| Mastodon – Blood & Thunder Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Great song from a great band. Mastodon is unique in that the members of the band are both very talented at the instruments they play, as well as being intelligent enough to write a (good) concept album on classic novel. As far as the meaning of this song, if you have read Moby Dick it's easy to see: "I think that someone is trying to kill me Infecting my blood and destroying my mind" The first verse comments on Ahabs descent into madness. At the beginning of the novel, Ahab is already starting to become paranoid, various characters in the novel prophesize the voyages doom before they leave. He has recovered from losing his leg to Moby Dick, and has even made a peg leg out of a whales jaw bone, foreshadowing Ahabs obsessive drive for revenge. Also, Ahab sneaks a "special" boat crew (the ship had 4 mini-whaling boats that it launches during hunts) on board without telling his crew. "No man of the flesh could ever stop me The fight for this fish is a fight to the death" Before they encounter Moby, one or two members of Ahabs crew tell him that they are at sea to collect whale oil from easily caught whales, and that they do not wish to go on a revenge mission against a very formidable foe. Ahab tells them my way or the highway. Ahab's boat meets another boat, whose captain asks Ahab to help look for his son, who went missing when they ran into the white whale. Ahab says he doesn't have time for that, but asks to be pointed in the direction where they found Moby Dick. The highlight of the "secret" boat crew that Ahab snuck on board is an African named "The Parsee" which the rest of the crew, once they learn of his existance, guess that he is the devil incarnate. "The Parsee" tells Ahab that Moby Dick will most likely kill them both. Ahab says he is prepared for this. "What remorseless emperor commands me I no longer govern my soul I am completely immersed in darkness As I turn my body away from the sun" This verse is about the part of the book where Ahab finally loses what little sanity he has left. In the book, this is symbolized when Ahab throws his tobacco pipe overboard, showing he no longer finds joy in the activities he previously enjoyed, and that he is solely bent on one thing: killing the white whale. Going further into this, it is left to the reader to make the connection that once/if Ahab did kill Moby Dick (but he doesnt) he will have nothing left to live for. His hate and lust for revenge kills Ahab on the inside before Ahab gets killed by his own harpoon. The first 2 verses are not from the perspective of the whale. The Whale's perspective is never given throughout the book. Moby Dick isn't aware that Ahab is gunning for him specifically, as Moby has many run-ins with different whaling boats, and wins them all. Ahab is told by one of his crew members: "Moby-Dick seeks thee not. It is thou, thou, that madly seekest him!" In the book, the white whale is a symbol of the forces of nature, or events that man can't control. Moby has no more presence of mind than Hurricane Katrina did. He literally is an unthinking force of destruction. Ahab chooses to get in the way of Moby Dick, but the whale treats Ahab no differently than any other Whaler that Moby runs into. |
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