The song begins with Rael feeling comfortable and warm in the cuckoo cocoon- "I got sunshine in my stomach." He feels so good that he falls asleep, and when he wakes up he notices something... different about the cave, something that he can't put his finger on yet. The bass and organ in this song do a great job of conveying the mounting fear in the pit of Rael's stomach as he leans back against the rock wall of the cave- "rockface moves to press my skin." I don't understand all the references to liquid that follow, but something in the cave is scaring Rael, so he "must tell [him]self that [he's] not here, [he's] drowning in some liquid fear." He keeps the fear hidden inside- "bottle in a strong compression-" and tells himself that he's blowing the whole thing out of proportion, it's stupid to fear the dark- "my distortion shows obsession." But he is scared nonetheless, and calls "Get me out of this cave!" Rael is sure that if he can keep his self-control, he'll be safe "in [his] soul," and finds a "moment's relief" with this idea, even though he calls it merely a "childhood belief." He is older and knows better, is more used to danger now. Indeed, his "cynic soon returns," his natural, current mindset that allows him to look for the worse side of everything, and he is no longer saved by comforting himself- "the lifeboat burns." He admits that his "spirit just never learns-" he can never keep himself comfortable for too long. Now the stalactites and stalagmites are forming a cage around Rael, trapping him in, and he starts to feel sick- "lips are dry, throat is dry, feel like burning, stomach churning." I don't understand the "white costume" reference though. Rael yells again for help- "Get me out of this cage!"
The next verse of the song I have my own theory about that I don't want to get into here, but I'll say that I believe the people in cages above Rael have some relation to the "butterflies" that the narrator from the beginning of the Lamb's liner notes has. The point is that Rael notices there are more people trapped just like him. He then notices his brother John, a new character introduced in the story, standing outside of the cave. This is probably my favorite part of the story, because I can see so clearly Rael yelling for his brother to help him- "I shout out 'Help!' before he can be gone, and he looks at me without a sound. And I shout out 'John, please help me!,' but he does not even want to try to speak." Obviously John is not a very loving brother, as he selfishly abandons Rael to face his doom without even speaking to Rael. I imagine his face completely emotionless in contrast to Rael's- Rael is probably screaming in anguish and desperation, pounding on the bars of the cage ("helpless in my violent rage"), and John is expressionless and blank, even as a tear of blood runs down his cheek (which suggests that he showing false sympathy for Rael). Then he betrays Rael and leaves him by himself, and although Rael should be angry at him or at least keep yelling for help he only lets this occurrence slide by with the affectionate remark of "My little runaway." To me, this suggests that John has done this sort of thing before, abandoning Rael in his time of need, and that Rael is used to it now, though it exasperates him more than anything. The next frenetic chant of "Raindrops keep falling on my head..." creeps me out, as if Rael is trying not to go crazy by chanting this. That line reminds me of Chinese water torture, actually (I do know what song it's referencing though).
Rael resigns himself to his fate. He notes that the feeling is "just like 22nd Street, when they got me by my neck and feet," which I think is referring to when he was caught and hauled into the Pontiac Reformatory in his backstory. The fear is the same now. The pain grows worse, and he wishes that he could change to liquid and escape, but still can't comfort himself with lies. He also blames himself for getting caught- "I am my own bad luck-" which is heartbreaking to hear because he couldn't avoid it in any way. Then the cage dissolves and Rael is taken to his next destination, the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging. This song is significant because Rael develops a fear of the dark/caves, which comes back to bite him in The Waiting Room/Anyway. It is also the first time that John betrays Rael.
The song begins with Rael feeling comfortable and warm in the cuckoo cocoon- "I got sunshine in my stomach." He feels so good that he falls asleep, and when he wakes up he notices something... different about the cave, something that he can't put his finger on yet. The bass and organ in this song do a great job of conveying the mounting fear in the pit of Rael's stomach as he leans back against the rock wall of the cave- "rockface moves to press my skin." I don't understand all the references to liquid that follow, but something in the cave is scaring Rael, so he "must tell [him]self that [he's] not here, [he's] drowning in some liquid fear." He keeps the fear hidden inside- "bottle in a strong compression-" and tells himself that he's blowing the whole thing out of proportion, it's stupid to fear the dark- "my distortion shows obsession." But he is scared nonetheless, and calls "Get me out of this cave!" Rael is sure that if he can keep his self-control, he'll be safe "in [his] soul," and finds a "moment's relief" with this idea, even though he calls it merely a "childhood belief." He is older and knows better, is more used to danger now. Indeed, his "cynic soon returns," his natural, current mindset that allows him to look for the worse side of everything, and he is no longer saved by comforting himself- "the lifeboat burns." He admits that his "spirit just never learns-" he can never keep himself comfortable for too long. Now the stalactites and stalagmites are forming a cage around Rael, trapping him in, and he starts to feel sick- "lips are dry, throat is dry, feel like burning, stomach churning." I don't understand the "white costume" reference though. Rael yells again for help- "Get me out of this cage!"
The next verse of the song I have my own theory about that I don't want to get into here, but I'll say that I believe the people in cages above Rael have some relation to the "butterflies" that the narrator from the beginning of the Lamb's liner notes has. The point is that Rael notices there are more people trapped just like him. He then notices his brother John, a new character introduced in the story, standing outside of the cave. This is probably my favorite part of the story, because I can see so clearly Rael yelling for his brother to help him- "I shout out 'Help!' before he can be gone, and he looks at me without a sound. And I shout out 'John, please help me!,' but he does not even want to try to speak." Obviously John is not a very loving brother, as he selfishly abandons Rael to face his doom without even speaking to Rael. I imagine his face completely emotionless in contrast to Rael's- Rael is probably screaming in anguish and desperation, pounding on the bars of the cage ("helpless in my violent rage"), and John is expressionless and blank, even as a tear of blood runs down his cheek (which suggests that he showing false sympathy for Rael). Then he betrays Rael and leaves him by himself, and although Rael should be angry at him or at least keep yelling for help he only lets this occurrence slide by with the affectionate remark of "My little runaway." To me, this suggests that John has done this sort of thing before, abandoning Rael in his time of need, and that Rael is used to it now, though it exasperates him more than anything. The next frenetic chant of "Raindrops keep falling on my head..." creeps me out, as if Rael is trying not to go crazy by chanting this. That line reminds me of Chinese water torture, actually (I do know what song it's referencing though).
Rael resigns himself to his fate. He notes that the feeling is "just like 22nd Street, when they got me by my neck and feet," which I think is referring to when he was caught and hauled into the Pontiac Reformatory in his backstory. The fear is the same now. The pain grows worse, and he wishes that he could change to liquid and escape, but still can't comfort himself with lies. He also blames himself for getting caught- "I am my own bad luck-" which is heartbreaking to hear because he couldn't avoid it in any way. Then the cage dissolves and Rael is taken to his next destination, the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging. This song is significant because Rael develops a fear of the dark/caves, which comes back to bite him in The Waiting Room/Anyway. It is also the first time that John betrays Rael.