“Hunger Strike” by Temple of the Dog

Temple of the Dog
A&M Records
1991

This song describes how wealth is earned on the backs of the powerless. The narrator knows this and yet struggles to fight against this reality because his easy life is dependent on it.

I don't mind stealing bread

From the mouths of decadence

But I can't feed on the powerless

When my cup's already overfilled

But it's on the table

The fire is cooking

And their farming babies

While the slaves are working

The blood is on the table

And their mouths are choking

But I'm growing hungry

I don't mind stealing bread

From the mouths of decadence

But I can't feed on the powerless

When my cup's already overfilled

But it's on the table

The fire is cooking

And their farming babies

While the slaves are working

And it's on the table

Their mouths are choking

But I'm growing hungry

I'm growing hungry

I'm growing hungry

I don't mind stealing bread

But I'm going hungry

I'm going hungry

I'm going hungry

Interpretation

I don't mind stealing bread

From the mouths of decadence

But I can't feed on the powerless

When my cup's already overfilled

This stanza presents a Robin Hood theme. The narrator admits that he has no problem stealing “bread” from the rich (“the mouths of decadence”) to feed those in need. However, he recognizes that we who are already affluent (our “cup’s already overfilled”) are stealing from the poor or “powerless” instead. We have all we need and yet look to benefit further from oppressing the poor.

But it's on the table

The fire is cooking

And their farming babies

While the slaves are working

The blood is on the table

And their mouths are choking

In this stanza the narrator’s conscience prods him to change and yet the bounty from this arrangement still finds its way into his home. The result of economic oppression is represented by the food “on the table” and the fuel for the “fire” that warms his house. “Farming babies” paints a picture of the slave practice of breeding their slaves so as to naturally increase their human capital. The final two lines parallel the first two lines that describe abundance. These two lines however, convey the violence associated with slavery and in turn the economic oppression present today.

But I'm growing hungry

The chorus describes the narrator’s struggle with personal comfort and moral obligation. He would like the world to be different but this arrangement allows him to buy cheap products—in this case food. “Growing hungry” implies that the narrator sees one possible form of protest to be not eating. This protest can last only so long since he’s getting really hungry. This means that buying food somehow ties him to injustices.

I don't mind stealing bread

From the mouths of decadence

But I can't feed on the powerless

When my cup's already overfilled

But it's on the table

The fire is cooking

And their farming babies

While the slaves are working

And it's on the table

Their mouths are choking

But I'm growing hungry

I'm growing hungry

I'm growing hungry

In this stanza two voices alternate between “growing hungry” and “going hungry”. This illustrates the struggle going on. Sometimes it means fighting against this injustice on behalf of and in unity with those being wronged in the form of a hunger strike (or altering purchasing habits). Other times it means compromising that struggle because the hunger pangs are becoming too great.

I don't mind stealing bread

The repetition of this line echoes the struggle evident in the choruses. The narrator has already said he doesn’t mind stealing from the wealthy, but now, since the other lines do not accompany this one, it leaves us to wonder whether or not the narrator is also settling for stealing from the poor.

But I'm going hungry

I'm going hungry

I'm going hungry