I know what lies beneath, I've seen the flash of teeth
Conspiring with the reef to sink our ship
The wind's a cheating wife, her tongue a thirsty knife
And she could take your life with one good kiss

Can you see the sky turn red?
As morning's light breaks over me
Know tonight we'll make our bed
At the bottom of the sea

I know the ocean speaks, I've heard her call to me
And smiling in my dreams she whispers this:
"The stars retreat behind their veil
The clouds are clinging to your sail
The storm is coming, can you see?"

Look and see the sky turn red
Like blood it covers over me
And soon the sea shall give up her dead
We'll raise an empire from the bottom of the sea



Lyrics submitted by Thricecube

Track duration: 04:18

"Red Sky" as written by Edward Carrington Breckenridge, James Riley Breckenridge, Dustin Michael Kensrue, Teppei Teranishi

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Red Sky song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:red sky is a very interesting song in that dustin kensrue displays his ability to tell an amazing story within the restrictions and limitations that a song has. the story dustin uses here is very is simple, but very abstract in a way that it has a deep meaning within


    I see red sky as a scary story one would tell their son/daughter. It's a story about a troubled crew trying to make it back to shore, while a huge storm is brewing.

    To paint the picture of this better, dustin provides descriptive information:
    1. the setting is quite old, as dustin mentions sail boats. I think if it were set in a more modern era it would not have mentioned sail's. even more we have the technology to now have an understanding when a storm might hit. Back then, it was different, more dangerous.
    2. The sailors are experienced, as they read the ocean "i heard her call to me."
    3. the crew is in a sticky situation and are trying to make it back home all the while fending off seemingly unbeatable forces. (mother nature): "the winds a cheating wife, her tongue a thirsty knife." We know that ships are steered by wind. Sometimes you sail with the wind, arriving at your destination at doublespeed. If you're sailing against it, you're looking at going twice as slow. And sometimes, the wind will have a wrath in the form of a hurricane or storm, alas, "a thirsty knife."
    4. even the sky is against them. red is a color that is haunting. seems like even the sky knows the crew's doom.


    so we have the literal story dustin is telling here, but there is a lot more behind all of it.

    i believe dustin is trying to say that sometimes things don't seem to be going your way and it may feel that at times you are part of that crew out at sea trying to fight off impossible forces that seem unmovable. You may wake up and see the weight of a red sky looming over you. but like these sailors i think dustin is saying that if you fight through it, in the end, you'll be "Raising an empire from the bottom of the sea."

    it seems like its a story dustin is trying to tell his daughter. hmmm
    Flag deadforestexeon November 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is not biblical. It's basically a story about a captain going down with his ship against a storm in the middle of the ocean. Like the movie Perfect Storm.

    I know what lies beneath, I've seen the flash of teeth
    (Intense Waves)(the flash of teeth indicate a storm a comin')
    Conspiring with the reef to sink our ship
    (The Storm has a possibility to sink the ship)(From the warnings above)
    The wind's a cheating wife, her tongue a thirsty knife
    (A sailor is married to the sea. The wind is the rage of a cheating wife)
    And she could take your life with one good kiss
    (a kiss from a raging ocean storm is one thing. DESTRUCTION)
    Can you see the sky turn red?
    As morning's light breaks over me
    (RED SKY at night, Sailors Delight, Red sky in the morning, Sailors warning)
    Know tonight we'll make our bed
    (the captain is knows that the destruction of his ship is inevitable)
    At the bottom of the sea
    (and hes going DOWN!

    I know the ocean speaks, I've heard her call to me
    And smiling in my dreams she whispers this:
    "The stars retreat behind their veil
    The clouds are clinging to your sail
    The storm is coming, can you see?"
    (This is the dream the captain had)

    Look and see the sky turn red
    Like blood it covers over me
    (His dream coming true)
    And soon the sea shall give up her dead
    (her dead is not nice)
    We'll raise an empire from the bottom of the sea
    (infact her dead was to put the captain at the bottom of the sea)

    Btw he's not really building an empire. hes dead.
    Flag dyllinger89on November 17, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:im pretty sure the verses are talking about athena, the god of the sea, or some other sea god. it makes sense, dustin like to use greek mythology in a lot of his songs.
    Flag miknow13on August 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I know that this clearly IS NOT what Dustin based this off of, but for some reason this song, and a lot of the entire album Vheissu, reminds me of Bioshock. Maybe it's just because I happened to really dig into the heart of this album when I first played Bioshock initially, but whatever.

    Dustin usually has a way of bring his beliefs as influences, but honestly I think he just sort of wrote Red Sky out of having an idea for an ocean-themed song, and that people are thinking too much into it...lol
    Flag TheOnlyxOne88on August 15, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:My first impression of the chorus was that he was bleeding underwater, which would cause the sky to look "red" when he was laying at the bottom of the sea.
    Flag kingstampedeon September 27, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I love Thrice, they're one of my favorites.
    And this song is so amazing, I love it.
    I think that the song is about being able to get through a struggling relationship. To make things better out of it. I'm sorry the explanation is so long but I promise it is worth it.

    "I know what lies beneath, I've seen the flash of teeth
    Conspiring with the reef to sink our ship
    The wind's a cheating wife, her tongue a thirsty knife
    And she could take your life with one good kiss"

    The flash of teeth would be the temptation taking over the man, and the reef would represent cheating. The ship would represent the relationship between the two people. If the ship sinks, then the relationship is over. The wind is a woman that would cause the man to cheat. The kiss could end the relationship, and maybe to the man, his wife is his everything, his "life".

    "Can you see the sky turn red?
    As morning's light breaks over me
    Know tonight we'll make our bed
    At the bottom of the sea"

    The quote, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailors warning". A red sky in the morning is a warning that a storm is coming. The storm represents the conflict in the relationship now that there was cheating involved. If the storm comes, then its the end of the relationship. The two making their bed at the bottom of the sea is the couple ending the relationship.

    "I know the ocean speaks, I've heard her call to me
    And smiling in my dreams she whispers this:
    The stars retreat behind their veil
    The clouds are clinging to your sail
    The storm is coming, can you see?"


    The ocean is the man's concience working as a warning that the conflict is coming, and that if something isn't done, the relationship will fail and the love will die.


    "Look and see the sky turn red
    Like blood it covers over me
    And soon the sea shall give up her dead
    We'll raise an empire from the bottom of the sea"

    Now this chorus is the man proving to everyone and himself that despite all that happened, the relationship is still strong. "Like blood..." is describing how red the sky is, that morning. (it's sort of showing that even though its so red, the storm still hasn't come). The sea giving up her dead is the temptation letting go of trying to destroy the relatioship. The two raising the empire, is them proving that the love and the relationship didn't die, it only grew stronger.
    Flag crashDEFECTIVEon June 07, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:red sky at night sailors delight, red sky in the morning sailors take warning..... thats my depiction of the song
    Flag Sublimedude1992on May 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:kind of reminds me of Play Crack The Sky by Brand New with the metaphor of a boat at sea. The song's about a relationship being "lost at sea", and knowing it has to and will end, but that it's ending will not stop you from rebuilding your life in a different direction
    Flag brandnewchappyon April 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:...Epic and Monumental. haha short, but meaningful lyrics haha. plus the whole composition of the song
    especially with the strings version. soo nice. *bow*
    Flag pageperpageon March 28, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I get the feeling of a quarrel between two lovers over infidelity.

    I know what lies beneath. I've seen the flash of teeth.
    - He knows what's happening and there's a fight coming.

    Conspiring with the reef to sink our ship
    The wind's a cheating wife, her tongue a thirsty knife
    And she could take your life with one good kiss.
    - That person is trying to pull this woman away from the relationship with the narrator. And he's saying that it will ruin his life if she does this.

    Can you see the sky turn red?
    As morning's light breaks over me
    Know tonight we'll make our bed
    At the bottom of the sea.
    - A sky turning red is really bad weather or a huge fight in this instance. It's keeping him up all hours of the night because it's tearing him apart and that tonight, this relationship will be at the bottom of the sea and over with.

    I know the ocean speaks, I've heard her call to me
    And smiling in my dreams she whispers this:
    "The stars retreat behind their veil
    The clouds are clinging to your sail
    The storm is coming, can you see?"
    - He's saying that he has seen this coming for quite sometime now. She has been trying to hide this infidelity, but he knows what's going on and the relationship is about to come to an end.

    Look and see the sky turn red
    Like blood it covers over me
    And soon the sea shall give up her dead
    We'll raise an empire from the bottom of the sea.
    - This fight has been going on for way too long and he feels like her infidelity is his fault. So, he will try to salvage what's left of the relationship and make it so she doesn't have to retreat to another guy for what she's been missing out on with the narrator.
    Flag PineappleExpresson February 27, 2009   Link

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