When you look at Alice in Chains’ finest album, Dirt, there is a chain of songs, all in a row, dealing with heroin and being an addict. Now, all the lyrics for those tracks (“Junkhead”, “Dirt”, “God Smack”, “Hate to Feel” and “Angry Chair”) were written by Layne Staley and they ultimately tell the tale of getting into heroin, becoming addicted, then trying to kick it.

While many addicted rock stars shy away from publicly talking about their drug use, Staley did it as a warning for people to stay away from smack.

And, ultimately, “Angry Chair” is about being in rehab and Narcotics Anonymous (NA).

Staley composed both the music and lyrics for “Angry Chair”, a great song which has a very cool vibe with lots of echo and reverb, as he tells the tale of being right in rehab, dealing with being dopesick and the messages he’s getting from counsellors at NA.

When you examine the lyrics from that point of view, Staley gives listeners insight into exactly what he’s going through as he sits in an angry chair (a metaphor for rehab), feeling claustrophobic as his stomach hurts with the pain of withdrawal, but he doesn’t care. Feeling apathetic is part of the withdrawal process, according to those who have been through it.