| The Gathering – you learn about it Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I think this is a story about someone disillusioned with their place in their world, and contemplating escape (possibly through suicide). The chorus can have multiple meanings, and I've taken different things from it at different times in my life. > "now that we're through the hell with you" "The one" has been hurt too many times, no longer willing to be a part of the group/the hive/society/what have you. > "we don't mind we just give it a sigh." "The others" don't much care that "the one" can't find their place. It's sad, but they will carry on just fine. "The one's" running away or committing suicide or hiding at home under a mat does not really have any emotional impact on everyone else. They give it a sigh, and life goes on. > "we hardly knew what you were capable of doing why don't you give it a try?" This has a few meanings: 1) "the one" is talking to themselves, justifying their own self-harm. "The others don't think I'm serious, I'm going to run away/jump off a bridge, they'll never see me again!", and convincing themselves to be brave enough to do it. This is the more negative read. 2) A compassionate voice of "the others" is speaking to "the one", essentially saying "you're valuable to us, you're good, and you can do it", trying to reel them back into their society. 3) A non-compassionate voice of "the others" is speaking to "the one", goading them into self-harm. > "oh, you learn about it. oh you harvest still you can't make no more. all that's eaten inside. all that's eaten inside." This one also has a few meanings, related to the earlier part of the chorus. 1) "the one" continues on, expressing how much they hate "the others and themselves. "You'll learn what I'm capable of doing, you'll be sorry", they think they're being vindictive (but of course, this is foolish!) --- They're also commenting on their labour, and how it makes them feel. They see their depression as a symptom of their existence within this societal framework where they must be just a cog in an industrial machine, manufacturing parts, and never valued as an individual. 2) The compassionate other is expressing that it will make sense. "You learn about it" referring to both learning how to contribute value to society, interact within society, and how to value ones own place in society.. These are supposed to be words of comfort. The remaining lines are about empathy, understanding the struggle that "the one" is suffering through. 3) "The one" responds to "the others", explaining that they've already "given it a try", comments on how it's all pointless. --- Songs with few words are relatable because the listener can always insert their own meanings into them. For me, this has been about an emotional young person aiming to punish the outside world for its perceived cruelty, by self-harm, and about an emotional young person finding compassion in another, and about an emotional young person finding mean-spirited resentment in another, and also about the compassionate other reaching out to an at-risk person in their own life that they care about deeply. |
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