Entertain the hope that somehow you'll escape me
Weld the bolts and close the iron gate
Drink deeply the illusion of your safety

My how wishful thoughts inebriate, masquerade, and revel in your opulence
Writhe unfettered by your stabs at ignorance
Swim through hues and whispered tones of here say

A dozen strokes to run your blood cold enough to believe
Remember me? You look so surprised to see me here
With hell's black wings did I over perch these walls
For stony limits cannot hold me out
And now you all die



Lyrics submitted by Second Self

Track duration: 02:15

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

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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The Red Death song meanings
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67 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment:everyone just needs to stop arguing about Christianity...
    Flag DavidmStottson September 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment::) edgar allen poe = radsauce.
    Flag katielouloubirdon January 03, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Also note the song is number seven on the album, relating obviously to the seven rooms in which the masquerade takes place, which, also, has its allegories.
    Flag paperwallson October 02, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:o yea not to mention alot of edgar allen poe's wemon in his life where killed by tuburculosis
    Flag LOTR4LIFE!!on September 10, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:wow. ok people just listen for a second. k im a senior in highschool and we just read "The Masque Of The Red Death"and i was sitting in class reading it and i came across a line in it that says. weld the bolts and close the iron gates, or somthing of that nature, and i thought to my self WHERE have i heard that from then i remembered this song. Dustin rights this song as if he IS the red death. the red death, as someone said before is tuburculosis, or how ever you spell it. in some town there was a huge epidemic of it and the king tried to shut him self off from the city to avoid it. so ill go through it and explain each part.....


    entertain the hope that somehow you’ll escape me
    weld the bolts and close the iron gate
    drink deeply the illusion of your safety
    my how wishful thoughts inebriate
    (so this prince thinks that he can avoid this death by just locking himself away with his closest friends and partying. illusion of safety)

    masquerade and revel in your opulence
    writhe unfettered by your stabs at ignorance
    (party it up in your welth and yea your stupid for thinking you can get away)

    swim through hues and whispered tones of heresy
    a dozen strokes to run your blood cold enough to believe
    remember me
    (the castle at which these people stayed had seven large rooms which each had different colored windows hence hues and that is where the party took place. the dozen strokes part is about when in the story the clock strikes 12 and the "red death" manifest into a decaying human like shape in the middle of the ball. ( i guess i should note that the ball was themed. the people dressed up as dead people to mock the towns folk) the prince yells at the creature to leave because he is inexplicably scared of him. but because they were all dressed like the dead they did not know that it was in fact the red death.)
    you look so surprised to see me here
    with hells black wings did i over perch these walls
    for stony limits cannot hold me out
    (this talks about how shocked the prince is that the red death made it in. and the hells black wings is just a metaphore for the human form of the death making it over the castle was. which is pretty bitchin soundin if you ask me.)
    and now
    you
    all
    DIE
    (then he dies.) MUHAHAHA
    so hopefully that clears everything up. o and to comment on the arguement about thrice's christianity, Dustins not really sure what he believes he doesnt say that he is 100% not christian or 100% is. like in the song stare at the sun. "ive studied saints and scholars both but no perfect plan unfurls, do i trust my heart or just my mind" he reads heavily in both religion and philosiphy. so yea they arnt a christian band but Dustin talks about it alot.

    P.S. sorry for the typing errors and i dont love lord of the rings that much its just a name i made to make a joke about an Underoath song.
    IM OUT!
    Flag LOTR4LIFE!!on September 10, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Weird story- my AP English class reads/analyzes The Masque of the Read Death. Within a week, we start reading Romeo and Juliet. Yeah, so this song really just started to make sense.
    Red Death -> EAP -> Ebola! Yes!
    And that R&J 'stony limits cannot hold me out' etc. thing surprised the heck out of me the first time I heard it. Brilliant lyrics.
    Flag Firefly117on April 27, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The cooliest part of this song is the way he writes from the perspective of the red death.
    Flag Rhythmlesson October 18, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:yea, thrice may not be a christian band but 3 out of 4 of the members are believers.

    so this song in particular can pertain to their faith, i see it as an artistic approach to describe the end of days. we can all live on this earth thinking we're safe, we're content, we're fine, but in the end it all comes down to the power of the creator, and just like how adam and eve were trying to hide in the garden, God still found them."masqueaade and revel in your opulence" this can easily describe how the hypocrits, the christians who say they are but their actions definelty show something else. they too will face God's judgement and wrath, just because we come and admit christ is our savior doesnt guarantee the best possible after life, cuz God rewards us with what we're done in our life too. so we can pretend we're christians by putting up a "christian mask" wether we're at church or just hanging with other christian friends. if its not the real us, then if you fear God then something's gotta change.

    "you looked so suprise to see me hear" christians do their best to share the good news, but sometimes God's word isnt always pleasing to hear, because the truth can sometimes cut like a double edge sword, and this causes conviction in our hearts. he also warns us of what's to come so dont be too surprise when at the end you've heard all of this, but you chose to turn your back and not follow Christ.

    the last line may seem to contradict anything from the christian doctirine, but really it full fills the promise that Christ made before he rose up to the heavens, is that he will come back, and its going to be both glorious and scarey, the death he brings is going to be the final death we'll all face, by then if we chose not follow him, he respects that choice and we are seperated from him (hell). for the ones who have made the right decision in choosing to follow him, then we're made new into warriors of christ, our bodies will burn but we will not perish, and we wil be able to spread God's authority over the lands of this earth. overwhelmed? i know i was when i first heard this song. it might seem scarey, but its the respectful fear that you should be realizing, becuase God is a god of balance, so you cant forget his merciful and compassionate side as well. we fear him, out of respect.

    yea, thrice may not be a christian band, but a lot of their lyrics can point that some of the memebers believe in the existence of a mighty God. not all christians band produce worship music, although some of thrice's songs may be their own personal act of worship. if you think they have a lot of screaming then you should check out Mortal Treason, they're the christian metal band that blew me away. i was in awe when i heard seth kimbrough scream in all the songs he wrote. worship to God may not always seem pleasing, because at times we're broken, and we have to bring that before God and just ask for him to mend that brokeness. thrice does an excellent job at showing that there is power and hope in being humble and meak.

    thrice rocks, and God is good!
    Flag acm525ion September 28, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Hey, I just got into this site recently, but here's my POV. I think the arguments stopped 2 years ago. Anyway, Dustin says his favorite book is "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis in some interview. If you read it, it's a fictional piece written from the demon's perspective. basically the evil forces succeed in their actions by making you believe that they're not present and letting you go free in your "whispered tones of heresy" or small self-centered actions that will snowball. And still we don't think he exists. But he does. Spiritual warfare.
    Flag sailingkoon July 28, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this could fit with the mega prague epidemy of the middle ages....dustin is the prague...from edgar allan poe's book The Mask Of The Red Death which actually talks about this
    with hell's black wings did I overperch these walls for stony limits (quarantine section or just walls of a castle) cannot hold me out....you look so surprised to se me here....now you ALL die...it matches...thats it for me
    Flag ThricePWNSrapsuxon January 30, 2005   Link

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