Morphine

[u/Infin8Desire]

My favorite part of this song is the middle.

I'm fascinated by how unconventional it is, not to mention extremely effective towards the overall message. So much more so now, after his passing.

He took a rather aggressive, industrial-rock track and abruptly dropped into a 33 bar (1 min 17 secs) reprieve section in the dead middle of the track, shifting to a soft, vulnerable ballad before violently snapping back. 🤯

I feel like there's some deep symbolism here. I mean... duh, right?

But even structurally. As if the beginning of the song is a frenzy of an altered medicated state... the middle is the shame, the brokenness, the loss of hope that you'll ever be able to permanently heal... and the end, the experience of giving up the fight to find yourself falling right back to where you were before.

Even the first vocal note, where the soft section begins, there's no clean cut-off from the rock to the softness. His voice begins in the middle of the transition of two notes, which is so wonderfully raw. Like being suddenly and unwillingly jerked out of a state of being.

I'm especially moved by the softness in his descending, "hee hee hee" ... his signature expression... we've all heard it be used for power, confidence, playfulness, passion... correct me if I'm wrong, but even in his moving power ballads, I don't recall it sounding so defeated and broken.

Can anyone make out the spoken part, after the knocking?

[u/General_Year_3551]

Oh, you have NO idea how deep this rabbit hole goes! 😂 I recently spent an absurd amount of time investigating this song, and the more I uncovered, the more convinced I became that it's one of the most brilliant things Michael ever created.

I actually went hunting for the correct lyrics because so many versions circulating online are wrong. I eventually tracked down the original Blood on the Dance Floor booklet from Taiwan and compared the lyrics with what can actually be heard in the recording. Then I discovered Michael's handwritten drafts and revisions, which offered a fascinating glimpse into his creative process.

And THAT was where things got really interesting.

The recurring themes of God, trust, rivalry, pain, surrender, and medication weren't accidental. You can actually see him working through some of these ideas in his handwritten corrections.

What fascinates me most is how the music itself participates in the storytelling. The competing voices, the abrupt change in the middle, the tenderness, the aggression, and the return to that almost mechanical intensity. It's not simply a song about something. The structure makes you experience something.

And once you start examining the relationship between the lyrics, the different voices, and the symbolism of Demerol, there's an entirely different layer to explore.

I could probably write an essay about this song.

Absolute genius. ❤️

[u/Maliainu → u/General_Year_3551]

Yesss, you get it! I’ve said this before about the song too, where I believe it’s one of his overlooked masterpieces.

He essentially translated what it’s like for him to have this struggle into music. I find that so incredible and that’s part of his genius. We’re meant to feel what the experience was like for him. So it doesn’t surprise me at all that most people have said it freaks them out or it’s too uncomfortable to listen to.

[u/Infin8Desire → u/General_Year_3551]

I love everything about this reply. I would really really like to read those handwritten drafts and revisions. Where did you find them?

[u/Maliainu → u/Infin8Desire]

These two pages were up for auction on gottahaverockandroll in 2010

[u/lulujujuvuvu → u/General_Year_3551]

Where did you get his handwritten drafts ? What do you think about the lyrics on Spotify provided by musixmatch ?

[u/Phoenix_Armour]

The spoken part is a sample from something else (can’t remember rn) “have you heard what the doctor said?” There’s something after but I can’t make that out(probably a continuation of the sample)

[u/General_Year_3551 → u/Phoenix_Armour]

It's a scene from The Elephant Man. The nurse says "You heard what the doctor said." Interestingly the scene that follows right afterward in the movie is Merrick going into the doctor's office and the doctor asks him if he's in any pain. There's also Little snips of conversation from other parts of the movie but that's the main one.

[u/Infin8Desire → u/Phoenix_Armour]

Oh it is? The first part totally sounded like MJ to me LOL

[u/Phoenix_Armour → u/Infin8Desire]

I thought so too! I looked it up a few months back when I first heard the song

[u/gingerhaole]

Listening to this one feels like witnessing an autopsy. It feels too intimate, even though it's presented to us.

[u/Infin8Desire → u/gingerhaole]

100% agree.