Song lyrics and meanings

[The chaser]

Today I'm deep, sentimental, whatever. A sentimental duck.

Anyways, I stumbled upon a new insomnium single, Ephemeral. I found it a very good song, and I decided to take a deeper look at the lyrics. So far, Insomnium has "The Chaser's best lyrics award" with this song and "Last Statement".

This thread objective is sharing songs, especially lyrics. Saying why you like them is a good point in this thread, so don't be afraid to show feels

I'm gonna post 'em here:

Ephemeral:

Spoiler below!

[2x]
Darkness is ignorance
Knowledge is light
Fight only with yourself
Or the shadows of the night

For this life will break you
Years will wear you down, wear you down
And every day you die a little
Until the shadows will take you, shadows will take you

Dying doesn't make this world dead to us
Breathing doesn't keep the flame alive in us
Dreaming doesn't make time less real for us
One life, one chance, all ephemeral, ephemeral

Darkness is ignorance
Knowledge is light
Fight only with yourself
Or the shadows of the night

All the pain and suffering will dispirit or feed you, dispirit or feed you
For each and every time your failures will craft you
When the fear of them is gone, fear is gone

Dying doesn't make this world dead to us
Breathing doesn't keep the flame alive in us
Dreaming doesn't make time less real for us
One life, one chance, all ephemeral,

We stumble and hover at the edge of the world
One life, one chance – that's all we have, that's all we have

Never walk away
Turn your back on yourself
One life, one chance – that's all we have

Dying doesn't make this world dead to us
Breathing doesn't keep the flame alive in us
Dreaming doesn't make time less real for us
One life, one chance, all ephemeral, ephemeral,

Meaning/Feelings:

I personally haven't find many lyrics as good as these. The message is clear: Life is ephemeral, and we have to live it to the max, for we will die one day (or just become old and useless).

Last Statement:

Spoiler below!

I have come to the end of my line
With these final steps I take back my freedom
Unchain the shackles that never could hold my mind

Time keeps running and running
Outstripping the dead tired ones
The hours will run out from us all
And in the end no one differs from the other

Only the blue sky and the green grass
Go on forever in this world
Where seconds feel like eternity
And years pass in blink of an eye

When the last rays of light
Set behind these shores
Night wraps me in its blanket
And leads my way to the stars

Through the fear and the ache
Pass the storm and the rain
I have made peace with the world
I am born again

I may be gone in the flesh
But my love will stay here
I am always with you in spirit
So just stay strong

No one wins tonight
No one gets a closure
No one walks away victorious

But don't forget me
Don't you forget me
Burn a candle for me when you can

I LOVE IT. This song is, maybe, one of the deepest I have ever seen: Although someone dies, his legacy still lives in the world, and, aware that it will die, the writer expresses his feelings: We all die, but don't forget me, for I have made a legacy for everyone. Although you slowly die, don't be afraid: Your time will come, and that doesn't have to be bad.

These are my interpretations of the lyrics, feel free to disagree or comment them

Lyrics taken from darklyrics.com.

PD: I have become quite a poster lately :|

[VaeVictis]

I like the idea of this thread, and I am 100% pro-feels in music.
If I don't like the lyrics to a song, I'm probably not going to listen to it.
I'll give it a go when I have the time. >_>

[Kman]

the brave little abacus probably have the most emotional lyrics ive ever heard but i can only understand them about 1/5 of the time

[Wooderson]

Today I'm deep, sentimental, whatever. A sentimental duck.

Perhaps the greatest opening sentences to a thread i've ever read.

[PutraenusAlivius]

I think that Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath is the one.
It's a bit psychedelic.

LYRICS:

Spoiler below!

We sailed through endless skies

Stars shine like eyes

The black night sighs

The moon in silver trees

Falls down in tears



Light of the night

The earth, a purple blaze

Of sapphire haze in orbital ways



While down below the trees

Bathed in cool breeze

Silver starlight breaks dawn from night

And so we pass on by

The crimson eye of great god Mars

As we travel the universe

My interpretation was probably about aliens. They found the Earth. They were happy, but now they're saddened.
Why?

If you were to read it, Mars was mentioned AS A GOD, not AS A PLANET.
Mars is a god of war, which means that humanity is still in war, and the aliens are saddened that they're not so special. They travel hundreds of years, in the blackest nights. Stars looks like bright eyes. Only to find a humanity not yet ready.

[The chaser]

I think that Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath is the one.
It's a bit psychedelic.

LYRICS:

Spoiler below!

We sailed through endless skies

Stars shine like eyes

The black night sighs

The moon in silver trees

Falls down in tears



Light of the night

The earth, a purple blaze

Of sapphire haze in orbital ways



While down below the trees

Bathed in cool breeze

Silver starlight breaks dawn from night

And so we pass on by

The crimson eye of great god Mars

As we travel the universe

My interpretation was probably about aliens. They found the Earth. They were happy, but now they're saddened.
Why?

If you were to read it, Mars was mentioned AS A GOD, not AS A PLANET.
Mars is a god of war, which means that humanity is still in war, and the aliens are saddened that they're not so special. They travel hundreds of years, in the blackest nights. Stars looks like bright eyes. Only to find a humanity not yet ready.

I actually wouldn't give it that sense. I think that Black Sabbath meant that, even being in a big, vast, and beautiful universe, humanity focuses in fighting each other.

[Slanderous]

Hey guys, what about songs played from backwards?
For example, group Pantera has a song called "Avoid The Light".

In the first seconds you can hear Phil saying something, but it has to be played backwards to hear it. When you will reverse the song it will give you "Satan's wrath is the only choice. His stillborn army is *I can't get what he is saying here, perhaps someone else can hear it*"

What do you think about stuff like this?

[The chaser]

Hey guys, what about songs played from backwards?
For example, group Pantera has a song called "Avoid The Light".

In the first seconds you can hear Phil saying something, but it has to be played backwards to hear it. When you will reverse the song it will give you "Satan's wrath is the only choice. His stillborn army is *I can't get what he is saying here, perhaps someone else can hear it*"

What do you think about stuff like this?

I think it's a great way to keep your fans interested, and it's always curious to see things that are hidden, simply because they aren't heard as they should.

[Wooderson]

We've all heard Stairway to Heaven backwards right? Mixed with Jimmy's links to Crowley its pretty interesting.

[Ashtoreth]

I tend to prefer songs with dark, depressing, melancholic lyrics, and Gloomy Sunday is definitely one of my favourites of all time.

This song was originally written in 1933 by a Hungarian composer named Rezso Seress. It became known as "The Suicide Song", because allegedly (might be just an urban legend) many people committed suicide after listening to it, and some even left the lyrics written in their suicide letters.

So of course, because of this, the song came to public attention abroad, and some lyricists wrote English versions based on the translation of the Hungarian lyrics. The first popular version of this song was interpreted by Billie Holiday, however, the tone of the lyrics was so hopeless and depressing that the recording company demanded that a third stanza was added to the end of the song, to make it seem like what is being described in the first two stanzas was only just a dream, not reality. This, in my opinion, ruined the meaning of the song completely, for that wasn't the intention of the original composer at all. I tend to skip the last part of the song when I listen to it.

The meaning of the lyrics in short: Death takes away your beloved one, and the pain is just so unbearable that you decide to follow.

Here are the lyrics without the third stanza.


Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows I live with are numberless
Little white flowers will never awaken you
Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thought of ever returning you
Would they be angry if I thought of joining you?

Gloomy Sunday

Gloomy is Sunday, with shadows I spend it all
My heart and I have decided to end it all
Soon there'll be candles and prayers that are sad I know
Let them not weep, let them know that I'm glad to go
Death is no dream, for in death I'm caressing you
With the last breath of my soul I'll be blessing you

Gloomy Sunday


Below you can listen to the interpretation by Billie Holiday, although I prefer some of the covers made later by other artists (like Björk and Sinead O'Connor, for example).

Spoiler below!

But my favourite vocal interpretation of "Gloomy Sunday" is definitely the one by Diamanda Galás. The way she sings is not for everyone's taste I guess, but you can really feel the torment and pain, not only in her voice but also in the way she plays the piano... It really touches my soul and always makes me feel a knot in my throat.

The lyrics for this version and its meaning are different, but equally beautiful (see below).

Spoiler below!

Sadly one Sunday I waited and waited
With flowers in my arms for the dream I'd created
I waited 'til dreams, like my heart, were all broken
The flowers were all dead and the words were unspoken
The grief that I knew was beyond all consoling
The beat of my heart was a bell that was tolling

Saddest of Sundays

Then came a Sunday when you came to find me
They bore me to church and I left you behind me
My eyes could not see one I wanted to love me
The earth and the flowers are forever above me
The bell tolled for me and the wind whispered, "Never!"
But you I have loved and I bless you forever

Last of all Sundays

Enjoy the songs on this gloomy Sunday.