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.
Dead lungs command it
You pour your life down the rifle's spiral
And show us you've earned it
Cleric's fog will recede right before your eyes
So long to this wretched form
Those gray eyes on the subway
Long before you were born
You were always to be a dagger floating
Straight to their heart
Listen, now, we won't tell anyone
But you're gonna tell the world
So life ain't then any fun
Now your viscera unfurl
As you rise, rise from your burning fiat
Go, go get my suitcase, would you?
You've thoroughly blown their mind
And now I must have passage on the lines
To the veins from your heart
You're not invisible, now
You just don't exist
Your mother must be so proud
You sublimate yourself, granting us a wish
Primitive mirror on the wall
To fortify your grim resolve
Amid the glitz of a shopping mall
Another grain of indigent salt for the sea
Go back to this wretched form
All them gray eyes on the subway
So long before you were born
You were always to be a dagger floating
Straight to their heart
You pour your life down the rifle's spiral
And show us you've earned it
Cleric's fog will recede right before your eyes
So long to this wretched form
Those gray eyes on the subway
Long before you were born
You were always to be a dagger floating
Straight to their heart
Listen, now, we won't tell anyone
But you're gonna tell the world
So life ain't then any fun
Now your viscera unfurl
As you rise, rise from your burning fiat
Go, go get my suitcase, would you?
You've thoroughly blown their mind
And now I must have passage on the lines
To the veins from your heart
You're not invisible, now
You just don't exist
Your mother must be so proud
You sublimate yourself, granting us a wish
Primitive mirror on the wall
To fortify your grim resolve
Amid the glitz of a shopping mall
Another grain of indigent salt for the sea
Go back to this wretched form
All them gray eyes on the subway
So long before you were born
You were always to be a dagger floating
Straight to their heart
Lyrics submitted by abstractatmosphere, edited by NexusA, Wolfaholic, Raven95, TechieB, andsat
The Rifle's Spiral Lyrics as written by James Mercer
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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“The song is written from the perspective of somebody funding and paying for suicide bombers to engage in that horrible activity. Just the perverse and grotesque thing that that is, and you know, living in the age we live in and my disrespect and fear of religion in general just fueling that intense hatred and appalling violence.”
magnetmagazine.com/2012/03/26/magnet-web-exclusive-the-shins-james-mercer-on-the-new-port-of-morrow/
Is anyone else reminded of Shannon McFarland in Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters? That is the first thing that popped into my head after hearing the track.
Love this song and basically the entire album already. Can't wait until i can get it.
Should be: "This whole life ain't been any fun Now your viscera unfurls"
"And now I must have passage home Your life's two veins from your heart"
"You sublimate yourself, Granting us a wish"
"Good night to these wretched forms"
Thanks. All of your corrections seem right except for "And now I must have passage home. Your life's two veins from your heart." But I'm changing it anyway.
Yeah, that one does sound a little weird, but I have the record and that's what it says.
Such an awesome song! Then you listen to the lyrics through... this is about a suicide bomber right? An upbeat song but such a grim story. It's the cherry on top... "oh that was fun... wait... oh i see what you did there... nice!" I love how Mercer does this with grim thoughts.
unsure on the meaning but...
I don't know if it's a suicide bomber for a religious purpose or not...(clerics fog recedes, so long to this wretched form...) sounds like a character didn't understand religion but now does. He now has a purpose he didn't before(You were always to be a dagger floating Straight to their heart.) as in he was predetermined tell people they're living wrong(later in the song... the primitive mural on the wall) by blowing them up.
(You sublimate yourself, granting us a wish.) This line makes me think the character thinks he's doing them a favor or his God a favor... again I'm still unsure.
Suicide bomber fits but I thought the lyrics were about a prostitute's daily life at first.
"Them grey eyes on the subway"
"And now I must have passage on your lives To veins from your heart."
"Amid the glitz of a shopping mall"
The suicide bomber thing does make sense!
The dead lungs could refer to the long dead people who invented our religions (although the forms of islam that motivate suicide bombings aren't as ancient as they'd like to think).
Not sure about the cleric's fog, but the wretched form should just be the physical body. So long to that, hello to heaven!
It's a pretty gory song from this point of view. "you sublimate yourself" is talking about literal sublimation (solid matter turning in to a gas without passing through a liquid state), there is actual viscera unfurling, the minds (or rather brains) are literally blown, and the primitive mural on the wall is a bloody splat! Maybe the burning fiat is a burning Fiat? Nah :)
I'm thinking the "gray eyes on the subway" has to do with a religious nut's view of the poor un-enlightened people around them, but I'm not sure. It may make more sense with something like a school shooter or a spree killer -- along with "you're not invisible, now". I think it's pretty common for spree killers to be lonely and unsuccessful, motivated by a wish to step out of anonymity and feel meaningful. Maybe for suicide bombers too?
I'm also not sure what to make of the two veins from the heart.
"So long before you were born // you were always to be a dagger floating // straight to their heart." would refer to the fact that this person thinks they've found the transcendent purpose of their life. This could also refer to the lifting of the clerical fog -- the jumbled bullshit they've been spouting suddenly makes sense and you've found your purpose!<br /> <br /> Another thing I don't get about the song is the relationship between the "I"-person and the "you"-person. What is going on?
"Go, go get MY suitcase, would YOU?<br /> YOU've thoroughly blown their mind.<br /> And now I must have passage home"<br /> <br /> (Incidentally: why can't I edit my post?)
This is definitely about suicide bombers/terrorists. Mercer is a true genius the way he writes his songs, he takes a song that could be easily taken as happy (ish?) by the tune but is truly a dark song. I think the part about the cleric is talking about religon having a role in this. Its funny how Mercer mocks them when he says "You're not invisible, now. You just don't exist. Your mother must be so proud". the part about the fiat, no its not a Fiat, although that makes sense a fiat is an authorization or order (as in the leader tells the bomber to go on a suicide mission).
Honestly I'd have never thought of these meanings (mostly because I don't know what he's saying half the time and I've never looked up the lyrics until now), but this suicide bomber theory sounds sound enough...but I still don't understand the "go get my suitcase" part, or if and how the video (which is awesome) relates to the song: youtube.com/watch
any ideas?