the human heart trapped between carnal desires and the call of conscience. What follows is a deep dive into the song’s haunting core, teasing out the subtleties and exposing the raw emotion that lies beneath.
Unmasking the Predator Within: Power and Seduction
The gripping opener, ‘Your cruel device / Your blood, like ice’, immediately confronts us with the powerful imagery of a beguiling yet chilling lover. This juxtaposition of hot and cold plays throughout the song, mimicking a predator’s nature, which both attracts and paralyzes its prey. It conjures visions of temptation—someone so alluring that even though every instinct screams danger, surrender remains a tempting prospect.
Cooper’s choice of words is no accident; ‘cruel device’ suggests an intentional trap, one that is as alluring as it is potentially destructive. The mention of ‘blood, like ice’ indicates a cold, calculating nature behind the tempting façade, hinting at the peril that comes with getting too close to something—or someone—that can harm you just as easily as they can excite you.
The Siren’s Call: Desire’s Inescapable Grip
‘I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop’—the refrain echoes the classic tale of the Siren’s call, irresistible yet deadly to those who heed it. It is about the magnetic pull of desire, the kind that clouds judgement and threatens to overthrow even the most well-intentioned resolve.
Cooper’s portrayal conjures an almost visceral struggle between mind and body. The lyrics depict the torture of senses ensnared by a desire so potent that it borders on the addictive. There’s an undercurrent of masochism here, an acknowledgment that sometimes it’s the very danger of a relationship that fuels the fire of attraction.
Venomous Verses: The Song’s Most Memorable Lines
The standout line, ‘I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison’, is as iconic as it is charged with meaning. It plays on the classic motif of the kiss being both a symbol of love and a potential harbinger of betrayal and ruin. The poetic intensity of this line lies in its stark portrayal of the raw conflict between longing and the knowledge that giving into such longing would be disastrous.
This line captures the song’s essence perfectly; it harnesses the power of the forbidden and the beauty of the fatale. It’s a sentiment that listeners universally resonate with and one that has imprinted ‘Poison’ firmly into the minds of those entangled in its melodic web.
Decoding the Hidden Meaning: The Chilling Duality of Addiction
Despite its overt depictions of lust and warning, ‘Poison’ subtly addresses a hidden theme—addiction. Whether substance or emotional, the addictive qualities of a dangerous relationship are laid bare. The repeated phrase ‘I don’t want to break these chains’ serves a dual purpose, highlighting both the binds of addiction and the comfort found in known, albeit harmful, patterns.
The lyric frames the psychological dilemma faced by many who experience toxic relationships: the strange comfort in familiarity, even when it’s damaging. It’s an illustration of the complicated nature of addiction, where the very thing that harms us also offers a perverse sense of security.
The Lethal Injection of Gothic Romance in Rock
Beyond the personal narrative, ‘Poison’ resurrected a blend of gothic romanticism and rock culture that fans hadn’t realized they were craving. With imagery so vivid it’s nearly cinematic, Cooper crafts a tale oozing with gothic undertones, haunted by the specters of Dracula and Carmilla. The song has stood as a monument to the capability of rock music to not just capitalize on but also celebrate theatrical narratives.
In marrying the dark with the seductive, Cooper created more than a smash hit—he spawned a legacy. ‘Poison’ has become a sonic emblem for a kind of romantic intrigue that is as deadly as it is enticing. It is a dark poem set to rhythm, a tune that fans would happily let run through their veins for decades to come.
