Orphan

Orphan is the eleventh track from Slipknot's album We Are Not Your Kind.

Meaning

Another Slipknot-doing-Slipknot-as-only-Slipknot-can track, this crusher is slightly more traditional than most of the other songs on the album, but only in the sense that it follows that good ol' fast and heavy verse/big and catchy chorus formula.

As always with Slipknot, the heavier parts are still more brutal than anything any other ‘mainstream’ metal band will ever serve up, and the chorus is a disarmingly nifty little number that’ll get hooked in your brain for days.

Lyrically it is about Corey Taylor, when he overdosed on drugs. And woke up in a dumpster the other day because of it.

Background

This is, again, a demo that came from my garage. It’s a metal banger. When we first started talking about this record, there was a point where I was pretty insecure about all these arrangements, and I didn’t think we had much to work with. You get those blocks, but that’s the beauty of collaborating with people. I watched the Freddie Mercury movie [2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody], and there’s the section where he’s separated from the band, and then he went back and was like, “The problem with the band is they did everything I wanted.” I can relate to that! I need people to bounce ideas off of; that helps me take things to other places.~Jim Root

Lyrics

I wept when I realized
There were no more demons left to conquer
An opportunity to show my feelings
With skin so thick you swear it was armor
A penitentiary that only lets the oxygen out
I wasn't ready for a version of the truth to get out
I’m getting desperate, I wouldn't wanna fester in another bad dream
I am a man of extremes, I found the flesh and I'm liking it
I’ll put an end to all the fucking psychobabble
We eat the meat 'cause the meat had a soul
We take the lives 'cause to hurt makes us whole
I am not the same
You never had a clue or knew my name
You wanna know the story? Take my pain
I am ready, the lie is heard
I am not the same
You never had intent to keep my blame
You really wanna know who the fuck I am?
I am the orphan
The one who killed your world

Keeping up appearances with acts of attrition
It doesn't matter 'cause I know you'll never listen, before
You knew it when you saw it, now you say you never knew it
It was all a big conspiracy
We came together when the hands of fate let go
Is there anybody left to fill this hole?
This shit will never wash off
Give yourself a medal, I swear, I fucking give up
We're nothing special, just an accidental tweak of the freak
An evolution of the kennel in the fetish you seek
There's still a part of me that’s dying in a dumpster
The one who rose is a motherfucking monster
I’ve seen the future and it's simply burning
I wasn’t put here to be so discerning
You want the world to be dissatisfied
You don't care, so why the fuck should I?
Fuck, should I sell myself to stay alive?
I am not the same
You never had a clue or knew my name
You wanna know the story? Take my pain
I am ready, the lie is heard
I am not the same
You never had intent to keep my blame
You really wanna know who the fuck I am?
I am the orphan
The one who kills
The one who killed your world

Everyone has something
Someone here has everything
Everyone has something
Someone here has everything
Everyone has something
Someone here has everything
Everyone has something
Someone here has everything
Everyone has something
Someone here has everything
Everyone has something
Someone here has everything
Tell me all about it, I love to hear it
The way I ruin everything I touch
I never thought I'd get to say I'm sorry
But then again I think you ask too much
Too white to be black, too black to be blue
Too sick to be me, too fucked to be you
I only wonder if I’ll live to see the end of the road
It always gets me nowhere
I am not the same
You never had a clue or knew my name
You wanna know the story? Take my pain
I am ready, the lie is heard
I am not the same
You never had intent to keep my blame
You really wanna know who the fuck I am?
I am the orphan
The one who killed your world

Everyone has something
Someone here has everything
I am the orphan
The one who kills
Everyone has something
Someone here has everything
I am the orphan
The one who kills
Yeah