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When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone
I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars
Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone
I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars
Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me
Lyrics submitted by sunny22au
Track duration: 04:59
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Now, as for me, I interpret the song as being inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy, as a few have already stated. Dante was in a terrible dark forest all alone, depressed and horrified that he could have allowed himself to wander so far from God, and engage in all sorts of depravity and sin. He looked up to see the sun shining on the crest of a mountain, which he took to represent the glory of the Lord, and he knew he had to set himself right by reaching that light. But before he can ascend to Heaven and return to grace, he must journey through Hell and Purgatory, guided first by Virgil, then by Beatrice.
The Divine Comedy tells a story that can be translated to fit all kinds of situations. Whether you're trying to reconnect with your God, trying to find your true self, or simply get through a dark time in your life, the story is easy to relate to, and so is this song. For Dante, Virgil and Beatrice guided him through his pain and despair, bringing him safely back to his faith. For someone else, this song could be about a friend who never left them to suffer a rough situation alone. It speaks, first and foremost, of love and hope.
Taking that message of love and hope into consideration, how dare anyone criticize Rinyave for their connection to "Dante's Prayer!" Please, before you go around ridiculing others for things you know nothing about, take some time to educate yourself. Otherwise, you just let everyone know how ignorant you truly are. Lugh [pronounced Loo] is the name of an ancient Pagan sun God, not something stupid someone made up, so check your facts before you make a fool of yourself. I think it's beautiful that Rinyave is reminded of their spirit guide by this song.
God and me, or another person.
'When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone'
When my life got dark
And I couldn't find my way out
When the priests of pride said it was hopeless
I got so vulnerable and sad
'I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars'
I did not believe because I couldn't see
But You came to me in the night
When the light in my life seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars
[i]'Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me'
Lift your eyes up and see My love
I'm always here for you
When the light in your life seems forever lost,
Please remember Me, I'm here for you[/i]
'Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire'
Then there was another dark mountain
By the well of my desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire
[i]'Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me'
Lift your eyes up and see My love
I'm always here for you
When the light in your life seems forever lost,
Please remember Me, I'm here for you[/i]
'Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars'
Though we walk the lifepath alone, with all our feelings and emotions,
Our heart is fragile
Give me wings to fly above this path
To see your love in the light of the stars
'Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares'
Take my sorrows away and show me Your love
Lift me up above this wood
Take these crying hopes of fear
We will rise above this earthly cares
[i]'Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me'
Lift your eyes up and see My love
I'm always here for you
When the light in your life seems forever lost,
Please remember Me, I'm here for you[/i]
I tried desperately for such a long time to find meaning for myself with regard to this song, and eventually I found it.
However, I was fortunate enough to see Loreena in concert at Massey Hall in Toronto in the late 90's. Prior to her singing her songs, she would often relate to the listening audience what inspired her to write it. As best I can recall, this was her story for Dante's Prayer. As many of you know, Loreena travels the world extensively to find inspiration for her music and expose herself to different cultures. Wouldn't we all want to do this, given the chance? In any case, on the occasion of her inspiration for Dante's Prayer, she was riding on a trans - Siberian train and indeed reading The Divine Comedy. She recounted that since there was no dining car on the train, it would stop at various towns along the way and the riders were given exactly 20 minutes to leave the train and buy food from the locals who lived in the town and would come to the train to greet and sell to the passengers. This would have happened perhaps once or twice throughout the day.
There was an attendant on the train, a woman, who would come around and seem very grumpy and rather miserable in general. At first, Loreena simply dismissed her demeanor as one of culture. One time, after Loreena had re-boarded the train after buying some food from locals, the woman came by. Loreena stopped her and gave her some of the food that she had bought, simply as an act of kindness. The woman remarked with a surprised smile and a countenance that reminded Loreena about the story that she was reading in the Divine Comedy. In that moment, she discovered her muse for the song and thought that she would never forget the look of gratitude on the attendants face, being sure that no one else had ever taken the time to consider the woman as she travelled back and forth, day after day, year after year through the dark harshness of Siberia. Loreena hoped that on some of those dark moments, the woman would remember her and perhaps return the smile to her face. And so the song was born.
Now, go back and listen again to the song and think of this story and see what images it conjures for you.
Enjoy!
A BIG Loreena Fan
I see this song in two ways. The first is that the song is like a lament or a eulogy. Your loved ones are saying Goodbye to you, Leaving that final bit of wisdom and it's like they are talking to you from beyond the grave. They're telling you to carry on even through the pain that you feel. Remember them and remember the strength they gave you. They are telling you how they felt about life whether it be in sickness or sadness. They are giving you that piece of themselves that everyone hides, the piece that they couldn't give you in life.
The second meaning for me is the part of the listener. The listener is hearing this song They identify with it. The world is speaking to them. Telling them that everybody feels pain and grief and sadness and happiness and fear. Everybody in the world has that moment where they question themselves and wonder if they fit in this world. Everybody has that moment of true despair and sorrow and desperately need guidance because they feel so lost. This song is their guidance. It gives them strength and the answer they need. Life can be so hard sometimes for everybody and you can feel so lost and not understand anything or not even care. I lost my mother 2 years ago to a long battle with depression and it tore everything up inside me. all my issues and problems came together and i had a mid life crisis at 22 but you heal slowly with time. life is pain and pain is life but pain is also strength. Pain makes you the person you are. It's horrible but it is true. whether its god or religion or spirituality or your soul or loved one speaking to you, Its the same. This is why i understand this song on that level and it will always be that way for me.
As for the lyrics:
"I did not believe because I could not see"
This is deep. For me this means that the person can't see past their own pain and can't see the light ahead. they need to see the light to believe. they won't trust themselves.
"Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me"
These are my favourite lyrics in the whole song. They say look around, i'm here. close your eyes i'm here. think of me and i'll give you strength and show you how special you are.
"Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart"
We all live in this world. we eat and sleep like the human's we are but we experience the same emotions differently. love, anger, happiness. we all know what they mean but feel them, as each unique person that we are. each feeling can give one person strength but at the same time break another.
"Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear"
Make me feel alive. give me what i need give me whats missing. Take my pain away. This can be you speaking from your soul or the person telling you how much you mean to them.
Finally finished, longest post i've ever typed.
I'll leave you with my personal motto. "FIGHT TO LIVE, LIVE TO FIGHT. Thank you xxxxxxxxxxxxx