Great song!
Both musical and lyrical. One of the very best of KC.
I think this about (Cold) War/nuclear destruction.
Nukes were a very real threat in those days. (Well, they still are.)
Here is my interpretation:
The wall on which the prophets wrote
Is cracking at the seams.
Upon the instruments of death
The sunlight brightly gleams.
[Sun shining on nukes, ready for launch]
When every man is torn apart
With nightmares and with dreams,
[We all fear nuclear holocaust, and we all dream of a better future.]
Will no one lay the laurel wreath
As silence drowns the screams.
[Nobody left to mourn our dead after nuclear war]
Between the iron gates of fate,
['iron gates of fate': Communism/capitalism?]
The seeds of time were sown,
[This East/West ideologies simply lead to this situation.]
And watered by the deeds of those
Who know and who are known;
['those' are politicians with their hand on the red button]
Knowledge is a deadly friend
When no one sets the rules.
['Knowledge' as in E=MC^2. Too much knowlegde, too litlle wisdom.]
The fate of all mankind I see
Is in the hands of fools.
[Well, no need to explain THAT one. ;-)]
Confusion will be my epitaph.
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
[Double meaning: 1) Image of postnuke world where he walks. 2) metaphorical: 'I' = humankind.]
If we make it we can all sit back
and laugh.
[If we don't destroy ourselfs, we can laugh about it one day.]
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying,
Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying.
[Well, he is NOT optimistic about chances for laughter tomorrow...]
This is how I hear this song. But most concepts can easily be stretched to a broader meaning as others did in their interpretation.
Great, but haunting song. :-)
This is pretty much what I got from 'Epitaph' as well. One slight correction in the first verse, "Will no one lay the laurel wreath" doesn't refer to mourning but to there being no winners in a nuclear war. A laurel wreath is a classic symbol of victory. Basically it's referencing the principle of mutually assured destruction, or the 'nuclear deterrent' as it's also known.
This is pretty much what I got from 'Epitaph' as well. One slight correction in the first verse, "Will no one lay the laurel wreath" doesn't refer to mourning but to there being no winners in a nuclear war. A laurel wreath is a classic symbol of victory. Basically it's referencing the principle of mutually assured destruction, or the 'nuclear deterrent' as it's also known.
This has also always been my interpretation. I'm old now, but when I was a teenager this song always gave me a sadness, not simply about man unable to survive a nuclear war, but about all of life being destroyed.
This has also always been my interpretation. I'm old now, but when I was a teenager this song always gave me a sadness, not simply about man unable to survive a nuclear war, but about all of life being destroyed.
This was released in 1969. The film 'Silent Running' (1972) is unrelated, but evokes similar feelings. No spoilers, but in that film the Earth is destroyed and all that remains is a spaceship with one man and some robots. Epitaph is a plea to reason.
This was released in 1969. The film 'Silent Running' (1972) is unrelated, but evokes similar feelings. No spoilers, but in that film the Earth is destroyed and all that remains is a spaceship with one man and some robots. Epitaph is a plea to reason.
Anyone born after July 1945 has had to come to terms with the very real possibility that all life on Earth is in jeopardy. Yes, the sun will absorb Earth in 7.5 billion years, but that's a long time. And religions all have an end of days, but that's just make believe, not science. After 1945, the real threat became possible, ourselves. And even if all mankind is destroyed, by us, at least if animals survive, then there's a sad hopefulness. But if we destroy it completely, then there's nothing more tragic and disappointing.
Great song! Both musical and lyrical. One of the very best of KC. I think this about (Cold) War/nuclear destruction. Nukes were a very real threat in those days. (Well, they still are.)
Here is my interpretation:
The wall on which the prophets wrote Is cracking at the seams. Upon the instruments of death The sunlight brightly gleams. [Sun shining on nukes, ready for launch]
When every man is torn apart With nightmares and with dreams, [We all fear nuclear holocaust, and we all dream of a better future.] Will no one lay the laurel wreath As silence drowns the screams. [Nobody left to mourn our dead after nuclear war]
Between the iron gates of fate, ['iron gates of fate': Communism/capitalism?] The seeds of time were sown, [This East/West ideologies simply lead to this situation.] And watered by the deeds of those Who know and who are known; ['those' are politicians with their hand on the red button]
Knowledge is a deadly friend When no one sets the rules. ['Knowledge' as in E=MC^2. Too much knowlegde, too litlle wisdom.] The fate of all mankind I see Is in the hands of fools. [Well, no need to explain THAT one. ;-)]
Confusion will be my epitaph. As I crawl a cracked and broken path [Double meaning: 1) Image of postnuke world where he walks. 2) metaphorical: 'I' = humankind.] If we make it we can all sit back and laugh. [If we don't destroy ourselfs, we can laugh about it one day.]
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying, Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying. [Well, he is NOT optimistic about chances for laughter tomorrow...]
This is how I hear this song. But most concepts can easily be stretched to a broader meaning as others did in their interpretation. Great, but haunting song. :-)
This is pretty much what I got from 'Epitaph' as well. One slight correction in the first verse, "Will no one lay the laurel wreath" doesn't refer to mourning but to there being no winners in a nuclear war. A laurel wreath is a classic symbol of victory. Basically it's referencing the principle of mutually assured destruction, or the 'nuclear deterrent' as it's also known.
This is pretty much what I got from 'Epitaph' as well. One slight correction in the first verse, "Will no one lay the laurel wreath" doesn't refer to mourning but to there being no winners in a nuclear war. A laurel wreath is a classic symbol of victory. Basically it's referencing the principle of mutually assured destruction, or the 'nuclear deterrent' as it's also known.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_wreath for reference.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_wreath for reference.
@MrWillow As we said back when this was written.... heavy, heavy words man, heavy.
@MrWillow As we said back when this was written.... heavy, heavy words man, heavy.
This has also always been my interpretation. I'm old now, but when I was a teenager this song always gave me a sadness, not simply about man unable to survive a nuclear war, but about all of life being destroyed.
This has also always been my interpretation. I'm old now, but when I was a teenager this song always gave me a sadness, not simply about man unable to survive a nuclear war, but about all of life being destroyed.
This was released in 1969. The film 'Silent Running' (1972) is unrelated, but evokes similar feelings. No spoilers, but in that film the Earth is destroyed and all that remains is a spaceship with one man and some robots. Epitaph is a plea to reason.
This was released in 1969. The film 'Silent Running' (1972) is unrelated, but evokes similar feelings. No spoilers, but in that film the Earth is destroyed and all that remains is a spaceship with one man and some robots. Epitaph is a plea to reason.
Anyone born after July 1945 has had to come to terms with the very real possibility that all life on Earth is in jeopardy. Yes, the sun will absorb Earth in 7.5 billion years, but that's a long time. And religions all have an end of days, but that's just make believe, not science. After 1945, the real threat became possible, ourselves. And even if all mankind is destroyed, by us, at least if animals survive, then there's a sad hopefulness. But if we destroy it completely, then there's nothing more tragic and disappointing.