[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by vivfox

Why do you think it's about drugs?

Alternatively, how can it NOT be about drugs?

This was not preplanned
But after some cause...
I decided to go to the other side of the world.

This may be a twist on the old adage "disappear from the face of the earth." She has decided to go to rehab.

I see something.
I see a handsome soldier.
I see myself remaining... when all of you are gone.
And the reason that I paint you in my paintings,
And the reason I record the sound of your voices.

She is referring to someone specific (or multiple someones) who is actively abusing. Since she has notoriously equated being in a band like FM as being in the army, "soldier" may be a euphemism for a rocker in a band. She is basically saying "you can kill yourself with drugs, but I'm gonna sober up and I'm going to miss you when you die."

No one walks away from this battle
From the power, it's so strong
Like a fury
Keep that fury deep inside you
And wish it to end
And when your friends start asking you why
You just say nothing

The dragon is her addiction to drugs- so powerful, so strong. But it's a private struggle- your friends can only help so much. And it never ends. You learn to live with addiction, but you're never cured of it.

The beautiful and the sensitive and the oh so very young
We are adapting to your silence
I can live here without you
At least I'm learning
But I cannot live without your songs

This is her tribute to dead rock stars.

Who have you been with?
Have you been with friends...or is there more?
(You're not listening to me)
Have you been writing, well you say it's harder now
Well I got the message, stay among the living

Stevie is confronting the abuser here. She knows he has been out partying up a storm. And the excuse that it's hard to write songs while sober is not enough of an excuse to keep using. Stevie had an epiphany and decided to get clean so she can "stay among the living."

When this battle is over
I feel I will survive
In the battle of the dragon
No one walks away
Oh, you wish it to the end...wish it to the end

Given the timeframe this song was written in, I get the feeling that Stevie was considering rehab for at least a couple of years before she finally relented and went. And considering that she was still lit up like a Christmas tree when RAL was finally released, as well as on the subsequent tour, it probably didn't seem appropriate to include a song about getting clean when she really wasn't.

Just my own speculation.