The Glass Prison

of an alcoholic beverage - used as a safe place away from the problems; at the same time, it is a "prison". The loneliness the addiction causes is present in the lyrics.So much safer hereA place where I can goTo forget about my daily sinsAlcoholics usually are aware they have a problem, but still think that, after all, the drinking is an easy way out for an unbearable situation.Fall in nocturnal bliss againThere are two interpretations here, and maybe the intention was to use both interpretations in one. “Nocturn” is part of the Divine Office (praise to God) practiced during the night, which consists in three prayers in three different moments of the night. It is one of the moments when the person feels closer to God, reaching bliss during the night.In the character’s situation, the "nocturnal bliss" is reached through alcohol, in a lonely way, without any other presence. It is his "nightly Divine Office", practiced with the same intensity and regularity of a religious person.Chasing a long lost friendI no longer can controlJust waiting for this hopelessness to endThe character is away from the booze, but "no longer can control", which means he can't get over the addiction by himself. This is the bridge for the second part.II. Restoration: first step of 12 in the AA recovery program, the admittance of guilt is the main theme of the lyrics in this section, and the beginning of the healing process. It is the symbol of the character’s quest for help, seeking the end of the addiction, a thing no human power can reach by itself.All action seems to take place in a church, which is the place for AA meetings. All over the world, churches are home for AA groups, mostly because of the religious core of the treatment.Cry - desperate crawling on my kneesBegging God to please stop the insanityHelp me - I’m trying to believeStop wallowing in my own self pityThe character seeks for spiritual aid to get rid of the addiction, since he just couldn’t do it by himself. He's probably in a church at this point, when a group of people approaches him.We've been waiting for you my friendThe writing’s been on the wall (*) All it takes is a little faithYou know you’re the same as us allThe AA group approaches the character after listening to his pledge on the church, and offers the help he needed.About (*):"On the night mighty Babylon fell to the Persians, this writing appeared on the palace wall: "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN" (Dan. 5:25), written with the finger of God. The king of Babylon was having a huge drunken party--they felt safe and secure inside the city with its massive walls. Then came the sudden appearance of the handwriting on the wall, which put an end to the party and replaced revelry with terror; and adding to their bewilderment, no one could as much as read the writing, let alone interpret what it meant! Then the terrified king called for Daniel the prophet. By the light of a candlestick, Daniel both decoded and interpreted the writing. It foretold the immediate end of Babylon and her king. So it came to pass: on that same night the king of Babylon was slain by his Persian conquers; a new era was born.The writing on the palace wall is comparable to the greatest Writing of all - the Bible. For like the writing on the wall, some things in the Bible are mysterious and impossible to understand apart from God's help. Only by the light of the candlestick (that is, by the Spirit of God) can a man understand its mysteries".Help me - I can't break out this prison all aloneSave me - I'm drowning and I'm hopeless on my ownHeal me - I can't restore my sanity aloneThe AA recovery program is made of 12 steps, through which the person must follow to achieve full recovery. These 12 steps lead the person to make amends with his past, to the search for forgiveness from those he’s done harm, the spiritual redemption and the meeting with God.AA's step 1 / 12:1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageableLines 78-81:We'll help you perform this miracleBut you must set your past freeYou dug the hole, but you can’t bury your soulOpen your mind and you will seeAt this point, the character feels the urge to to make amends with his past, with the ones he has done harm and with God, according to AA’s steps 4-10.AA's steps 4-10:4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.III. Revelation: The last of the 12 AA steps refers to a "spiritual awakening". On this last part of the song, the character remembers his own lack of ability to get rid of the addiction himself, and the freedom found when helped by the "Higher Power" (God).Way off in the distance I saw a doorI tried to openI tried forcing with all of my will and stillThe door wouldn’t openUnable to trust in my faithI turned and walked awayI looked around, felt a chill in the airTook my will and turned it overAt this point, the character returns to his memories of the failed attempts of getting rid of the addiction. The door mentioned above is the way out of the Glass Prison. The glass prison which held me is now goneA long lost fortressThe character gets rid of the Glass Prison. Here, the expression "long lost fortress" replaces the "long lost friend", as seen in line 34. This contrast shows that he does not depend on the alcohol, seeing it as it really is, a prison from which he must escape, a place where he no longer wants to be at.Armed only with my libertyAnd the key of my willingnessThe door which he previously struggled to open was open through his freedom and willpower, supported by the contact with the higher power.Fell down on my knees and prayed'thy will be done' (*)I turned around saw a light shining through (**)The door was wide openOpening the door of his Glass Prison, the character achieves the spiritual awakening foreseen in step 12 of the AA.AA's step 12 / 12:12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.About (*), once again the lyrics confirm the religious tone, as the AA does:"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."(Mateus 6:9-13)About (**), the aforementioned religious tone is evidenced, which harks back to line 46, in which the spirit of God is a guiding light to uncover the mysteries of faith. In these last lines the spirit of God glows at the exit of the Glass Prison, calling the character to fulfil his wish of leaving the addiction behind