| Pain of Salvation – Undertow Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| the narrator feels that by exploring his thoughts of the past, he will find out how he ended up in a certain place in life, presumably referring to the start of the album, and with that hopefully find a way to move forward with this discovery. near the start he says that even if he doesn't figure it out immediately, he can take the loss and keep trying again. but somewhere along the way his perspective changes, and he thinks that whatever higher power has been protecting him might not be able to help him on this journey, hence "you may lose me here, so love me if you dare and let me run." he starts exploring the implications of this journey, and no matter how he thinks of it, he always concludes that death is inevitable. he grieves about this realisation, which I think is reflected in the guitar theme, and he asks the higher power why this is necessary. the grieving then turns to anger, and he's now more desperate than ever to find the answers, so he does whatever he feels necessary to get there, which amounts to him tearing himself apart, likely physically and emotionally, and coming as close as ever to death. presumably exausted from this journey, the narrator has one final grievance before he manages to walk on for now. the structure reflects the change in tone throughout the song, as for example the use of the phrase "let me" starts as a way of asking for help, in search of a better future, but by the second half, it becomes more of a way of saying "if suffering is the only way out of this, just go ahead and give it to me," almost sarcastically. the intensity of the vocals also demonstrates the transition into anger experienced by the narrator. | |
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