Semi-Charmed Life

"Semi-Charmed Life" is post-grunge band Third Eye Blind's first single off their self-titled debut album, released in 1997. It was a major hit of the 90s reaching number four in the U.S., and the Top 40 in the UK. Further, it has had a pervasive cultural impact, getting featured on a wide variety of movie soundtracks. It is almost instantly recognized by the earlier members of Generation Y.

"Semi-Charmed Life"
Song

Beneath a catchy upbeat melody, the song contains dark lyrics about a drug user's descent into crystal meth addiction and his sexual activities. However, the single still became a major hit. There may have been a public effort to disguise the meaning of the song, as the words "crystal meth" are frequently censored on radio stations, or "blurred" out of recognition.

The lyrics "I want something else" in the chorus, were originally "I want nothing else", but this was changed at the last minute. When the band was asked why, they avoided answering. It is speculated that the replacement of "nothing" with "something" in this instance would make it seem as though the subject of the song wanted to stop using drugs, as opposed to "wanting nothing else" other than drugs.

Drug references in the song

• "I'm packed and I'm holding" (The user is high -- nose is "packed" -- and has meth on his person -- "holding")
• "Chop another line like a coda with a curse" (A "line" of meth is chopped with a razor blade, then snorted -- "coda with a curse" because it is done repeatedly in an attempt to avoid a meth "crash")
• "Doing crystal meth will lift you up until you break" ("Crystal meth" is often censored, or blurred)
• "And then I bumped up, I took the hit that I was given" (Bump is a popular term for small line; The user snorted the hit that he was given)
• "I'm scared I'm not coming down" (The user's so wired that he's getting paranoid)
• "...she said she was crashing" (The user is losing the "high" and being overcome by depression and fatigue)
• "She's got her jaws now locked down in a smile" (The user is on edge, tense, and the smile is false)
• "I was taking sips of it to my nose" (The user was snorting bumps)
• "I won't come down" (The user doesn't want to lose the high, ever)
• "I want something else" (The user wants something other than meth to get him through life)

• "I want nothing else" (The original chorus opening, in which the user wants nothing other than meth to get him through life. This was changed to "I want something else" for undisclosed reasons)

Hidden verse

The CD and cassette version of the song contains a verse that was never played on the single or the music video, possibly due to sexual content. However, early radio play was of the CD version. The single also had the words "crystal meth" slurred.

The lyrics to the hidden verse are:

"And when the plane came in she said she was crashin'. The velvet it rips in the city, we tripped on the urge to feel alive but now I'm strugglin' to survive. Those days you were wearin' that velvet dress. You're the priestess I must confess, those little red panties, they pass the test. Slide up around the belly, face down on the mattress. One, and you hold me, and we're broken. Still it's all that I want to do just a little now, feel myself, heavy as the ground, I'm scared, I'm not coming down, no no. And I won't run for my life. She's got her jaws now locked down in a smile but nothing is alright, alright."

Chart performances

Charts

Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	4
U.S. Mainstream Rock	26
U.S. Modern Rock	1
UK Singles Chart	37