In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Look to my burning eyes
Plead for your worthless life
All remorse I had has died
And all I have is hate inside
You took my soul from me
You took my family
You killed them all ferociously
Now this is what I give to thee
Carved upon your naked back
Blood eagle!
Skinned alive your ribs are cracked
Blood eagle!
Still alive you gasp for air
As panic strikes your eyes they stare
Terror grips your dying heart
Blood eagle!
Helpless on the ground
Hands and feet tightly bound
In my eyes no mercy found
My sharp knife starts to carve around
Penetrate your naked skin
Rip flesh and dig within
With a pleased and twisted grin
I spread your lungs like eagle's wings
The burning grief is tormenting me
The hate I feel is destroying me
Only vengeance will give me peace
Only vengeance will set my spirit free
Carved upon your naked back
Blood eagle!
Skinned alive your ribs are cracked
Blood eagle!
Still alive you gasp for air
As panic strikes your eyes they stare
Slow death grips your tortured heart
Blood eagle!
Plead for your worthless life
All remorse I had has died
And all I have is hate inside
You took my soul from me
You took my family
You killed them all ferociously
Now this is what I give to thee
Carved upon your naked back
Blood eagle!
Skinned alive your ribs are cracked
Blood eagle!
Still alive you gasp for air
As panic strikes your eyes they stare
Terror grips your dying heart
Blood eagle!
Helpless on the ground
Hands and feet tightly bound
In my eyes no mercy found
My sharp knife starts to carve around
Penetrate your naked skin
Rip flesh and dig within
With a pleased and twisted grin
I spread your lungs like eagle's wings
The burning grief is tormenting me
The hate I feel is destroying me
Only vengeance will give me peace
Only vengeance will set my spirit free
Carved upon your naked back
Blood eagle!
Skinned alive your ribs are cracked
Blood eagle!
Still alive you gasp for air
As panic strikes your eyes they stare
Slow death grips your tortured heart
Blood eagle!
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Blood Eagling was a form of execution reserved for nobility in a viking society for especially horrible crimes, such as murdering the family of another member of the nobility.
The ribcage is sliced and hacked open from the back, separating the ribs from the spine. Lungs are then pulled out from the openings and set on the victims shoulders like the folded wings of an eagle. The victim dies eventually by suffocation, as the muscles needed to breathe are unable to pump the air in and out of the lungs.
Not a pleasant way to die.
Small mistake. Should have written "early medieval scandinavian" instead of viking. A difference that might seem insignificant, but is not.