Cry for Help

Album: The Sound of Madness (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about drug abuse. The person in the song is living off his friends while trying to raise money to pay off the "monkeys in the rabbit hole" (drug dealers).

    "The white witch" is heroin. "Mama Kin" is a character in the song "Mama Kin" by Aerosmith (One interpretation of the song is the hallucinations you get when high). The wolf implies that the hallucinations from the drug abuse are getting stronger and out of hand.

    The drug addict in the song better pray that he can find a way out because he's in too deep and nobody is going to help him. The drug addict may have thought it funny to say he was fine and have everyone fooled, but they only had one friend and now not even the friend is agreeing to help, because that friend was done being fooled.
  • The song was released on Shinedown's 2008 album The Sound Of Madness. Their frontman, Brent Smith, later admitted that he was in the throes of addiction during this time, so the song could have really been his cry for help. He was able to cut out drugs soon after but it took him longer to ditch alcohol.

Comments: 2

  • Zero from The Abyss, NjBy they way, this song perfectly describes my cousin.
  • Zero from Nowhere, NjI always thought the lyrics were "smokin' tea with Mama Kin" like the Aerosmith song goes, "Sleepin' late and smokin' tea". Tea, of course, being another word for marijuana.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

TV Theme Songs

TV Theme SongsFact or Fiction

Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.