This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Thus now he knelt before the ruins,
Cold of sweat, heat of flame
To vow the severed heads
Of those who brought the village, the village to its shame.
Those who plundered,pilfered, pillaged lives
Would now accept the blame.
He would find them all
With a mighty vengeance paid for in their pain
Shah-jan, the king of kings
Wore seven rings and 60 feathers
Plucked from sparrow's wings
Growing fat on the throne,
He sat like a stone.
A man who had never known
No hunger, shown no mercy with
In promises broke like a bone.
And there he sat like a stone,
With promises broke like a bone
Dispersed about the people
Rostam calls out for his equals
In third to rise and cast curse
Is that the worst of vengeance
Enemies they roam the tree's
Is that the worst of vengeance
The royalty must die x3
The royalty must die like common beggars and petty thieves x2
Tomorrow they will find us
Oh God x3
Heads of children will roll
Thus know he knelt before the ruins
Cold of sweat, heat of flame
He found the severed heads x2
Of those who brought the village, the village to its shame.
3:16
The king of kings wore
Seven rings and 60 feathers
Plucked from sparrows' wings.
He's growing fat, growing fat on the throne
Where he sat like a stone
A man who has never known no hunger
Shown no mercy
Those who ride against us
Will be murdered where they stand
Let our arrows rain from sky
To drain the blood into the land
If a mortal stands before us
Strike him down with sleight of hand
And if heaven rides against us the
God himself then must be damned.
Cold of sweat, heat of flame
To vow the severed heads
Of those who brought the village, the village to its shame.
Those who plundered,pilfered, pillaged lives
Would now accept the blame.
He would find them all
With a mighty vengeance paid for in their pain
Shah-jan, the king of kings
Wore seven rings and 60 feathers
Plucked from sparrow's wings
Growing fat on the throne,
He sat like a stone.
A man who had never known
No hunger, shown no mercy with
In promises broke like a bone.
And there he sat like a stone,
With promises broke like a bone
Dispersed about the people
Rostam calls out for his equals
In third to rise and cast curse
Is that the worst of vengeance
Enemies they roam the tree's
Is that the worst of vengeance
The royalty must die x3
The royalty must die like common beggars and petty thieves x2
Tomorrow they will find us
Oh God x3
Heads of children will roll
Thus know he knelt before the ruins
Cold of sweat, heat of flame
He found the severed heads x2
Of those who brought the village, the village to its shame.
3:16
The king of kings wore
Seven rings and 60 feathers
Plucked from sparrows' wings.
He's growing fat, growing fat on the throne
Where he sat like a stone
A man who has never known no hunger
Shown no mercy
Those who ride against us
Will be murdered where they stand
Let our arrows rain from sky
To drain the blood into the land
If a mortal stands before us
Strike him down with sleight of hand
And if heaven rides against us the
God himself then must be damned.
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The Night We Met
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
...just realized the last paragraph was kinda redundant...
anyways, another note: Rostam was a hero of Persian mythology who had seven labors similar to the twelve labors of Hercules (again, all info from Wikipedia).
in relation to this song, Rostam seems to inspire the common people to rebellion-
"Dispersed about his people, Rostam calls out for his equals in thirst to rise and cast curse, exact the worst revenge on enemies to hang from trees"
-that last part, which Rody whispers after "equals" seems to be missing from the lyrics so i'll report it.
THE ROYALTY MUST DIE!
...this rebellion is so justified by Rostam, that they say they will strike mortals down with "sleight of hand" (magic/sorcery);
so unstoppable that anyone who "rides against [them] will be murdered where they stand;"
so great in vengeance against Shah-Jahan for shaming their village that they will make him pay with PAIN;
so driven that they would even go against God, believing that "if heaven rides against us then God himself must be damned!"
...ok I'll stop posting now =)
Actually, it says that Shah Jahan was growing ill (growing fat on the throne) while his son led a rebellion and executed the other successor. He wore a plumed turban (sixty feathers) and according to this song a ton of rings. He attained power through violence and deceit and lost it in the same way (those who plundered, pilfered, pillaged lives would now accept the blame), and brought the kingdom to it's greatest point while simultaneously marking its downfall. It may refer to a radical change in religious belief (and if heaven rides against us God himself then must be damned) leaving behind a Hindu-Islam mix [Hindu being more pacifistic] for full blown Islam.
Shah-Jahan was the Mughal Emperor (the Mughal Empire was in India in the 1600s) who had the Taj Mahal built for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. According to Wikipedia, there were rumors that he wanted a black Taj Mahal built in addition to the white one already built.
'It is believed that Shah Jahan cut the hand of the chief architect who built Taj Mahal thinking another such Taj Mahal will never be built again'...
'Although Shah-Jahan's father's (Jehangir) rule was generally peaceful, the empire was experiencing challenges by the end of his reign. Shah Jahan reversed this trend... [and his] military campaigns drained the imperial treasury. Under his rule, the state became a huge military machine and the nobles and their contingents multiplied almost fourfold, as did the demands for more revenue from the peasantry.' -quoted from Wikipedia
in my opinion, Bone Marrow is about a rebellion by the common people against Shah-Jahan, who apparently "plundered, pilfered, pillaged" to gain monetary support for his military. His desire for riches and military might caused him to ignore and betray his own people. Shah-Jahan has never known what it feels like to be a common peasant, being born and raised in royalty, never experiencing true hunger. Claiming himself to be the "king of kings," Shah-Jahan has a general disregard for his people ("promises broke like a bone") because of a selfish desire for power, wealth and the expansion of his empire
Thus now he knelt before the ruins, cold of sweat and heat of flame, to vow the severed heads of those who brought the village to its shame. Those who plundered, pillaged, pilfered lives would now accept the blame. He would find them all with a mighty vengeance paid for in their pain. Shah-jan, the king of kings, wore seven rings and sixty feathers plucked from sparrow's wings. Growing fat on the throng where he sat like a stone as a man who has known no hunger or shown no mercy in promises broke like a bone. Dispersed about his people, rostam calls out for his equals in thirst to rise and cast curse, exact the worst revenge on his enemies to hang from trees. The royalty must die like common beggars and petty thieves. Those who rule against us will be murdered where they stand. Let our arrows rain from sky to drain the blood into the land. If a mortal stands before us, strike him down with sleight of hand. And if heaven rides against us, god himself then must be damned.
(for those who prefer the "block" form of the lyrics :) )
growing fat on the throne* I can't type :(
This song is so damn intense.
This song is awesome. It's so easy to get a visual by listening to it and reading the lyrics. Rody's highs + Arif's lows = fucking intense. Pardon my French.
I think Rody actually does the low growls on this song, and the rest of the songs on the album. His vocal range has even improved since Kezia, which is definitely incredible.
It has, but you can tell when it's him and when it's Arif.
It has, but you can tell when it's him and when it's Arif.