| Opeth – Burden Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Just because he's atheist doesn't mean he can't write a song about faith. That's why the song is so pessimistic about faith; because it's from an atheist's point of view. |
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| Opeth – Burden Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Although the song portrays faith as a burden, I think the Mike writing the song realises that the people are the real burden, and are what drove him away from his faith. | |
| Opeth – Burden Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think it's about a struggle with faith, where faith is conveyed as the burden. I'm not sure if it's Mike's struggle with faith or a portrayal of a struggle, but he did say this new album had the most personal lyrics he had ever written, so I will assume it's Mike's struggle for this analysis. I think the first verse deals with when Mike started questioning his former faith (not sure if he had one), and he uses two voices in which one narrates at the start, while the other expresses the old Mike's thoughts. "I once upon a time carried a burden inside" depicts Mike thinking about his days of faith (the "burden") while writing this song. The use of "inside" is what first got me thinking that this song was about faith, as it could suggest at something spiritual. The next line, "some will ask goodbye" shows how some people will give up on their faiths which is evident in "goodbye." However the use of "some" is ironic because further into the song, Mike is the one who has "asked goodbye" to his former faith. This may be because Mike, at the time, was trying to avoid the idea that he was growing apart with his religion. The sense that Mike is questioning his religion is enhanced by the use of "ask goodbye" instead of "say goodbye," suggesting at the confusion he is feeling. The next line represents how the line seperating the faithful from the non-faithful is non-existant or "broken", so it is supposedly easy for a non-faithful person to become faithful and vice versa; but this "broken line" is "underlined" suggesting at how in the eyes of the faithful, there is only one direction you can go over this line. The faithful Mike is passing judgement on those who oppose this one way road by saying "there's an ocean of sorrow in you." As the music crescendos however, the faithful Mike realizes that he is the same as he wails "sorrow in me." The next verse deals with him leaving his religion. Although Mike says he "saw movement in their eyes," in reality it suggests that the people of his religion are the ones watching him, and Mike feels their stares. Mike begins sharing with the listener, and the people of his religion, that he "no longer knew the way" and had "given up the ghost." The use of "ghost" implies that his faith was no longer tangible to him. It could also have a dual meaning in which it was never tangible to him in the first place because he couldn't see it. The formerly faithful Mike is now feeling the "passing minds" of his former brothers, evoking a sense of loneliness, as he "fear[s]" the "wait for redemption ahead." This implies that remnants of his faith still remain at this time, because it is still fresh in his mind, and he is afraid of what leaving his religion will bring (at first). I actually think Mike says: "Waiting to fail" "Failing again" in the song for the next part. Anyway, if that's the case, I think it portrays Mike's fear crescendoing (as heard in the music) after leaving his faith, and he waits for bad things to happen. "Failing again" suggests that the confused Mike is blaming his failures on him leaving his faith. It may also suggest at how religions draw people in with promises of prosperity and happiness, and if people leave their religions, they are unsettled by their scare tactics, that all this prosperity and happiness will be taken away from them. The last verse depicts the thoughts of the Mike writing this song, now that all this time has passed. He has realized that "if death should take me now," he is no longer afraid and has a more blasé view on death. He is willing to accept the consequences IF there are any ("count my mistakes[sins]") when he dies and asks to "let me through." Perhaps, Mike believes that God isn't as merciless as he is portrayed to be in the bible, and that not all sinners will be sent to Hell. This is a more relaxed view used to contrast with the confusion caused by the PEOPLE of the religion from the previous verse. The "whisper in my ear" portrays the people of the organised religions, trying to influence Mike. The verb "whisper" suggests at some snakelike qualities, which may be an allusion to Adam and Eve and the snake, implying that the people in organised religions, have become exactly what their religion tells them not to be. Mike is now free of their influence and finally realises that the faithful have "taken more" than Mike and his family have "received," as they had taken away Mike's confidence. The last line "and the ocean of sorrow is you" is Mike's final realisation that nothing was his fault, and that the people were the ones causing this. It conveys how Mike thinks that they are the ones who are truly confused. The repetition of "ocean" was originally, in the first two verses only used to portray the sorrow as an ocean, however in Mike's final realisation, he likens the people to an inescapable plague, as the people (not the sorrow) are described as an "ocean of sorrow." I don't think this song is meant to be anti-religious. I think it just tells Mike's story and his experiences with religion. I may have interpretted it this way because I have recently left christianity as well, in which case it may be about something completely different, but this is what I take from this brilliant song. This song has definitely helped me. |
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