☝️ Key Points
- The song is about a dangerous and destructive love.
- The lover is described as toxic, cold, and pain-inducing.
- The singer wants to love and touch her despite the danger.
- The poison metaphor illustrates the harmful and addictive aspects of the relationship.
- The singer is trapped in her web and can't stop desiring her.
Interpretation
The lyrics of
Alice Cooper's song "Poison" are about a fatal love. The person being sung about is described as toxic, both physically and emotionally. She is like a "cruel device", a cruel device that causes pain, and her blood is "like ice", symbolizing her coldness and indifference towards the singer's feelings.
The singer describes a strong attraction and a desire to love and touch this person ("I wanna love you but I better not touch"), despite the obvious danger she represents. He is aware that this person causes him pain ("One look could kill"). She is a source of suffering ("your thrill"), but he can't free himself from her ("I don't wanna break these chains").
The poison metaphor is used consistently to illustrate the harmful and addictive nature of this relationship. The person is "poison running through my veins", a poison that flows through his veins, meaning she is destroying him from within, but he still can't separate himself from her.
The singer is trapped in her web ("Your web, I'm caught") and even though he knows she hurts him ("I want to hurt you just to hear you screaming my name"), he can't stop desiring her.
Overall, "Poison" is a song about an obsessive and destructive love that harms the singer both physically and emotionally.