Passion Pit - The Reeling - Lyrics Meaning

This is the first single from Passion Pit's 2009 debut album entitled, Manners. The song is about addiction. This theme is singular throughout and the lyrics and frantic pace of the beat are meant to portray someone who is spinning out of control. The first verse is about digging one's self into a "hole" of drug use and eventually being unable to escape from it or feel anything accept the need for the drugs. The chorus is a cry for help. The singer asks for someone to physically take them out of the situation they have created, which is the addiction. He is praying for help and the strength to get sober, but no one is listening despite his cries for help.

The fourth and fifth verses really get into the physical symptoms of the addiction. The singer says the drugs "cling" to him and call him towards a "confounding destiny". "The Reeling" is this craving desire that spirals out of control. He says he "can feel the madness inch by inch" which is a reference to the skin-crawling sensation that addicts get while strung out on their drug of choice. The madness is his internal turmoil at being held captive to this chemical dependency. The song ends as the singer asks his audience to take him away and give him sympathy for this drug that is controlling him.