| Beastie Boys – Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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i love this song if for no other reason than whatever it is that you'd call it that happens after the line "getting paid getting rich" i could listen to that ~2 seconds of sound on loop for the rest of my life and be happy |
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| Bathory – Ring Of Gold Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Hmm, most of Bathory's music is pretty accessible lyrically but I still find a lot to analyze or at least discuss in each of their songs. For this song, however, I think it is very straightforward - it is a love song, and a pretty nice one at that. I love the imagery, I think of that Quorthon was a master and truly could wrap you up in the worlds that he dreamed of. Whether you dislike his musical style, his singing voice, or whatever - I think it is hard to disagree that this is a downright lovely song. I won't cheapen this with my typical (over-) analysis because it really does speak for itself; nothing needs to be explained to appreciate this one. Hail the hordes. |
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| Bathory – Through Blood By Thunder Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Ugh, while I appreciate Disposition_987 posting all these Bathory lyrics as it gives a place to discuss these works, I only wish the weren't so full of errors. In this one especially (one of my favorites off of Twilight... haha, it seems like I say that about just every song, "this is one of my favorites off of xx"), but in these lyrics I see that there is an entire line missing from the opening excerpt. I love that excerpt and it is actually probably one of my features from this song because it is a very powerful reminder of the mortality and fragility, not just of humans themselves, but of the very world in which we live. In fact, I find a lot of errors in this version, but these errors seem persistent throughout lyrical sources across the web and some may just be due to my misunderstanding of them, or maybe even original misprints by Black Mark (it wouldn't be the first time... believe me!). Anyways, I've always interpreted the opening as follows: For as long as the grass grows For as long as the stream flows And the sun shines down unto us... Only they who walk the clouds know For how long the winds blow And the sky is blue above us I think in the original version he actually has the fourth line a little different, with a subject/verb disagreement to preserve the rhyming scheme from the previous lines, but I like to think of it as this above, because it still works lyrically and also works grammatically. As for the remainder of the song, I've got to agree with Chard121, it is absolutely about a man following the god's of his forefathers as opposed to that which has gained dominance through force and more underhanded means. Now (and I've discussed it in my commentary for several songs already, but as always, it is a very prevalent and prominent theme in Quorthon's lyrics) one of my favorite things about this song is the emphasis on the ability of man to follow his will, with the gods helping or hindering him on his path as may be ordained through their own will. That is evident from the very first line, which along with the opening excerpt, makes this song an instant favorite for me. From then on the rest of the song as Chard stated, is about following the tenets of the Asatru religion. Obvious references include the one-eyed god (Odin), his ravens (Huginn, Muninn), and the tree of fate (Yggdrasil?). I'm actually a little bit confused due to my own ignorance on that last part. If anyone could help me with it I'd appreciate it. I've never been very certain of just how fatalistic the Asatru philosophy is - I always assumed that it wasn't because of the seeming emphasis on the random nature of how gods and man can act. Even in this song there seem to be contradictions, examples include the opening line: "O, I am a man and I hold in my hand my fate" and the following lines: "So I will not fail to ride down the trail long time destined for me long before I was born" And of course the previously mentioned line involving this "tree of fate", which I am unaware of the nature of. Of course, I've always been interested in ancient religion and if anyone knows more about the role of fate and pre-destiny in Asatru, I'd love to hear more about it. In the meantime, I still love this song, even if it does seem to possibly contradict itself in a couple of places. I myself have never really been able to decide if I believe in fate or not, but I think that I do at least believe that we're all born to a certain "range" of fates, if that makes sense. Perhaps within this range we can exercise our free will and decide our own fate, but I think it is mostly decided by the kind of person that each of us is (e.g. our personality). Who can say whether that is decided when you're born or not? This is getting a bit heavy now, so I will leave it at that. Hail the hordes. |
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| Bathory – 109 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think I'm gonna fill up these comments since I love talking about Bathory but either no one else in the world posts here or no one loves Quorthon's work as much as I do. Anyways, I was just listening to this song again today and notice that Quorthon says something at the beginning, it's almost inaudible but it's definitely there, before it actually cuts into the lyrics. I was wondering if anyone else had noticed / can tell what it is he says - it's not something substantial probably, but it piqued my interest at the time. Hail the hordes. |
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| Bathory – Blood And Iron Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Hello Chard121, It's been a while since you posted your comment but I was hoping you might follow up. I am a little confused on the history of the Vikings - I admit that I am no expert. I was unaware that Ragnarok came before the age of man, I figured the age of gods and man might be contemporaneous, but as I said - I am no expert. At first I kind of associated this song with the titanomachy of the Greeks, only because I am unfamiliar with such legends among the Viking-folk. I must admit, though, the similarities are striking - perhaps there might even be a similar legend among these different cultures? I thought that Ragnarok might still be to come, I know that only a couple of gods are alleged to survive the strife of that battle, and the mighty Odin, as well as many of the other well-known gods - Heimdallr, Thor, Tyr, Loki, etc. are to die in this battle. To think that the Vikings figured them for dead already is an awful thought. However, given the ending of this song, it certainly seems like the world in which we live today. Surely man has claimed his place as king of this world and we're far past claiming "these shining blades of steel". In any case, I agree wholeheartedly about the acoustic accompaniments to this song, they are simply beautiful. I'm always surprised to start playing this song - a song from a band like Bathory with the blackest of metal roots - and hear striking acoustics for the first minute or two (plus the interlude), it's very pleasant. What I really love about this song is the ending, the conjecture that man will conquer other worlds and become the new gods of the sky. I've mentioned it previously in other comments, but the thing that I love about ancient religions is that the distinction between man and god was almost nil. It truly speaks to our modern age, much more so than any god of Christians or Muslims or Jews, I believe. Man has claimed his place as ruler of the world and it has never been more obvious than in the time we live in. In any case, this song always gives me food for thought, and a great background ambiance to consider the nature of man and myself in this universe in which we live. This is certainly one of my favorite pieces off of Twilight of the Gods, along with the titular song. It is a shame that the man who brought us such poetic, thoughtful metal (of all things!!!) is now gone. We can only hope that he is enjoying the benefits to which he is surely entitled in whatever afterlife there may be. Hail to the hordes. |
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| Bathory – 109 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This is another of my favorite songs by Quorthon. I believe it's pretty obvious what it's about, but I'm a pilot and work in the aerospace industry and just love that Quorthon stopped to make a song about dogfighting/WWII, which are some of my favorite subjects on top of the others that he covers in his work. Basically this song is about the Me109 (Messerschmidt 109) - one of the most prominent of aircraft in the German Luftwaffe during the great war. I love this song - it's only a shame that there are some fags out there who think that Quorthon meant this as some kind of white power, neo-Nazi, retarded nod to Hitler or something. The truth is (and Quorthon stated this when interviewed about Destroyer of Worlds), he really only wrote this song because 1. he was a history lover like myself and appreciated the fact that many brave people on both sides in WWII were just duped by their countries into being pawns of some ideology that they themselves might not personally have held to be true. and 2. he kind of just wanted to piss people off. You've gotta remember that the German government is sooo super-sensitive about anything related to Nazis that it verges on denial. They wouldn't even allow the album to be sold in Germany if I recall correctly. Also Quorthon figured that if Iron Maiden could write a song about how great the Spitfire was (it was a great plane - R.J. Mitchell truly had a stroke of genius in combining the advances made in aerospace structures from other countries into one very capable fighting machine), then he could write about the Me109. Anyways, I love this song because it just starts out so great - the sounds of aerial combat, I mean, that's where skill is truly what keeps you alive over dumb luck, as might occur in ground warfare. Then it just cuts into the main riff and gets your head banging whether you want to or not. The energy flows through the entire song up until the very last line and it always makes me remember how great it is to fly. It's a short song, but one of my favorites off of Destroyer of Worlds. The one thing that I want to correct in the lyrics is the line "six barrels of mind sound" should be "six barrels of MINE sound". I know the CIA was into trying to kill people with their minds and all but this isn't Tenacious D. I don't think people were seriously trying to kill each other with mind bullets during WWII. Anyways, I just love discussing Bathory's lyrics because I feel it is a hugely underrated band and is certainly one of my absolute favorites. Feel free to comment, I am talking so much about these works because I love to discuss the historical content and emotion that Quorthon put into his lyrics. Above all else that is what I love about Bathory and only wish that he might still be around today that we might enjoy more of his insights into the past and present. Hail the hordes. |
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| Bathory – Great Hall Awaits A Fallen Brother Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's obvious what this song means - it is about Valhalla, the eternal home of those slain in battle. Half of the warriors who die in battle are brought to the hall of Freya and half are brought to the hall of Odin (Valhalla). They fight and die for all of eternity (resurrected again each day) to prepare themselves for Ragnarok, when most of the gods will die in a huge battle and the world will be destroyed and reborn. I'm commenting on it not because it needs interpretation but because it is a fucking powerful song. If there was one thing Quorthon always carried across to me it is emotion. If you've ever lost someone then maybe you can identify with this song. I know I can. One thing that I love about the religion of the Vikings (Asatru I believe?) is what it shares with most ancient pantheon-based religions. That is that gods and men/women are almost one and the same. Gods can be petty and cruel and lustful and silly, just like people can. They are at least somewhat all-knowing and powerful, but they are subject to the same whims that people are. Likewise, people aren't "sinful" for doing what they want to do. They just have the potential for honor and the potential to do great things. There is no accepting the gods into your heart and blah blah blah because your life has been planned by them since before the dawn of time. It's about YOU doing what YOU want and trying to sway the opinions of the gods to in your favor. I'm more atheist than Odinist, but I feel that this if I could ever believe in an all-powerful being, this is exactly what I would believe and this is the kind of thing that this song gets across. Every other religion wants to die and go to heaven so that everything will be better for them. Vikings don't mind dying and going to Valhalla because they know they'll be doing exactly what they're doing now - and they love it. Fighting and drinking and paying tribute to the gods was exactly what they did and exactly what they always expected themselves to do. My favorite line in this song is at the end, "Rise and stand, my brother - whole again a man". It catches all of what I'm trying to say above. Interesting fact - valkyries only took those slain in battle and the scariest fate for a Norseman was to die otherwise. Vikings who were about to die of old age would sometimes cut themselves to try to trick the valkyries into thinking that they had died in battle. Anyways, I'm rambling now. Hail to the hordes. |
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