Them Bones is a song by Alice in Chains, released on September 8, 1992. It is the opening track and the second single from their second album, Dirt (1992). Them Bones peaked at No. 24 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and at No. 30 on the Alternative Airplay chart. The song was also included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). A live performance of the song is included on their Alice in Chains album Live (2000).
Jerry Cantrell said of the song in a 1993 interview with RIP Magazine:
“We (Alice in Chains) definitely have a very sarcastic sense of humor even toward ourselves. You have to be able to laugh at yourself. The music is a way for us to let some serious things out because we’re not really talkative people. It’s hard for a lot of people to talk about emotions that are really deep pain and hurt and shit like that.
‘Them Bones’ is pretty cut and dried. It’s a little sarcastic, but it’s pretty much about dealing with your mortality and life. Everybody’s going to die someday. Instead of being afraid of it, that’s the way it is: so enjoy the time you’ve got. Live as much as you can, have as much fun as possible. Face your fear and live.
I had family members die at a fairly early age; so I’ve always had kind of a phobia about it. Death freaks me out. I think it freaks a lot of people out. It’s the end of life, depending on your views. It’s a pretty scary thing. ‘Them Bones’ is trying to put that thought to rest. Use what you have left, and use it well”.
In the liner notes of 1999’s Music Bank box set collection, Cantrell said of the song:
“I was just thinking about mortality, that one of these days we’ll end up a pile of bones. It’s a thought for every human being, whether you believe in an after-life or that when we die, that’s it. The thought that all the beautiful things and knowledge and experiences you’ve been through just end when you end scares me, the thought that when you close your eyes for good, it’s gone forever”.
Tracklist:
- Them Bones
The music video for Them Bones was released in 1992 and was directed by Rocky Schenck, who had previously directed the We Die Young music video for the band, and who would later direct the music videos for What the Hell Have I and Grind. The video is available on the home video release Music Bank: The Videos.
The video was also featured on an episode of Beavis and Butt-head (the episode Sick in 1993) where Butt-head claims that “this is the coolest video I’ve ever seen.” The video shows the band playing in a cavern, apparently underground. In front of the band is a puddle, in which can be seen Layne Staley singing or various animals eating or fighting with each other and a child being born, which corresponds with the lyrics “Some say / We’re born into the grave.”
Alice in Chains
Layne Staley: lead vocals
Jerry Cantrell: guitars, backing vocals
Sean Kinney: drums
Mike Starr: bass
Production
Produced and mixed by Dave Jerden
Layne Staley (August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002)
Mike Starr (April 4, 1966 – March 8, 2011)
