Morphine Song Analysis

Psychoniff

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This is some pretty insightful commentary here by "Austin128".

Analysis:
He got flack, baby
This first poses a question for me in analyzing this song: "I" in the song obviously refers to Michael, but does the third-person "he" sometimes refer to MJ as well as others? I'm assuming so, with "he" possibly designating Michael in this and other lines and in the interlude. Either way, he got flack could mean Mike's catching flack, abuse, from others, or "he", meaning MJ's enemies, have abuse ready for Mike.

He got flat, baby
This is the most-seen lyric online, and the line sounds like it could be either "flack" or "flat." Flat, as in "flat-line", would also make sense, alluding to the upcoming "heart attack" line.

Kicked in the back, baby
"I've been betrayed."

A heart attack, baby
Michael could be so shocked, or just plain hurt, as to suffer a metaphorical heart attack. Could of course also be a reference to how these drugs in the song can give you a heart attack. That prospect's very fascinating in a macabre sort of way. I'm going to go with a little bit of both, but most likely leaning more towards metaphor, though I don't know if MJ had any heart scares because of his past drug abuse before this song was written.

I ain't your rival!
"I'm not the bad guy! There's all these terrible people out here and you're focusing on me?! Why you wanna trip on me?!"

A hot fix, honey
As in a drug fix.

He dug the ditch, baby
All sorts of possibilities: 1) Third-person MJ (maybe Mike's choosing to refer to his addict side as an unwanted third-party?) is killing himself with his drug-abuse; 2)The enablers giving him drugs are killing him; 3) MJ's haters (the tabloids; Tom Sneddon, etc.) are just waiting for him to fall and/or die/trying to assist him in falling/dying

Ya make me sick, baby
Their actions/lack of character/etc. are detestable to MJ. Pretty self-explanatory.

So unbeloved!
1) "I'm not loved."; 2) "I don't love you because of the way you're treating me."

So unreliable!
It sounds more like this to me. If it were the case: "Y'all aren't reliable people who want what's best for me and/or will help me with my struggles."

I felt the swine, baby
Maybe Michael could just sense ("Feel it in the air") the swine- AKA dirty, disgusting people that surround him.

All down the line, darling
This makes me think of cocaine or other drugs you snort -- another reference to drugs. Could also at the same time be saying there's a line (as in a lot) of people that are swine.

Uncage your God, baby
Maybe people are using the name of God to go against God? "Caging" Him for their own purposes? This one's tough.

I hate your kind, baby
Would definitely make sense, and is pretty self-explanatory, as the hate would be directed towards the "swine."

So unbeloved!
Same as above.

So unreliable!
Same as above.

A hot fuss, baby
A really intense tantrum, by Michael or his enemies? Maybe Michael is very angry about what people are saying about/doing to him, so he's throwing a "fuss." OR, fuss could be used to denote the overall ridiculousness surrounding Michael (as in crazy tabloid stories, accusations, etc.).

He want the buzz, baby
Addict Michael wants his drugs, maybe in part due to the "hot fuss"; OR, people want the buzz of leeching off or otherwise using/abusing Michael Jackson.

Another drug, baby
Yet another drug Michael's taking; if so, this line is depressing, and seems to me to say something like, "And here you are, Michael. Letting myself down with yet another drug. I'm hurting myself and those around me with my drug abuse."; OR, Michael's just another "drug" for the leeches, tabloids, etc. to get a buzz off of.

You're so deserving!
Maybe Michael's hating on himself here; "I deserve this." If he's saying it to his enemies, I'm not sure what he'd be saying. OR, maybe it's the drug talking, saying to Michael that he deserves to be an addict. Or the drug's putting itself on a pedestal, and it's telling MJ that he deserves to take something of such a high value.

Chorus:
Trust in me
Trust in me
Put all your trust in me
The drug and/or leeches talking.

You're doing Morphine!
I think "You" refers to Michael himself: this very well could be mostly literal, and/or maybe MJ's a drug, like morphine, to his leeches, etc.

You got a place, baby
This one I'm not sure about; I'm assuming "You" is Michael since with the second line down from this where it says "your race" I think it's most likely referring to Michael's African-American ethnicity. What do y'all think? Maybe MJ feels caged? Or maybe "You" in this line refers to his enemies, and the place is a symbol of all the evil belonging to one place?

Kicked in the face, baby
Most likely "I've been kicked in the face/abused/betrayed."

He hate your race, baby
I assume, based on other MJ songs, that Michael's accusing someone of being racist towards him.

You're not the liar!
MJ talking to himself, saying "They're the liars, they should be the ones ashamed of themselves, not me." This would fit nicely if the previous "You're so deserving line" was Michael talking to himself. If that's the case, maybe we see Michael going back and forth with himself, fighting against his self-doubt/loathing.

Just ad lib, baby
Maybe Michael's telling himself to go with the flow, to fight these battles as they come; "You can overcome this, Michael."

Your dog's a b*tch, baby
1) Your as in his enemies- you and your friends (AKA dog, man's best friend) are scum; 2) Your (Michael's) "best friends" (leeches) are scum.

You make me sick, baby
Self-explanatory.

You talk survival!
Could be other people "surviving" (as in providing for their family, making a living off of) off of Michael by lying about him/using him.

She never cook for me
ORIGINAL ANALYSIS: Not cooking for Michael could represent more than just cooking: refusing to be there for him and/or take up a stable wife role for him.
MOST LIKELY: Cooking as in cooking drugs, Walter White style. Since Michael was only (as far as I know) addicted to prescription medicine, cook could just be a way to say that "she" (the upcoming doctor) is refusing to fix him up and serve him demerol.

She never bump, baby
ORIGINAL ANALYSIS: Bump as in sex? This is a bit of a stretch, but maybe bump could refer to a baby bump, as in she wouldn't have a kid with him? It'd sure fit in with all the Lisa Marie stuff...
WAY MORE LIKELY:Bump as in snort cocaine. Transferring this to the world of prescription drugs, it could mean that the doctor does not abuse drugs herself, and maybe Michael is even saying, "Oh look at you, all high and mighty."

I've gotten what, baby?
"For all I've done for you, what have I got to show for it?"; OR, You haven't given me any drugs (yet). (Wow, so maybe we're also seeing a narrative throughout the song about the doctor's eventual but hesitant abuse of her power in order to please Michael. Awesome!)

You're just a rival!
"I loved you and depended on you and now you're against me like all these other people."

A razor blade, Daddy
Right up your leg, baby
I honestly have no clue what this is supposed to be. Maybe it's talking about shaving your legs, and that symbolizes materialism, with "Daddy" prizing money over Michael's well-being?

You're throwing shade, Daddy
You're spreading lies and deception about me.

So undeserving!
"I don't deserve this crap!" Wow, if the whole fighting himself dialogue is true, he's gone from "You're so deserving!" to "You're not the liar!" to "So undeserving!" I could definitely be reading too much into it, but if that's so then what a masterful storyline there is within this song!!!

Chorus:
Trust in me
Just in me
Put all your trust in me
You're doing Morphine!
Same as before, but you can clearly hear him saying "just" instead of trust on the second line. Someone pointed out that it's very similar to the song the snake sings in Disney's The Jungle Book.

Relax, this won't hurt you
I see this as the drug and/or Michael talking, trying to convince Michael/himself that it's not that bad. I don't believe it's the doctor speaking because of a line coming up.

Before I put it in
Close your eyes and count to ten
A standard thing a doctor would say to a patient, especially if the patient hadn't had a needle going into him/her before. Maybe this indicates it's somewhat new to him?

Don't cry, I won't convert you
Possibly the drug reassuring Mike that it won't make him addicted, that it won't convert him to a drug-addict.

There's no need to dismay
Close your eyes and drift away
Again, the drug lying to Michael, reassuring him, trying to get him to relax.

Demerol, demerol
Oh god, he's taking demerol
Demerol, demerol
Oh god, he's taking demerol
"He" could be a third-person character whose addiction Michael is mourning , or "he" could be Michael, with the narrator in these lines being his loved ones who are in despair over his drug abuse. Either way I think it's safe to assume it represents Mike.

He's trying hard to convince her
To give him more of what he had
This is why I don't think the lines before were the doctor talking because, as we can see here, the doctor is hesitant to treat Michael in this manner. This is actually very similar to what went down according to Conrad Murray; by his account he was hesitant to treat Michael with propofol, but gave in when seeing how miserable Michael was.

Today he wants it twice as bad
Michael's becoming more and more addicted.

Don't cry, I won't resent you
1) The doctor potentially telling Mike she doesn't judge him for being addicted; OR, 2) Less likely, but maybe even Michael telling the doctor he won't hold it against her if she gives in to his begging, even though they both know she shouldn't

Yesterday you had distrust
Today he's taking twice as much
I think this is saying that in the past the doctor didn't trust Michael and was hesitant to treat him, but now the doctor's giving him twice as much as before.

Demerol, demerol
Oh god, he's taking demerol
Demerol, demerol
Oh my, his god is demerol
Oh...
Same as before; the high gives way to the harsh reality...

Ya got sh*t, baby
"You're accusing me of all this stuff but you ain't got nothin' on me!" (No evidence or credibility)

Your dog's a b*tch, baby
Same as above.

Ya make me sick, baby
Same as above.

You are a liar
Same as above. In this whole stanza we see Michael losing all self-doubt and going on a full offense. He ain't havin' it!

You shoot the game, Daddy
Deep in the vein, baby
Maybe game is symbolizing the game of life and the evil of human nature, and that this human nature and the wickedness that comes from it is just a game to Michael's enemies. They use this game like a drug, injecting it into their inner-most selves.

You're called a Saint, baby
"People think you're (Michael's enemies) all that and righteous, but I know better!"

You're so beloved!
This seems to be in a mocking tone, like "Oh yeah, you're so beloved."

Chorus:
Trust in me
Trust in me
Put all your trust in me
You're doing Morphine!
Same as above.

You just sit around
Just talking about it
You're taking Morphine!
Different possibilities: 1) Michael's talking about his addictions but not doing anything about it; OR, 2) Michael's loved ones are talking, even despairing, regarding his addictions but aren't doing anything (in Michael's mind) to truly help him. "I'm dying here and y'all are just talking about it!"

You just sit around
Just talking about it
You're taking Morphine!
Same as above.

You just sit around
Just talkin' nothin' about it
Ya takin' Morphine
1) Michael's loved ones aren't talking about his addictions; maybe MJ is too shy or ashamed to bring it up himself and is hoping his loved ones will go out of their way to take the initiative themselves to help him. OR, 2) Michael isn't talking to people about his addictions.

Darling or Daddy or something else.
You hear Michael say something in what sounds like a mocking tone. Like he's mocking his own past dependency on those who leeched off of him, who weren't there for him, etc.

You just sit around
Just talking about it
You're taking Morphine!
Same as above.

You just sit around
Just talkin' nothin'
And taking Morphine!
Same as above

I'm goin' down baby
Like Michael is failing.

You talkin' Morphine
1) Michael's talking about his addictions; OR, 2) His loved ones are talking about his addictions; OR, 3) His enemies' words/personalities are like morphine; This line might be saying something like, "You're talking about MORPHINE here! This is serious!"

Morphine
Do it
He takin' Morphine
Morphine
Morphine
"Do it" could just be a funky ad-lib, or that could be the drug telling Michael to take it. At the end we see a repeated use of the word "Morphine", which made me realize that all throughout the song "Morphine" is capitalized. Maybe it's just because it's the name of the song, or maybe it's an unaware or self-conscious acclaim of the drug, saying how important it is/was to him/addicts.
 
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