148 replies to this topic

[iwakeupalone]

I used to think that the line "Life is like a pipe, and I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside" meant that life revolved around drugs and she was the penny, she was only there to provide money for the drugs... but naah, I read into it too much. I reckon it's more simple than that, I think it's just about feeling trapped and directionless... no matter how many times a penny rolls up the wall of a pipe, it will always fall back to where it started, going nowhere...but who knows!

[africanfusion]

i think its as simple as her feeling like she has no control over the direction her life is taking her.

[Preckle]

The 'life is like a pipe' line has always been my favourite Amy lyric. For me it's just a perfect encapulation of being depressed. Feeling removed from the rest of the world and and as tho you are rattling up a long dark metal tunnel where sound is distorted, echoey.

Talk of crack pipes is ridicuous!

[pearljo]

amy had been diagnosed bipolar. that would explain up one side, down the other. no conscious decision, you're just in a loop. she's as small as a penny surrounded by an endless wall. there's no control.

[Sir' Taurean]

A penny, can be a term for the crack or meth rock.

[Lydia]

Life is like a pipe - something that's sucking you up.

A tiny penny - the most worthless piece of currency, whether you're English or American.

You're just the lowest form of life being sucked up by something that's larger than yourself.

In other words, "Life is like a pipe, and I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside" basically means that she's a little piece of the universe that is powerless against her fate.

[MDPA]

It is so intriguing all of the different interpretations of the lyric!

I always thought it meant something to do with size and position, being that rolling around inside a cylinder would make one loose sense of direction and where they are.

[JamaicaAndSpain]

I like Lydia's interpretation.

I always thought that it could mean that she is captured by the life she was living, like she couldn't escape it. I don't know how to explain it.

[AmyFanforever]

I used to think that the line "Life is like a pipe, and I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside" meant that life revolved around drugs and she was the penny, she was only there to provide money for the drugs... but naah, I read into it too much. I reckon it's more simple than that, I think it's just about feeling trapped and directionless... no matter how many times a penny rolls up the wall of a pipe, it will always fall back to where it started, going nowhere...but who knows!

I can get that.

[Amber]

Late in the topic, but hope this helps. Puff is Meth...Pipe refers to the Meth pipe. A penny is the quanity of meth being sold. ( sold as a penny )
" A penny rolling up the walls inside " is the lit pipe with a penny of Meth in it.
The smoke rolls up the walls inside the pipe. Drug reference. One of the drugs our Amy smoked.;-) " I'am ( refering to herself )a tiny penny. She is using it as a metaphor 4 her
life and drug abuse?

Edited by Amber, 01 December 2011 - 02:48 AM.
Clarity

[hockeygirl89]

Puff isn't meth... it's weed. But I guess you could apply the same principle to weed.

[prettymaryk]

I always interpreted it literally. I always imagined a big hollow construction pipe, kind of like this -

rolling down a hill (like in cartoons) with a penny inside it. The penny would be trapped there without any control over where it goes. (Also, getting really dizzy and bruised.) It's a really perfect way of phrasing that feeling of being completely powerless, directionless, feeling the futility of everything. Depression, basically. I'm with Preckle and iwakeupalone on this one.

Amy wrote a lot about drugs but she did it literally. She was straight to the point about it. I don't think this is a metaphor for anything.

[Nasha]

I always interpreted it literally. I always imagined a big hollow construction pipe, kind of like this -

rolling down a hill (like in cartoons) with a penny inside it. The penny would be trapped there without any control over where it goes. (Also, getting really dizzy and bruised.) It's a really perfect way of phrasing that feeling of being completely powerless, directionless, feeling the futility of everything. Depression, basically. I'm with Preckle and iwakeupalone on this one.

Amy wrote a lot about drugs but she did it literally. She was straight to the point about it. I don't think this is a metaphor for anything.

You took the words out of my mouth (especially the "feeling the futility of everything", that hadn't been mentioned yet in the different interpretations, I believe, but correct me if I'm wrong, I admit I haven't reread the whole thread before posting).
But I had never thought about the "getting really dizzy and bruised" aspect, thank you!
It's amazing how after having listened to her songs hundreds of times, you can still discover new aspects/levels. Tells a lot about her talent...

[prettymaryk]

It's amazing how after having listened to her songs hundreds of times, you can still discover new aspects/levels. Tells a lot about her talent...

I know! It's incredible how she conveys so much in so few words... there's something for everyone, yet it's so simple. It's something very few people can do.