Aerosmith - Amazing - Meaning of the song
This song is about returning to the top after hitting rock bottom, specifically recovering from addiction. Steven Tyler wrote it with Richie Supa, who worked with the band in the late 1970s and co-wrote "Chip Away the Stone."
Supa did a lot of drugs with the band and was eventually caught with a kilo of cocaine, which landed him in jail for three years. After he was released, he went to an Aerosmith concert at Madison Square Garden and met Tyler backstage... with an eight-ball of cocaine hidden under his coat. Supa didn't realize Tyler had become sober, so Steven summoned security to kick him out and told him to return after a year of being drug and alcohol-free.
Supa cleaned up and sent Tyler his Alcoholics Anonymous medallion after a year to prove it. They got together in the summer of 1991, amid management's fears that Tyler would relapse into addiction in Supa's presence. Both knew they weren't going back to drugs and alcohol; when Tyler mentioned this in a phone conversation, he asked Supa, "Isn't it amazing?" which sparked the idea for this song.
Supa remembered a client saying at one of his AA meetings, "I kept the right ones out and let the wrong ones in," which inspired the lyric about the descent into addiction and subsequent recovery. He flew out to meet Tyler, writing more of the lyrics on the way, and they finished the song in four hours - it was one of the first songs written for Get A Grip. The pair remained sober and later collaborated on the Aerosmith hit "Pink."
Amazing - Lyrics
I kept the right ones out And let the wrong ones in Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins There were times in my life When I was goin' insane Tryin' to walk through the pain When I lost my grip, and I hit the floor Yeah, I thought I could leave but couldn't get out the door I was so sick and tired of livin' a lie I was wishin that I would die It's amazing With the blink of an eye you finally see the light It's amazing When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright It's amazing And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight That one last shot's a permanent vacation And how high can you fly with broken wings? Life's a journey, not a destination And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings You have to learn to crawl Before you learn to walk But I just couldn't listen to all that righteous talk, oh yeah I was out on the street Just tryin' to survive Scratchin' to stay alive It's amazing With the blink of an eye you finally see the light It's amazing When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright It's amazing And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight Desperate hearts, desperate hearts.... "So from all of us at Aerosmith to all of you out there, wherever you are, remember: the light at the end of the tunnel may be you. Good night."
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