Deftones didn't just survive the nu-metal explosion; they transcended it. While their peers were rapping about high school angst and "doing it for the nookie," Chino Moreno was busy crafting some of the most visceral, abstract, and genuinely unsettling poetry in rock history. If you've spent any time staring at the neon-blue-and-yellow cover of their 1997 sophomore record, you've probably wondered about the around the fur lyrics. They aren't just words. They're textures.
It’s loud. It’s quiet. It’s "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)."
The title track itself sets a weird, voyeuristic tone that defines the whole era. When Chino whispers and سپس bellows about "the fur," he isn't talking about a coat. Not exactly. He’s talking about the surface level of people—the vanity, the fake exterior, the "fur" we grow to hide who we actually are. It’s about the prostitution of the soul. Honestly, the more you dig into the lyrics of this album, the more you realize it’s a record about being trapped in rooms with people you both desire and despise.
The Sound of 1997: Why the Lyrics Feel So Raw
Terry Date, the producer who worked on this and Adrenaline, basically let the band bleed into the microphones. There was no pitch correction. No heavy editing. Because of that, the around the fur lyrics carry a weight that modern metal often lacks. You can hear Chino’s breath. You can hear him losing his voice on "Lotion."
Most people think "Lotion" is just a random outburst. It’s actually a direct shot at people trying to be something they aren't. Chino has mentioned in various interviews over the years—specifically with Kerrang! and Revolver—that the song was inspired by the fake nature of the music industry as it started to swallow them whole. He’s yelling "it’s classic" with a sarcasm that bites through the distortion. He was frustrated. You can feel it.
Then you have "My Own Summer (Shove It)." It’s the song that everyone knows. The opening riff is legendary, but the lyrics are born from a very specific, almost manic-depressive place. Chino was trying to sleep in a hot room in Seattle during the day. The sun was hitting him. He hated it. He wanted the sun to go away so he could exist in his own private world. "Cloud as I reach the top," he sings, and it sounds like an ascent into madness. It’s a literal desire to "shove" the world away.
Breaking Down the Title Track: Around the Fur
The song "Around the Fur" is the emotional anchor of the record. It's creepy. Let’s be real—the way he sings "I believe you're clean" sounds like he knows for a fact that the person is anything but.
Lyrics like "speak, I'm a big fan" play into that theme of obsession. Deftones have always walked the line between romantic and predatory in their songwriting. It’s what makes them "Deftones." It’s not just "I hate you" or "I love you." It’s "I want to watch you while you sleep, and I might hate myself for it."
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The "fur" is the fashion. The scene. The girls in the magazines. Chino was fascinated by the glamor of the late 90s but also disgusted by how hollow it felt. He was living it and hating it simultaneously. That tension is why the around the fur lyrics still resonate in 2026. They don't feel dated because human vanity doesn't go out of style.
The Mystery of "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)"
This is the song that changed everything for them. It’s the bridge between the raw aggression of their debut and the "White Pony" experimentalism that would come later.
The lyrics are sparse.
"I dressed you in her clothes."
"Across the street, you're all the same."
It’s a song about escapism. Pure and simple. But it’s also deeply melancholic. There is a sense of being stuck in a hometown that is slowly killing your spirit. When he screams "I don't care where just FAR," it’s the universal anthem for anyone who has ever sat in a car at 2 AM wondering if they should just start driving and never look back. It’s less about the destination and more about the desperate need for motion.
Technical Nuance: The "Lotion" Misconception
A lot of fans online debate whether "Lotion" is about a specific person. Some say it's about a girl. Others say it’s about a rival musician. The truth is a bit of both. Chino’s writing style is "stream of consciousness." He takes a feeling—usually irritation—and wraps it in metaphors that sound like they come from a fever dream.
"I feel like more... I feel like more."
He isn't asking for more stuff. He's talking about feeling "more" than the plastic people around him. It’s an anthem for the authentic. If you’re looking for a literal story in around the fur lyrics, you’re going to get a headache. You have to feel the words instead of reading them like a newspaper.
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"Mascara" and the Darker Side of Devotion
If "Be Quiet and Drive" is the dream, "Mascara" is the nightmare. It’s arguably the darkest song on the album.
"I feel soon I'll sink into you."
"What a surprise."
It describes a toxic, codependent relationship where both parties are just waiting for the other to fail. The mention of "long hair" and "stolen air" paints a picture of suffocation. It’s slow, it’s sludge-y, and it’s uncomfortably intimate. It’s a masterclass in how to write a "love song" that makes the listener want to take a shower.
Beyond the Words: The Ghost of Chi Cheng
You can't talk about these lyrics without talking about the rhythm section. The late Chi Cheng’s bass lines provided the "pulse" that Chino’s lyrics lived on. In "Dai the Flu," the lyrics are almost secondary to the atmosphere created by the bass.
"I think God is moving its tongue."
What does that even mean? It sounds like something a person says during a hallucinogenic trip or a religious epiphany. It’s beautiful and terrifying. Deftones mastered the art of "word-painting"—using lyrics to evoke a visual or physical sensation rather than a logical thought.
Addressing the "Bong Hit" in the Room
Yes, "MX" exists. It’s the hidden track. It’s basically a long, drawn-out joke/jam session that turns into something genuinely cool. The lyrics there are a bit more straightforward—"F***ing with my head"—but they fit the album’s overarching theme of mental instability and the friction between men and women. The 19-minute runtime (including the silence) was a middle finger to the burgeoning digital age where people were starting to cherry-pick singles. They wanted you to sit through the silence. They wanted you to wait.
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Actionable Insights for Fans and Musicians
If you're trying to understand the around the fur lyrics on a deeper level, or if you're a songwriter looking to capture that 90s Sacramento magic, here is how you should approach it:
- Study the phrasing, not just the words. Chino Moreno uses his voice as an instrument. Sometimes the way he says a word matters more than the dictionary definition.
- Embrace the abstract. Don't be afraid to write lyrics that don't make "sense" on paper. If it feels right when screamed over a distorted guitar, it is right.
- Contrast is key. Notice how the lyrics shift from extremely aggressive ("Shove it!") to vulnerable and soft ("I get bored"). That emotional whiplash is what makes the album a masterpiece.
- Look at the "Fur" metaphor. Apply it to your own life. What is the "fur" you're wearing today? What are you trying to hide?
- Listen to the demos. If you can find the early tapes of these sessions, you'll see how much the lyrics evolved from gibberish to the haunting poetry we have today.
Deftones created a blueprint with this record. They proved that you could be heavy without being "tough" and sensitive without being "weak." The lyrics are the glue that holds that contradiction together. They are messy, loud, and incredibly human.
To truly appreciate the writing, go find a pair of old-school wired headphones. Turn off the lights. Put on the title track. Don't look at a lyric sheet. Just listen. Let the images form in your mind. The "fur," the "sun," the "clothes," and the "drive." It’s all there, waiting to be felt again.
Next Steps for the Deftones Obsessed:
Compare the lyrical themes of Around the Fur with their follow-up, White Pony. You'll notice a shift from "internalized frustration" to "cinematic storytelling." While Around the Fur is about the room you're stuck in, White Pony is about the world outside that room.
Track the evolution of the word "bored" across their discography. It’s a recurring motif for Chino—a specific kind of suburban boredom that leads to either immense creativity or total self-destruction. In this album, it’s the spark that lit the fire.
Check the liner notes for the "thank you" section. It reveals the community of Sacramento bands (like Far and Will Haven) that influenced the "us against the world" mentality found in these songs. Understanding the scene helps decode the "classic" insults in songs like "Lotion."
Finally, look into the photography of Stephen Carpenter, who took the cover photo. The lyrics and the visual aesthetic were inextricably linked; the "fur" wasn't just a metaphor, it was a lifestyle they were documenting in real-time.