The way I take it is the singer is struggling with his religion. Modern morals are far different than those which most conservative Christians practice nowadays, and it seems that he is struggling to follow these stringent morals, but people are trying to tell him that there is "room to breathe." However, he says that there is no loss of love if it's over, meaning that if he doesn't do exactly as God says, then he will go to hell. He is scared because he knows death can come soon (his repitition of "I'll be there soon"). Also "the smouldering summer sky" seems almost apocolyptic to me, and when that day comes he will want forgiveness so he can go into heaven. Also the haunted four walls reminds me of a church where he is asking God for help. Also priests talk of how God is always present which explains the haunting.
Even though he's trying really hard to do as he's told, it is suffocating him and while his heart is clean, it is also empty because he's being so hard to be pure. I'm not sure if I think the last line of "there's nothing here" means that his morals have made him an empty shell of a person, or if he thinks he has done all that for naught because God is not real.
I've always viewed Catholics as a bit cannibalistic, eating the body and blood of Christ, so the title makes me think of even though these Catholics look and act like fine young men, Catholicism is also a bit derranged.
I know this interpretation is more or less completely absurd...It probably is just about a failed relationship or something, but I just had a talk with my father about religion so it was fresh on my mind as I listened to this song.
The way I take it is the singer is struggling with his religion. Modern morals are far different than those which most conservative Christians practice nowadays, and it seems that he is struggling to follow these stringent morals, but people are trying to tell him that there is "room to breathe." However, he says that there is no loss of love if it's over, meaning that if he doesn't do exactly as God says, then he will go to hell. He is scared because he knows death can come soon (his repitition of "I'll be there soon"). Also "the smouldering summer sky" seems almost apocolyptic to me, and when that day comes he will want forgiveness so he can go into heaven. Also the haunted four walls reminds me of a church where he is asking God for help. Also priests talk of how God is always present which explains the haunting. Even though he's trying really hard to do as he's told, it is suffocating him and while his heart is clean, it is also empty because he's being so hard to be pure. I'm not sure if I think the last line of "there's nothing here" means that his morals have made him an empty shell of a person, or if he thinks he has done all that for naught because God is not real. I've always viewed Catholics as a bit cannibalistic, eating the body and blood of Christ, so the title makes me think of even though these Catholics look and act like fine young men, Catholicism is also a bit derranged.
I know this interpretation is more or less completely absurd...It probably is just about a failed relationship or something, but I just had a talk with my father about religion so it was fresh on my mind as I listened to this song.