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I can't see the meaning of this life I'm leading
I try to forget you as you forgot me
This time there is nothing left for you to take
This is goodbye
Summer is miles and miles away
And no one would ask me to stay
And I should contemplate this change
To ease the pain
And I should step out of the rain
Turn away
Close to ending it all, I am drifting through the
stages
Of the rapture born within this loss
Thoughts of death inside
Tear me apart from the core of my soul
Summer is miles and miles away
And no one would ask me to stay
And I should contemplate this change
To ease the pain
And I should step out of the rain
Turn away
At times the dark's fading slowly
But it never sustains
Would someone watch over me
In my time of need?
Summer is miles and miles away
And no one would ask me to stay
And I should contemplate this change
To ease the pain
And I should step out of the rain
Turn away
I try to forget you as you forgot me
This time there is nothing left for you to take
This is goodbye
Summer is miles and miles away
And no one would ask me to stay
And I should contemplate this change
To ease the pain
And I should step out of the rain
Turn away
Close to ending it all, I am drifting through the
stages
Of the rapture born within this loss
Thoughts of death inside
Tear me apart from the core of my soul
Summer is miles and miles away
And no one would ask me to stay
And I should contemplate this change
To ease the pain
And I should step out of the rain
Turn away
At times the dark's fading slowly
But it never sustains
Would someone watch over me
In my time of need?
Summer is miles and miles away
And no one would ask me to stay
And I should contemplate this change
To ease the pain
And I should step out of the rain
Turn away
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There is also the very deep depression of the song, how he is thinking of death and those thoughts are tearing at his soul, and the rain, which is often a symbol of depression, is also a metaphor for tears. But he knows there is a change to contemplate that will turn him away from the pain, but when you are in that deep of a depression doing anything seems difficult, nothing is motivating, and the thoughts of wanting to die do tear you apart. But ending this depression (winter) at least seems like something off in the distant future, and there won't be anyone around to enjoy it with anyways.
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What "stepping out of the rain" and "turn away" would symbolize, is him allowing everything in life to rain down on him, and take control of how he feels, so he stepping out of it, turning away from it, deciding its time to move on from "life" as he knows it taking control of him.
Remember people, just because you can relate to one line in the song, doesn't mean you should latch onto it and assume you have the song figured out. I will re-iterate one last time. It's not a girl he is talking about, if you read carefully.
"I can't see the meaning of this life I'm leading
I try to forget you as you forgot me
This time there is nothing left for you to take, this
is goodbye"
I don't understand why people generally think he is talking about a significant other. It is quite neat to see how the mass of people think. I guess if you think of it as depth of thought. People instantly look to one another for happiness instead of within. So they are looking outwards, instead of inwards. If you think its a person he wants to make him happy, that's an outward thought.
If you think its life he wants to make him happy, that's an inward thought. It's admitting that maybe, in fact, its you. Instead of blaming others for making you unhappy.
Vogelfrei you nailed it when you said
"I suppose it just feels more potent to me when interpreted like that, and Opeth has always struck me as dealing in very potent messages and imagery."
If you think it's life he wants him to make him happy, instead of a person? it takes A LOT more out of you, and is in fact a lot more potent.
I think what this song is about:
Where a lot of you think he is talking to a girl. He is talking to life.
His time of need is, he doesn't know what the point of life is. If you work so hard and hard to get something, and it just fades away. All the long while you are consciously thinking, PLEASE STAY PLEASE PLEASE STAY! Everyone else around you is thinking the same thing. But life, life doesn't think that. It thinks the opposite, so how do you think you will beat, or outlast life? Life doesn't think "Please stay" It lets things fade away.
The symbolism of "summer is miles and miles away" is pretty much, him making the decision that he will cut himself from all emotion, when it comes to wanting to hold on to materials and possessions. Then what he is saying is, when you cut yourself from those things and forget about that "life" as your current mind state sees it, it might seem like life might forget about you. So when he says summer is miles and miles away. He's saying hes now pushed himself away from all materials and possessions. Now he is looking for life to make him happy. So the symbol "summer" makes everyone feel warm and happy inside. When hes finally in that feeling, no one around him will ask him to stay. Meaning, he will be beyond feeling the need to want something or someone to stay, he will be in a more natural, peaceful mind state.
Him "contemplating this change", or asking if he should rather. Is a reflection on how human nature is reluctant to make a sudden change, especially if you know nothing about it. So essentially, its his mind easing him away from his old life, or how he thinks peoples minds would go about it, which I think is very accurate. Hence the "ease the pain" , followed by "I should step out in the rain" Also something people would think, "no ill get wet", so he put the "Turn away" for the people to relate to him, changing his mind. As you can see, his mind is changing over though. He had the thought "I should step out in the rain" followed by his mind "easing the pain" giving him the option to not go into the rain.
"Close to ending it all, I am drifting through the
stages
Of the rapture born within this loss
Thoughts of death inside, tear me apart from the core
of my soul"
The reason why this is in the song is because its basically what the song is about. Since we were all born after the 1900's. We were "born within this loss". What he is saying is. We didn't have a choice. This is the life we know it as. However, there was existence before us. That existence, didn't have as much to lose. You might think, "why" or "how". Well quite simply, possessions and materials.
This song is.. living life with things to lose (possessions, materials) vs. living life with nothing to lose (being happy with just the fact that life has summer).
Now, if you choose to learn to live life that way. It might feel like you are dying inside. Because essentially you are. I don't know how old you are. However, you have lived that many years of your life to get to the mind state that you currently have. To completely kill that mind state, and change it to the other one, would feel like you are dying inside. It would make you depressed. Until finally, you realize that, it's not me that im killing. its me that I am improving.
Some of you might think, I can be happy with my possessions and I can be happy with summer. It's not that simple. You can lead a life, where you work the entire time, and come home to enjoy your materials you worked for, while enjoying the company of your family and friends, and weather. However, the material aspect will never make you eternally happy. Yes, it dose make you happy, when it's new. Then it fades away, and its old again. Then it angers you, causes stress because you have to replace it, then you find yourself consumed into that mind state again. So, if you think you can break free from that mind state, then you can't just think that you already have that other part of you in there, even though you might. You have to face the truth. However, 99% of you won't or think you already have, and keep living your life, until your 95 years old, and all the people that are and were older than you, that actually cared about you, are dead. The only people left in your lives will be the younger part of your family. Children, Grand Children. All the actors and actresses you grew up with will be dead. All the presidents and CEO's will be dead. It will just be you, with the people you gave birth too. Make sure, that's what makes you happy. and NOT whats on TV.
Now thineOWNgod you are close to what he is experiencing with his numbness and emptiness. He is in fact giving up on life, and he IS looking for different places for happiness. However, there is no other person involved. There are three entities involved. Himself, as he once was (thought he could be happy with materials, and possessions. Himself as he is now (depressed, doesn't know how to be happy) and finally Himself, as he will soon be, happy, with just plain old life (summer's miles and miles away)
This guy is in a state of mind I'm very experienced with.
He's unbearably depressed, he sees absolutely no point to his life anymore.
He sees happiness as something unattainable (summer is miles and miles away).
There is obviously another person involved, could be a woman but there are many possibilities.
There's nothing left in him at all. No emotions, but numbness. Everything is gone and there is nothing to take.
Now you have to imagine a depression as deep as : "Thoughts of death inside, tear me apart from the core
of my soul."
"At times the dark's fading slowly, but it never sustains."
Sometimes the depression isn't so bad, but that never lasts long.
Akerfeldt, once again shows his lyrical genius in this song.
Ok, there's this guy (It may very well be Mikeal) who feels the world sucks. This is apparent in the lines "This time there is nothing left for you to take". I think if it was an issue with a woman, then it would have more emphasis on it. I think it's just about people using and taking things from him. He's trying to find a reason not to commit suicide, and is trying to get help, but can't find it. This is evident in the lines "Summer is miles and miles away, but no one would ask me to stay".
The part about summer is more metaphorical than literal. Summer may be referring to better times, or when he feels better. Maybe this "summer" is just around the corner, but he's so deep in depression, he feels that it's miles and miles away.
The lines "And I should contemplate this change, to ease the pain" means that he ponders his suicidal thoughts to try and ease his pain.
But the line "This is goodbye" makes it seem that his in the middle of committing the act. Maybe he's decided he's going to, and tries to think about it, so he can ease his pain.
I can realte to this. A lot, actually.