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.
Impure am I
Impure I shall spill my seed
Upon barren earth
And spit in the face of the Goddess
Unclean am I
Unclean I copulate
With the hands of the God
And defile the Gates of Ishtar
Unblessed am I
Unrepentant
Defiant
Buh Luh Uh
Si il Inanna
As Gi Su Ak
Gis Tes
Gis Tes
Unwashed am I
In filth I lay
In filth I desecrate
And profane the Temple Of Ishtar
And blaspheme in the presence of whores
Baad Angaruu
Ninnghizzhidda
Open the Gate
That I may enter
Open
Lest I attack the Gate
Open
Lest I break down the Walls
Open the Gate
Lest I cause the dead to outnumber the living
Open the Gate
Lest I cause the dead to rise and devour the living
Impure I shall spill my seed
Upon barren earth
And spit in the face of the Goddess
Unclean am I
Unclean I copulate
With the hands of the God
And defile the Gates of Ishtar
Unblessed am I
Unrepentant
Defiant
Buh Luh Uh
Si il Inanna
As Gi Su Ak
Gis Tes
Gis Tes
Unwashed am I
In filth I lay
In filth I desecrate
And profane the Temple Of Ishtar
And blaspheme in the presence of whores
Baad Angaruu
Ninnghizzhidda
Open the Gate
That I may enter
Open
Lest I attack the Gate
Open
Lest I break down the Walls
Open the Gate
Lest I cause the dead to outnumber the living
Open the Gate
Lest I cause the dead to rise and devour the living
Lyrics submitted by Necro Butcher
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Great version of a great song,
Open the gate, etc, is an extract from the myth of Ishtar and Her journey to the underworld.
Other than that I'm not sure what he's trying to achieve here.
You're completely wrong. This song is about Enkidu being taken to the temple of Ishtar and then fucking shit up and raping priestesses, Karl Sanders said so in the linear notes of the album.
Yes, It is a great song about, well, defiling the gates of this ancient goddess.
Honestly, I've come to regard these lyrics as some of the best death metal lyrics ever. So evil and yet so poetic, without a hint of emo weakness or pretentiousness.
Too bad the song dosent really live up to the standard of the lyrics, I would've liked to see the "Impure/Unclean/etc am I"-sections performed in more consistent way with a rhythmic, strong riff that could have made this, dare I say, somewhat catchy...
These lyrics are taken from translations of cuneiform tablets found during excavations of the temple libraries of Uruk and Sippur. The Sun God's temple was recently discovered and excavated with its library intact by Iraqi archaeologists. Authorship of this particular text is generally ascribed to one Sin-Leqe-Uninni of the 7th century BC, but it is unclear if he was actually the author, or if he only recorded a handed-down, ready-made oral narrative believed to date from as far as the second millennium BC. The cuneiform tablet is partially crumbled and fragmentary, and contains many omissions and variations that differ from the many other broken tablets found in other locations. The story seems to be a minor segment of The Epic of Gilgamesh, and concerns the Muth of Enkidu. It is noteworthy for its extreme variation from the standard version found at Ninevah, and it also contains a number of fragments that cannot be placed in correct sequence with any degree of confidence. Enkidu was a primitive, brutish, long haired wild man who lived among animals until tamed by a prostitute and introduced to Uruk to rival the hero Gilgamesh. In this version of the myth, Enkidu is brought before Shamhat the Harlot. Shamhat removes her garments and spreads her legs before the murderous youth. Enkidu responds by violently raping her for seven days and nights. After he is finally sated, he allows himself to be taken to Uruk, to the Temple of Ishtar where he is offered many sacred temple prostitutes as a bribe to challenge Gilgamesh. Enkidu responds by raping the temple priestesses and profaning the goddess Ishtar, manually ejaculating on her form. At this point, several lines of cuneiform are crumbled and missing. The next readable characters describe Enkidu using ritualistic words of power to blaspheme and threaten the Goddess. He demands the opening of the gates of the underworld, calling forth undead minions to rise and wreak havoc among the streets of Uruk, where he is to wrestle with Gilgamesh