When I asked him,
he described a thousand lifetimes.
At each turn, a hint of what one still must learn.

Now I've read the thoughts of philosophers,
the words of liars, who say that underneath I'm worthless.
Incomplete?

Some one said we live our lives in between the extremes.
Is the art of life discipline?
Is that the sweet mystery?

The art of life is ...
without rushing, without faltering we push it as far as we can.

Observe with patience.
Free your mind.
Efficiency, control.
To develop the form starts with acceptance,
then submission to the goal.

Some one said somewhere we live our lives in between the extremes.
Is the art of life discipline?
Is that the sweetest mystery?

The art of life is ...
without rushing, without faltering, unraveling the secrets of knowledge.
We must challenge and defeat our four natural enemies;
Fear.
Power.
Clarity and the desire to rest


Lyrics submitted by ricoetc

Art Of Life Lyrics as written by

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Art Of Life song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment

    Excellent song! This is easily one of my favorite Queensryche songs.

    It almost seems to say that we humans live our lives too safely. We're afraid to take risks, afraid to push the envelope and risk possibly losing control of ourselves and our lives.

    This song seems almost like a paradox to me; on one hand it's telling you to free your mind and gain knowledge, yet it also tells you to exercise patience and control. It says they must fight clarity of mind and power, as well as fear and the desire to rest. That makes me wonder if the song is both celebrating and condemning nonconformity. It seems to celebrate the nonconformity of gaining knowledge, rather than being one of the "average" masses, yet you are encouraged to do so in a deliberate, controlled manner. Maybe they're saying it's dangerous to gain too much knowledge before you are capable of processing it all?

    Very interesting all-around!

    angelicsabyneon October 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    the last verse in this song really makes you think about things:We must challenge and defeat our four natural enemies; Fear. Clarity of mind. Power and the desire to rest

    fearcity silenceon April 09, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The Art of Life is apparently doing what you can to the fullest extent with what you have. We can only go as far as we can without rushing and faltering as long as we know our limits and exercise a degree of restraint.

    The One Free Manon December 26, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Regarding the last stanza of the song, I speculate that it relates to this quote of Roger Bacon (1214-1294 A.D.) I lifted from wikiquote.org. "There are in fact four very significant stumbling blocks in the way of grasping the truth, which hinder every man however learned, and scarcely allow anyone to win a clear title to wisdom, namely, the example of weak and unworthy authority, longstanding custom, the feeling of the ignorant crowd, and the hiding of our own ignorance while making a display of our apparent knowledge.". Here one might guess that power relates to "..weak and unworthy authority..", that desire to rest refers to "longstanding custom", that fear relates to "the feeling of the ignorant crowd", and that clarity of mind relates to "the hiding of our own ignorance while making a display of our apparent knowledge".

    eudoxoson August 08, 2013   Link

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