Protesting the Easy Way Out

Poetry serves to evoke a meaning or emotion in the reader. The song "Slip" by Elliot Moss from his album, Highspeeds has a clear meaning and seems very poetic to me. I believe the song addresses loved ones that may begin to change as time goes on and lose their way. The central meaning of this song is when you begin to lose the happiness and fire inside of you, if you let go of the hope of reclaiming your own life, there is no chance of getting it back unless you hold on. This loss is emphasized in the opening lines.

I won't keep watching you

dance around in your smoke

and flicker out

you're not the light I used to know

These lines display the dissapointment of the speaker through metaphors. They compare the person to a flame that has gone out. It is obvious that it was an actual flame rather than some type of lightbulb because of the smoke that has replaced this light. The line, "dance around in your smoke" evokes an image that implies a wild personality. This person that used to be so familiar, is now hazy and unknown. The speaker no longer can feel connected to this person that has changed. 

I don't believe in safety nets

strung below to make it alright

to let go

you gotta hold on

The speaker does not believe in giving up and relying on something else to catch you, this is represented by the "safety net". They do not believe in a safety net, if there is nothing to catch you there is no way to fix your life once you let go. The easy way out may be just to change or turn quiet. The speaker urges that the only way to enjoy life is work through a difficult time that challenges you. If you want something, you have to work for it and be strong. Without the work, they cannot have their full life.

Or it's gonna 

slip,slip,slip through your 

slip, slip, slip through your hands

The "it" in these lines refers to happiness and the way you live. If you let yourself change and don't fight for how it is, you risk losing it. It's so easy to lose it but harder to keep it. 

This song could be addressing many different situations. there's the possibility that the person that the speaker is addressing is falling into destructive habits involving substance abuse or simply the pair is growing apart. Either way, this song serves as a letter to the person who has changed as a final effort to communicate the speaker's opinion and worries.