Editing Far Beyond Driven (section)

==Music and lyrics==
The band tuned lower on the album than on previous efforts, with many songs going as low as C# standard. Several lyrical topics appear on ''Far Beyond Driven''. The track "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" seems to be a reference to the song "Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine" on the [[Ted Nugent]] album ''[[Weekend Warriors (album)|Weekend Warriors]]''.{{Original research inline|date=November 2024}} Phil Anselmo spoke about the track, saying:

{{blockquote|"The lyrical content was me probably giving a nod to my fascination at the time with [[Nick Cave]]'s [[Birthday Party (band)|Birthday Party]]. Nick Cave was a genius. I will say the lyrics [on 'Good Friends'] tell a true story. I made a lot of mistakes as a youngster, and to reveal to this particular person who it was about, why it was about, what happened that particular night, would not be very kosher. I can't do it. To this day, I won't do it. It would just be in bad taste. At this point, I don't think that person would want five minutes alone with me, unless we have a sip of white wine."<ref name=RS />}}
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Pantera's bassist [[Rex Brown]] spoke about "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" saying:

{{blockquote|"It was just kind of fucking around – Vinnie had a drumbeat, Dime was just fucking around with that pedal, and I had the five-string bass.  ... We listened to it and at first, we went, 'What the fuck is that?' Then when Phil put the vocals on it, it just blew everybody's fucking minds. I don't know what the fuck he was thinking with the lyrics."<ref name=RS />}}

Phil Anselmo talked about the song "Strength Beyond Strength", saying:

{{Blockquote|text="I was a rambunctious child. None of it is regrettable, lyrically. You can look back at your lyrics and snicker. I'll always do, whether I'm embarrassed over it, or whether I'm embarrassed over it, or whether I'm embarrassed over it. You can tell growing spurts and pains and where you were in life, so I don't know. Strength fucking Beyond Strength is the old puffin' the chest up, 'look at us now,' we're as cute as [we're] fucking extreme."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-strength-beyond-strength-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Reflects on Pantera's 'Strength Beyond Strength' – Exclusive Video|magazine=[[Loudwire]]|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 24, 2014}}</ref>}}
Speaking about the song "[[5 Minutes Alone]]", drummer [[Vinnie Paul]] said:

{{blockquote|"The story behind this song is we were opening for [[Megadeth]], and there was a guy that was flipping us off the whole show and so we stopped the show. And I was like, 'Listen, in case you haven't noticed there's 18,000 people who really dig what we're doing. You're the only one doing that stupid shit without even having to egg the crowd on.' Ten guys just jumped the guy and beat the shit out of him. His dad called the manager after all the lawsuits and this and that, and basically said, 'Give me five minutes with that Phil Anselmo guy. I want to whup his ass.'"<ref name=RS>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pantera-look-back-at-20-years-of-far-beyond-driven-20140327|title=Pantera Look Back at 20 Years of 'Far Beyond Driven'|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|author=Kory Grow|date=March 27, 2014}}</ref>}}

Anselmo explained the meaning behind the song "[[Becoming (song)|Becoming]]", saying: 

{{Blockquote|text="The most popular heavy metal bands in the world at that time were, in my estimate and definitely all of our estimates, playing the game. ... They had reached this pinnacle; now they were kind of tapering off and writing more commercial stuff, whereas we realized our strong point, once again, was sticking to heavy metal and making it as heavy as our style would allow. Therefore, with 'Becoming,' it is what it says. We were becoming. Honestly, we had arrived."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-becoming-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Explains the Meaning Behind Pantera's 'Becoming' – Exclusive Video|magazine=[[Loudwire]]|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 24, 2014}}</ref>}}

Anselmo talks about the meaning behind the song "Shedding Skin" saying, "'Shedding Skin' was about me being in my 20s and any girlfriend, lady-friend of mine trying to tie me down at that age, at that particular time," begins Anselmo. "Basically, 'lay off, right now.' A relationship with me? A serious relationship with me at that age? Forget it, fuck off. Really, it's impossible."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-panteras-shedding-skin-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Talks Pantera's 'Shedding Skin' + Rejecting Serious Relationships – Exclusive Video|magazine=[[Loudwire]]|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 27, 2014}}</ref>

Anselmo talked about the song "Slaughtered" saying "I've always had a distorted view of organized religion and I was never more confused than when I was in my 20s and whatnot," Anselmo says about 'Slaughtered.' "And still I like to use a fusion, if you will, of religions and fuck with them, so to speak. And then tear them down and piss all over them or build them up only to tip over."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-use-my-third-arm-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Tears Down Religion Recalling Pantera's 'Slaughtered' – Exclusive Video|magazine=[[Loudwire]]|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 26, 2014}}</ref>

Anselmo spoke about the song "Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks", saying "I think it was a foreshadowing of the fear that I felt of not being the same. ... I know for a fact, I guess, that I dabbled in pain pills and stuff like that because I was miserable, and that's always a friggin' dead end, dead road, a terrible path to take. But at the time, I didn't have any other answers."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-hard-lines-sunken-cheeks-exclusive/|title=Philip Anselmo Talks Past Drug Use + Pantera's 'Hard Lines, Sunken Cheeks' – Exclusive Video|magazine=[[Loudwire]]|author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann|date=March 26, 2014}}</ref>

The song "25 Years" is about Phil Anselmo's father. Anselmo would later cover the topic, saying: 

{{Blockquote|text="'25 Years' was written about my father. At the time [I] had a gigantic falling-out with him and I resented the fuck out of him and wrote a beautiful song about it. It was a time capsule of how far he and I had not come, and I think a lot of fans could relate with the dysfunctional family vibe. I think I put in some pretty clever wording here and there, and it might be that wording that they had been searching for themselves for quite a while when it comes to anger."<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann |date=March 27, 2014 |title=Philip Anselmo Talks Falling-Out With Father + Pantera's '25 Years' – Exclusive Video |url=http://loudwire.com/philip-anselmo-pantera-25-years-exclusive/ |magazine=[[Loudwire]]}}</ref>}}

In the liner notes of the album, all the songs' lyrics are printed apart from the cover of "[[Planet Caravan]]". The liner note reads:

{{blockquote|"This is a [[Black Sabbath]] song off of the [[Paranoid (album)|''Paranoid'' album]]. So don't freak out on us. We did the song because we wanted to. It has nothing to do with the integrity of our direction. It's a tripped out song. We think you'll dig it. If you don't, don't fucking listen to it. Thanks. On behalf of the rest of Pantera, [[Phil Anselmo]] '94."}}