“Trash” is a song by the American rock band Korn, from their album “Issues.” Even though it wasn’t released as a single, it’s a beloved track among fans. You can also find it on Korn’s “Greatest Hits Vol.1” album.
The song is about self-hatred in a relationship. The singer struggles with his inner turmoil and struggles to reciprocate a girl’s love. The song’s title “trash” is used convey his determination to let go and spare the girl from further hurt.
To understand the lyrics better, let’s break down the different parts of the song and explore the emotions and thoughts they convey.
Table of Contents
“Trash” Lyrics Meaning
Verse 1
How did it start?
Well, I don’t know, I just feel the craving
I see the flesh, and it smells fresh
And it’s just there for the taking
These little girls
They make me feel so goddamn exhilarated
I fill them up, I can’t give it up
The pain that I’m just erasing
The singer starts by questioning the origins of his troubling behavior, acknowledging that he doesn’t fully understand it. He describes a strong craving or compulsion. He sings, “How did it start? Well, I don’t know, I just feel the craving.”
The following line, “I see the flesh, and it smells fresh/And it’s just there for the taking,” conveys a disturbing obsession with the physical aspect of someone (referred to as “the flesh”), possibly a girl. The phrase “it’s just there for the taking” implies a predatory mindset. The singer refers to his potential victims as “little girls,” who evoke feelings of excitement and satisfaction in him.
When he sings, “I fill them up, I can’t give it up, The pain that I’m just erasing,” he’s confessing to taking advantage of the girls (“filling them up”) as a way to deal with his own inner pain and torment.
From these lines, it seems like the singer might be seeking solace in sensual pleasures with women so as to alleviate his sorrow. In other words, he’s using sex as a means to cope with grief.
Bridge
I tell my lies, and I despise
Every second I’m with you
So I run away, and you still stay
So what the fuck is with you?
The Bridge begins with the line “I tell my lies, and I despise, Every second I’m with you,” where the singer confesses to being dishonest with the person he’s addressing, possibly his partner. This suggests that their relationship is fraught with deception and inner conflict.
In the following line, “So I run away, and you still stay, So what the fuck is with you?” The singer describes his tendency to distance himself (“run away”) from his partner, yet she continues to remain in his life. This leaves the singer feeling puzzled by the girl’s persistence in the face of his avoidance. It’s as if the singer is suggesting that he may not be worthy of her love and that she should give him up.
Chorus
Your feelings, I can’t help but rape them!
I’m sorry, I don’t feel the same!
My heart inside is constantly hating!
I’m sorry, I just throw you away!
The Chorus is intense and emotionally charged, reflecting the singer’s inner turmoil and the disturbing nature of their feelings. It begins with the shockingly explicit line “Your feelings, I can’t help but rape them!” Here, the singer uses the word “rape” metaphorically to suggest a complete disregard for his partner’s feelings.
While the singer offers an apology, singing, “I’m sorry, I don’t feel the same!” he asserts that he doesn’t share the same feelings as the girl. The following line, “My heart inside is constantly hating!” explains his avoidance behavior. The singer reveals that he harbors intense self-loathing and inner conflict. His own emotions torment him, making him incapable of reciprocating in love.
The chorus ends with the singer apologizing again. He sings, “I’m sorry, I just throw you away!” Despite his regrets, he still expresses a willingness to abandon the girl.
Verse 2
I don’t know why I’m so fucking cold
I don’t know why it hurts me
All I wanna do is get with you
And make the pain go away
Why do I have a conscience?
All it does is fuck with me
Why do I have this torment?
All I wanna do is fuck it away
In Verse 2, the singer begins by expressing confusion and self-reflection. He sings, “I don’t know why I’m so fucking cold.” He admits to feeling emotionally distant or cold, suggesting a disconnect from his own feelings.
The line “I don’t know why it hurts me” reveals that despite his cold exterior, the singer is still experiencing emotional pain. He’s perplexed by the source of this pain.
In the following line, “All I wanna do is get with you, And make the pain go away,” he confesses a desire to be close to the girl, implying that he’s seeking solace or relief from his emotional distress through this connection.
In other words, he’s just using the girl as a means to comfort or escape from his inner torment. He doesn’t really love her. This makes him feel guilty. So he questions his own conscience, singing “Why do I have a conscience?” He hopes that he is cold-blooded because his moral compass (“conscience”) is causing him more distress and turmoil.
When he sings “Why do I have this torment? All I wanna do is fuck it away,” the singer is suggesting that he hopes to get rid of his conscience and seek temporary relief through physical or sexual means without feeling guilty.
Outro
“Just throw you away!
Just throw you away!
Just throw you away!”
The Outro serves as a grim conclusion to the song, with the singer reiterating his desire to cast aside the girl.
In other words, the line “Just throw you away!” is used to emphasize the singer’s intention to end their relationship.
Deeper Meaning Behind “Trash” by Korn
“Trash” by Korn is a song that delves into the issue of self-hatred within a relationship. Despite the singer’s desire to connect with a girl he was involved with, he decided to abandon her because his inner turmoil was tormenting him. This turmoil made him question whether he truly loved her or if he was deserving of her love.
From the lyrics, it seems that when the singer first met the girl, he may have only been thinking about using her to cope with his own emotional pain. In other words, he wanted to sleep with her just to forget about his own unhappiness.
However, as time went on, he may have gradually developed some feelings for the girl. The lyrics reveal that the girl remained committed to their relationship despite his abusive behavior towards her.
This made the singer feel guilty. He began to question his own conscience and admitted that he also wanted to be with her. Unfortunately, due to his unknown feelings of self-loathing, he struggled to reciprocate love and continued to behave in a cold-hearted manner.
He felt like he was hurting the girl because he was using her for physical pleasure without truly loving her wholeheartedly. The girl’s genuine love for him made him feel even more pain.
Therefore, when he decided to end the relationship, the song’s title “trash” reflects his determination to “give up” on the relationship in order to spare the girl from further hurt. He wanted to shoulder the pain himself.
Jacob Carter is a lyricist. He created the lyrics writing course to teach people how to analyze and write lyrics. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in English Literature, so he’s skilled at playing with words.
He’s also an amateur guitarist, which means he knows music and melody very well. With this background, he’s a great lyricist you can rely on to learn writing lyrics.