The Quiet Room (From The Inside, 1978)

From The Inside was released on November 17, 1978. The LP is a biographical concept based on Alice’s stay at Cornell Medical Center. It is invaluable to Alice’s discography and could be his most intimate album – an honest display of vulnerability and insight.  

The songs on the album take the listener on a roller coaster of emotions, including excitement, desperation, insecurity, instability, and so much more.

The cover art for the LP is Alice’s face that gatefolds open to a scene from the mental asylum. The visual layout could easily be a still frame from the 1975 movie One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. However, the most haunting part of the artwork is found under the paper door labeled “Quiet Room.”

“A stark, beautiful song that also features on backing vocals the treacle-smooth voice of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s Maurice White, nevertheless it is almost hard to listen to, such is its brutal honesty, telling Alice Cooper fans more than they ever expected to hear from their hero.” – Ian Chapman, Experiencing Alice Cooper, A Listener’s Companion

“The Quiet Room” is a heart-wrenching song about isolation and emotions – in this case, some very dark ones. Interestingly enough, it may or may not have been evident to others or Alice himself at the time, but God was most definitely placing a miracle in motion. Alice’s life and career were soon about to change.

In fact, not just for Alice but in all of our darker moments, the Light of Christ most often shines the brightest, and at that point, we are asked to make a decision. Do we embrace that Light or remain in darkness?

My confidant
I have confessed my life
The Quiet Room
Knows more about me than my wife

They’ve got this place
Where they been keeping me
Where I can’t hurt myself
I just can’t
I just can’t get these damn wrists to bleed

A mattress on the floor
No handles on the door
I really need nothing here
I’m alone

Read those lyrics carefully. Only two people know everything about us – our Creator and ourselves. And, reading those lines in the song, one cannot help but think Alice was talking to God, not the walls of “The Quiet Room.”

Looking at the “Quiet Room” from that perspective, what is prayer? Is it necessary? Does it work? Does God hear us? Do we hear Him? Have we ever debated with Him? How did that turn out?

Prayer is simply a form of communication – a conversation between our Creator and us. Yes, a dialogue – not a monologue.

God speaks to our hearts and our Spirits. As a result, He gives us calm strength as He guides and directs us – we are led and called to act through His Presence.

Many prayers in scripture were said, heard, answered, and even still, some may seem unanswered in God’s Word.

A few of the more notable ones are as follows:

Psalm 25:4-7 (A prayer for defense, guidance, and pardon)

Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God, my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love, remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

David was explicitly asking for God’s guidance. He wanted it. David’s life and prayers are explained further in Psalm 119, where we learn that God’s direction for our lives is found in the Word and through prayer.

This prayer shows that calling on God is a daily task, not something we only do in times of need. If we call on Him daily, already walking in His Presence, then the things of this world should seem trivial compared to eternity and His Greatness.

We may also find our journeys much more manageable as we seek Him. When He’s our focus, we tend to make better choices and learn to remove our egos and motives from the equation.

Luke 18:10-14 (The parable of two men that prayed)

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

What motives do we have when we pray? Are they to exalt God or ourselves? God knows us; he knows our hearts. So there’s no need for a public declaration of our works or bloviated detail of our successes.

Instead, we approach God with humility, knowing His Mercy and Love afford us blessings and righteousness, not the things we have done in our prideful endeavors.

So many things can hinder us from God and keep us from genuinely seeing His Magnificence. May our foolish and selfish pride not be one of those.

1 Kings 18:20-40 (Elijah on Mount Carmel)

“…At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.”

Frustrated by the people and the prophets of Baal, Elijah called on the one true God, our Lord, to display His Power and Might. As fire reigned from heaven, the people fell and trembled at God’s Greatness.

In 1 Kings 18:20-35 (not included in the above text), the prophets of Baal cried out for their god to perform, but their words fell on deaf ears – nothing but silence came forth.

Knowing this, we must ask ourselves, whom do we put our faith in – false idols (and the gods of this world) or the God of all Creation? Then, depending on the answer to the previous question, will our prayers be answered or fall on deaf ears?

Luke 22:40-44 (Jesus prays in the garden)

“On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down, and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

If you read the verses above carefully, it is evident that Christ was genuinely expressing innate human emotions. He was crying out in pain and desperation. He knew that what He was about to undertake would lead to toll and agony.

Some may say that Christ’s prayer went unanswered, yet if we look at the ending of His prayer, Jesus laid aside His anxieties for God’s Will to be done. Ultimately, Jesus knew what needed to be accomplished – willingly; He fulfilled His Calling.

While none of us will ever endure the agony of bearing the world’s sin, we may be called to face our fears or tread through dangerous territory according to God’s Will. Like Christ, when we pray, “…not my will, but yours be done,” we should expect it may not be easy, but the outcome will be incredible.

Wrapping up this week’s post, there’s a 2015 book and movie called The War Room. In that book/movie, we find the main character going to “war” (on her knees) daily in prayer. She humbly prays alone in a closet (The War Room) for all occasions, for God’s might to move while placing her life into God’s hands.

What a curious similarity between The War Room and The Quiet Room – time alone with only God (and the walls). It seems solitude can be a powerful thing if used correctly. For Coop, he discovered that the line between Vincent Furnier and Alice Cooper was blurred with no actual boundaries.

“I’ve got a character that’s even more severe than (Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Keith Moon, etc.). How am I going to deal with this?” – Alice Cooper

Through meditation, prayer, and the intervention of the Holy Spirit, Alice could draw a line between himself and the character. So, may we heed his example, remembering the lifeline of prayer given to us as we face the demons of this world (the ones in our way and the ones we place in our way).

If nothing more, may we pray the Lord’s prayer and earnestly mean Christ’s words when teaching us how to communicate with our Heavenly Father.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. – Matthew 6: 5-15

In conclusion, it must have been tough watching Alice’s health deteriorate during the late 70s and early 80s, not only for his fans but for his family and closest friends.

However, Alice’s story isn’t the tragedy many other musicians endured. Instead, the right people (the ones who loved him most) made the most challenging decision (perhaps in their lives) – deciding to intervene.

That said, there is one final note about The Quiet Room. We feel this post is precisely what God wants it to be; however, we would be remiss not to note the song’s following lines:

They’ve got this place
Where they been keeping me
Where I can’t hurt myself
I just can’t
I just can’t get these damn wrists to bleed

We take suicidal thoughts and themes seriously. So if you or someone you know is struggling with any dark emotions or thoughts about self-harm, please get help.

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, dial 911
(or the emergency number in your nation),
and seek medical attention…

There is help! Ask for it! You deserve it!

That’s it for this week; be well, and catch you next week!

Until then, keep Walkin’ in Faith and Rockin’ with Alice!