| MGMT – Metanoia Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think i can tackle this line by line in a way that still gives the listener freedom of interpretation. The opening line gives a description of metanoia which is {the process of experiencing a psychotic "break down" and subsequent, positive psychological re-building or "healing"} "The tale is breathing, and shes listening" this line , in my view, gives the feeling of sudden awareness, to know that this existence is a story and it is very much alive, "she" is hard to determine, i would say a goddess or even the spirit of the earth since this song is full of ancient mythology. "kill the serpent, divide, disperse and grow into an oak" this relates to some celtic symbolism. the serpent is an image for metanoia. the serpent sheds its skin and is seen anew. the celtics used serpents as symbols for the cycles of the earth. and in this case it is a dying of self to be reborn. So the divide is clearly seen in this imagery. and now that one is free of its former self it can grow. the oak, in celtic view is considered a cosmic storehouse of wisdom embodied within its towering strength. "silver lining on a black scale" could be using the serpent to say that there is still a bond between the darker realities and lighter with the imagrey of the serpents shed skin as a silver lining on its black scale. black scale also being an indifferent and dark judgement. such as the universe is indifferent and filled with black and a silver lining of stars. "Wicked hunter on three hooves he still rode But where is the fourth? You can climb there To your lofty perch It can teach you the fairytale of hurt" the image of the wicked hunter riding on a three legged horse comes from danish folklore. helhest is a three legged horse that brings death and illness. hel in norse mythology derives from a word meaning 'to cover up or hide something' and is adapted in english as hell. hest meaning horse. so we have the image now of a wicked hunter which rides on a hell horse collecting souls. the question is asked "but where is the fourth?" hel "to conceal" it is repressed but can be revealed if you "climb to your lofty perch, it can teach you the fairy tale of hurt" which in a sense , the writer has literally pieced together literal fairy tales of hurt but in a much less literal sense it is transcendent and up to each of us storytellers to see our own. "Mystic referee, don't look on me with scorn I'm a child, I'm a lover being born Satchidananda Disregard the path I'm on" the mystic referee is a personified collection of rules that society hold or that we ourselves hold because when you venture into the mind and through the hive mind of society and further you find yourself fearful of judgement(dont look on me with scorn) for the places you travel and the state your in. judgment by whom? it can come from many places most importantly yourself, it is referred to by mgmt as the mystic referee, which i love. back to the rebirth "im a child im a lover being born" a statement to the referee (himself) when he hits a wall of fear and judgement. and to realize that there is no shame that you are a child and lover going through the painful and ugly process of being born. you come into a new realm "Satchidananda Let me know that you exist" the eternal bliss consciousness. state of supreme enlightenment. in this state of birthing and pain we need desperately to know that something better exists.. the whole world does. were all looking for it in all kinds of places. but if you can forget about the specifics of your religion or belief system or philosophies. (disregard the path im on) you can see how its all connected (satchidananda) "watch me tremble as im answering the phone, i am seperate from everything you know.mystic referee i promise to return , once ive given up and lessons have been learned. satchidananda. you can watch my fire burn." in these lines you see a return to fear and a retreat from the peak of the trip. answering the phone is a term coined in the 60's for getting a message during a trip (a state of enlightenment) which can be a frightening experience even if its beautiful , simply overwhelming really. he goes on to tell the ref that he will return when he can make better sense of what has happened and he will again subject himself to the fire of purgatory 'hel' and dig up his subconscious mind to be judged by his now expanded conscious mind. and this is also where im giving up. i promise to return with the rest tomorrow. |
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