Annotations for Sister To Sleep

Lyric: I’m sleepwalking back into this
 Hell!
 Oh... God
Annotation:
The Man falls asleep, seeing the dream he dreaded seeing, the memory of his lover’s death.

Lyric: Oh my darling
 For the first time
 
 [Verse 2]
 Don’t let me sleep tonight
 And get in your way tonight
 Don’t let me sleep tonight
 Get in your way
Annotation:
The Man speaks to his lover in his dream while trying to wake himself up from his sleep, trying to ‘get in your way’ to prevent her from dying like in his memory.

Lyric: And I’m sleepwalking back into this hell
Annotation:
The Man falls asleep, seeing the dream he dreaded seeing, the memory of his lover’s death.

Lyric: Back to the day, back into this day
 Back to another level, hotter then hell
 Said that we’re not savages until we do it
 Again
 And one last night I’ll kiss your lips again
Annotation:
The Man is reflecting on the death of the Demolition Woman, likely what he sees in his dreams. He mourns his loss and contemplates the humanity of his crimes, wondering if they were savages for killing.

Lyric: What did I say?
 What did I say to put Sister to Sleep?
Annotation:
The Sister in this line may refer either to an employee of the institution, implying the institution to be a religious insane asylum which employs nuns, or to the Demolition Woman. If it refers to the former, then this is The Man being angry at an unknown third party for failing to put the sister to sleep, which would allow him to escape. If it is the latter, it refers to The Man reflecting on his last moments with his lover, where she was ‘put to sleep’ in death.

Lyric: And fall awake and die
 And I’m never going to bed
Annotation:
The Man knows that when he sleeps, he will dream of The Woman and her death, and wants to avoid reliving his worst memory, therefore he tries to avoid falling asleep despite his medication forcing him to eventually fall asleep.

Lyric: Cause I close my eyes
 I see land
Annotation:
When The Man tries to sleep, he ‘sees land’, which may allude to the death of The Woman, which took place during the song Demolition Lovers in a desert. He may see this event in his dreams due to trauma.

Lyric: I will take this ferris wheel
Annotation:
This could be referring to the ferris wheel on the back of the I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love vinyl.

Lyric: I’m put on this medication
Annotation:
Given the nature of this song, the medication is likely some kind of antidepressant/mood stabiliser or antipsychotic. It could also be some form of sleeping pill.

Lyric: Welcome to this institution
Annotation:
“This institution” could be referring to a hospital of some kind

Lyric: Because I can’t ever sleep at night the same
 This medication enjoys, enjoys most every day
Annotation:
His medication makes him sleep because he is unable to without it

Lyric: One way to resolution
Annotation:
There are different ways to solve his problems (like suicide) but instead he was institutionalized

