Three inches above the floor
Man in a box wants to burn my soul
And I'm tired
"Is that the truth?" he says
The pain is easy
Too many words, too many words

And I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em, I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em

If you’re hearing screams
Come back, child, come back
My hands are dry
But I know they're gonna make it just one more night
Too many words, too many words

And I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em, I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em

[Instrumental Bridge]

And I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em, I can hear 'em
And I can hear 'em


Lyrics submitted by typo, edited by firstsongbird

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    My Interpretation

    Well, I think some points a clear here.

    The man in a box may refer to the priest in the cabinet where Christians go to bend on their knees and confess their sins. In this case, maybe it is high on a kind of deck as three inches above the floor (a sign of superiority). That man, the priest, wants to condemn the sinner to hell. The sinner is overwhelmed by the supposed sins and the punishment and so he says it's easy to put it into words but difficult to overcome through it.

    The atmosphere is ominous and this was common during the medieval era, when the Spanish Inquisition ruled the lives of the people who lived in constant fear of the religious authorities.

    But the man is innocent, so he says my hands are dry (of sins or blood).

    Watching the version of this song performed by Storefront Church on youtube, they seem to interpret something similar, as shown by the graphics there.

    Anyway, as it has already been said, there's plenty of room to understand this lyrics in a very personal way and it can also be a metaphor of actual situations as well.

    Gothicoon March 31, 2024   Link

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