I agree that this song has heavy biblical undertones, but I think it can be more generally interpreted as someone depressed and hitting rock bottom. I get pretty powerful images in my head from this song... they do such a great job of letting the music itself tell half the story.
'I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind
Alone in the wind and the rain you left me
It's getting dark darling, too dark to see
And I'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds, it seems'
He describes being broken, feeling alone/discarded, when even someone's faith in you hurts you.
After this line you hear a descending scale, and when you think it gets to the bottom of the scale, the rest of the band comes in and you go deeper than you thought possible. This symbolizes sinking to the "bottom"... often times you think you hit rock bottom, only to see it goes deeper than you thought possible. ;)
'And I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest'
Here I picture someone on a sinking ship, with the person on his knees weeping as the rain pours down and rises to his chest. Now he is at the bottom, and when at the bottom, he warns to plant your hopes with good seeds - as you battle to turn your life around, be sure to do so with pure, positive roots and not be hunkered down with the clutter of everyday vanity - the thistle and weeds. He says rain down on me, which does two things - he shows his desire to grow, and it reinforces the visual and mood of being inside a rainstorm.
'Look over your hills and be still'
This makes me think of the man on the ship again, swells 20ft+, creating hills. When in that kind of swell, you try to still yourself so you can see the water ahead of you. A very vivid metaphor.
'The sky above us shoots to kill'
Thunder and lightning. Its hard to battle back from the bottom as you are fighting yourself.
'Rain down, rain down on me'
He now subtly taunts and accepts his battle. Musically now the piano kicks in, mimicking lightning, and the band joins in to create what I regard as one of the most vivid musical descriptions of a thunderstorm I've ever heard.
'But I will hold on
I will hold on hope'
Throughout this part, I picture the man rising from his knees and climbing the mast of the ship in the middle of the storm, determined to climb out of his hole. I can see a light coming out of the sky through the clouds, and the man reaching out for a rope descending from it - holding on h(r)ope. You can hear it in his voice, pure determination.
I agree that this song has heavy biblical undertones, but I think it can be more generally interpreted as someone depressed and hitting rock bottom. I get pretty powerful images in my head from this song... they do such a great job of letting the music itself tell half the story.
'I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind Alone in the wind and the rain you left me It's getting dark darling, too dark to see And I'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds, it seems'
He describes being broken, feeling alone/discarded, when even someone's faith in you hurts you. After this line you hear a descending scale, and when you think it gets to the bottom of the scale, the rest of the band comes in and you go deeper than you thought possible. This symbolizes sinking to the "bottom"... often times you think you hit rock bottom, only to see it goes deeper than you thought possible. ;)
'And I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest'
Here I picture someone on a sinking ship, with the person on his knees weeping as the rain pours down and rises to his chest. Now he is at the bottom, and when at the bottom, he warns to plant your hopes with good seeds - as you battle to turn your life around, be sure to do so with pure, positive roots and not be hunkered down with the clutter of everyday vanity - the thistle and weeds. He says rain down on me, which does two things - he shows his desire to grow, and it reinforces the visual and mood of being inside a rainstorm.
'Look over your hills and be still'
This makes me think of the man on the ship again, swells 20ft+, creating hills. When in that kind of swell, you try to still yourself so you can see the water ahead of you. A very vivid metaphor.
'The sky above us shoots to kill'
Thunder and lightning. Its hard to battle back from the bottom as you are fighting yourself.
'Rain down, rain down on me'
He now subtly taunts and accepts his battle. Musically now the piano kicks in, mimicking lightning, and the band joins in to create what I regard as one of the most vivid musical descriptions of a thunderstorm I've ever heard.
'But I will hold on I will hold on hope'
Throughout this part, I picture the man rising from his knees and climbing the mast of the ship in the middle of the storm, determined to climb out of his hole. I can see a light coming out of the sky through the clouds, and the man reaching out for a rope descending from it - holding on h(r)ope. You can hear it in his voice, pure determination.
They should make video's.