The air was all dust and not so untamed
The ground opened up and swallowed all of the rain
And it swallowed you too, into distance unknown
As they sat down for dinner they waited for you to get home
Yeah, they set a place for you

So don't believe everything you read in that diary of yours
And this nervousness, it isn't all your fault
It's just these shaking hands won't do what I want them to
And I've tried to guess what it is that you thought about
That act of contrition that rolled off our tongues as you wept
What are you crying for?

Just dust my heart and you will find
There are no fingers printed there
Just the untouched place that lies inside
Of every lonely boy tonight

And all of this open air has caused me to choke
On your new found hope for me



Lyrics submitted by PLANES


Act of Contrition song meanings
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21 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:"So don't believe
    everything that you read
    in that diary of yours"

    Beautiful.

    Also, when was the last time you heard a modern band write in 3/4?
    Flag hendrixroxon January 18, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:isn't the first line
    "the air was all dust on a night so untamed"?
    Flag clippy.hangeron September 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is obviously about suicide.

    an act of contrition is to apologise, and ask for forgiveness for your sins; it is a religious thing and the ultimate sin in catholocism, christianity and other religions is suicide. ultimately anyone who is successful in taking their own lives is instantly condemned to hell.

    he doesn't understand why she is the way she is, but he knows thats she's too absorbed in her own problems and what's going on in her head to have anything left to give him.

    i think it's about actually reading her diary to try and understand what was going on in her head, why she killed herself, and he finds
    "Just dust my heart and you will find
    There are no fingers printed there
    Just the untouched place that lies inside
    Of every lonely boy tonight

    And all of this open air has caused me to choke
    On your new found hope for me "
    written there and that's what makes him realise, she was in a compelte other world to him and he was just making her worse.
    Flag ki6ion June 06, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:My immediate thoughts were similar to those of Wentworth_Akeley...that he's talking about his inability to love. or that perhaps the girl is in love with him, & he's not sure how to return it, which hurts & depresses her...& part of this song is reassuring her that it's nothing to do with the way that she acts.

    But then, i thought about the title, & i wasn't really sure what it was about, so i looked it up on google & only just discovered that it's a catholic prayer...which is as follows:
    O my God, I am heartily sorry
    for having offended Thee,
    and I detest all my sins,
    because I dread the loss of Heaven
    and the pains of Hell,
    but most of all because they
    offend Thee, my God,
    Who art all-good and deserving
    of all my love.
    I firmly resolve, with the help
    of Thy grace to confess my sins,
    to do penance
    and to amend my life. Amen.

    so i guess it's about apologising for your sins.
    i'm not sure if that adds anything?
    Flag shut up hannah.on March 08, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:does anyone know what album this is from?
    Flag endlesstaticseaon February 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Does anyone else think he's talking about his own inability to accept love from others:
    "Just dust my heart and you will find
    There are no fingers printed there"
    Perhaps the girl he's speaking to took this the wrong way, so she ran away, commited suicide, etc.
    Flag Wentworth_Akeleyon February 11, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It feels to me like he is talking to a girl
    Who clearly feels as though she is alone in the world and who is often second-guessing herself and her relationships
    "So don't believe everything you read in that diary of yours"
    And he is trying to reassure her that not only does she have a family behind her but she has him 100%
    Flag wordpollutionon January 24, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:suicide? come on, are we even talking about the same song?

    i think conor is talking about feeling affection from someone else, for the first time ever. also, maybe he is talking to someone who cared a lot for people and felt like they didn't return it at all.
    Flag maybexmaybeon January 19, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think it's about a girl that he is involved with. when she's depressed, he's like, "so don't believe everything you read in that diary of yours" - the things she says to put herself down, he says they're not true. he reassures her hey look, you have your family. he's telling her that he doesn't have experience with this, and in the last line it seems like she really likes him and he's not used to it.
    Flag daystoforgeton November 06, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i can see how it would be about suicide, with the whole:
    "the ground opened up and swallowed all of the rain
    And it swallowed you too, into distance unknown" part
    and maybe:
    "As they sat down for dinner they waited for you to get home
    Yeah, they set a place for you" could be her family or someone waiting up for, not knowing she had killed herself
    Flag i.was.young.enoughon October 13, 2006   Link

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