| As Hope Dies – In The Presence Of That Evening Lyrics | 11 months ago |
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So, I have loved this song ever since this album first came out (wow, it really was a long time ago; I'm old), and had always been curious about the lyrics. I always interpreted it as being from the point of view of a man either already tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and filled with so much rage that they they felt only their death could bring them solace, *OR* from the perspective of somebody who was so enraged they were going to commit a crime and then attempt to die via suicide by cop. Turns out, neither of those are correct. I just came across an article about this Netflix movie called The Stranger, which led me to looking into Albert Camus' novel The Stranger, and lo and behold, the explanation for the lyrics presented itself. Our narrator in the song is the main character of The Stranger, named Meursault, and he has just had his final confrontation with the prison Chaplain at the end of the novel. The Chaplain implores Meursault to turn himself over to the Christian God, but Meursault finally loses his temper and eviscerates the Chaplain's reasoning. Meursault eventually realizes he is, in fact, happy, and feels a strange kinship with his now-deceased mother who died in a nursing/retirement home in the beginning of the novel. "In the presence of that evening, charged with meaning, and with stars..." Meursault is awaiting his execution for murder, and has just come to a great realization after telling the Chaplain off. "I opened for the first time to the tender indifference of the world..." In true absurdist fashion, Meursault tells the Chaplain that no matter what, all of us are going to die someday, meaning life is pointless, and this act empties him of any wish to escape death while simultaneously opening him to the true nature (tender indifference) of the universe, making him feel as if he is a part of it. "As if my great anger had...emptied me of hope..." Losing his temper frees him from the baser emotions. "I withheld beauty so that all would be complete, so I could whisper a new song, and fell less alone..." By holding back any empathy or emotion for the whole novel, Meursault didn't allow himself to be played or frustrated by the universe (rational man vs. irrational universe), leading him to this new acceptance of happiness and kinship with his mother, who he believes must have felt the same as she lay dying in the nursing home. "...that there will be many smiling people looking on the day of my execution..." Now feeling like he belongs to and in the universe, Meursault hopes a crowd of people who hate him will wait for him on his execution day, much as they surrounded him in life, and this will bring all to a consummate end. If you are interested, read the wikipedia article on The Stranger by Albert Camus, it's where I got most of this information. I haven't read The Stranger in years, probably twenty or more, but as soon as I started reading the wiki it started coming back and it made absolute sense (to me at least). |
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| Opeth – Black Rose Immortal Lyrics | 11 months ago |
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So, I have always loved this song, but my views on the meaning have changed from when I first heard it; age will do that, I suppose. I used to think it probably had some sinister stuff going on, but now I think the song is about someone (I just call them the protagonist) who is mourning a loved one and slowly navigating through the stages of grief. They're not at acceptance quite yet, but they are getting close. My breakdown follows, hope anybody who may read it enjoys! Black Rose Immortal- In the name of desperation I call your name A lamentation I sigh Again and again *obviously, the protagonist is crying out the name of someone they cherish, desperate for them to reveal their presence, but to no avail: their lamentation fades from a call to a sigh, again and again, to me suggesting they are moving towards the final stage of grief, acceptance* Spiritual eclipse The gateways are closed for me to seek *by spiritual eclipse, I think they are referring to their suffering: the eclipse is of their inner light and belief in anything sacred, and they feel that any gateway that might lead them out of this sadness and/or depression is closed off to them* The night... A veil of stars, watching My shadow is born from light The light of the eye, in darkness *they are outside in the night, stars overhead, and the light of the moon, or eye in this case, is shining enough so their shadow is just barely present; I think this is more metaphorical, though, as in they accept that with light (love) there must also be darkness (death)* Over troubled waters memories soar Endlessly, searching night and day The moonlight caresses a lonely hill With the calmness of a whisper *I think either the relationship was troubled, or their mind is troubled, and their memories are seeking out the pleasant memories that might remain; they light remaining (the few good memories left to them) seem to congregate around one specific memory (the lonely hill)* I wear a naked soul A blank face in the streaming water It is cold in here Frost scar my coat with dust *they are naked under the light of their own examination, and they are seeing themselves reflected back at them when they see a blank face in the water; more metaphors about realizing they were projecting their own issues on their loved one, and the realization has left them cold and covered by the dust of when they were happier (“it is cold in here” is a reflection of their own heart, either because of losing this person or something that happened and changed their nature from a happier, warmer one) Eyes attach to your mute portrait We spoke only through thoughts Together we gazed, awaited Hours brought thirst and the rising sun *they are looking at a photo or picture of the loved one, speaking to them in their mind, and together they sit outside beneath the stars, growing thirsty until the sun begins to rise; also another way to describe how the protagonist still longs for love, and a sunrise may signal their readiness to receive it from someone, or the world in general, once more* Sunbirds leave their dark recesses Shadows glid the archways *Opeth comes from the novel The Sunbird, by Wilbur Smith, derived from the name Opet, a fictional Phoenician city whose name means City of the Moon; this is likely a way to throw in reference to their namesake, but also a way to say that the sun is coming back out, light is rising once more (“Sunbirds leave their dark recess”), and the shadows are returning to where they belong (“Shadows glid [I don’t think this is correct, on the Abbey Road remaster, I hear “Shadows ‘fill’ the archways”] the archways”) Do not turn your face towards me Confronting me with my lonliness You are in a forest unknown The secret orchard And your voice is vast and achromatic But still so precious *the protagonist doesn’t want their loved one’s spirit to face them in their loneliness because they know the person they have lost wouldn’t want them to feel this way or beat themselves down so badly; their loved one is dead, their soul wherever souls go (“forest unknown,” “secret orchard,” protagonist doesn’t know), so any voice the protagonist hears of their loved one will be complete fiction based on memories; “and your…precious” is about accepting this and acknowledging that despite the voice being artificial, they still long to hear it* Lullaby of the crescent moon took you Mesmerized, its kaleidoscopic face Granted you a hollow stare Another soul within the divine herd *the sun rises to give life, and darkness ascends to take it away, but the moon rises as well, reminding the protagonist that all hope is not lost; they use a lullaby here to act as death’s call or psychopomp, and by “kaleidoscopic face” acknowledge the moon’s phases and the different ways of interpreting life and death, mostly death; “another soul within the divine herd” is them accepting that their loved one was human, like we all are, just one of many who will share the same ultimate fate* I have kept it The amaranth symbol Hiddin inside the golden shrine Until we rejoice in the meadow Of the end When we both walk the shadows It will set ablaze and vanish Black rose immortal *Amaranth traditionally means eternal love, eternal devotion, immortality, undying love, admiration, everlasting nature (Greek mythology), never-ending devotion (Indian culture), so the Amaranth Symbol means they have held onto their eternal love for this person, hidden within themselves (pretty sure the protagonist grew cold or was cold because they were a narcissist; seems to fit the mythological aspects of the lyrics), and they await when they and their loved one can be together again, embracing happier times/memories (“rejoice in the meadow”); when they are both dead, the symbols of their love will vanish from their physical state and they will be together as a black rose, immortal in their love for one another beyond death (“when we both walk the shadows,” meaning both are dead; “it will set ablaze and vanish,” referring to the Amaranth Symbol); also, I think Black Rose Immortal might have even been a nickname or something like that, a pet name for the couple or an inside joke/vibe only they knew of* It is getting dark again Dusk shuffle across the fields The evening trees moan as if they knew At night I always dream of you *the protagonist isn’t quite to acceptance yet (“it is getting dark again”) as night falls once more (“dusk shuffles across the fields”) and the wind moving through the trees makes a moan; protagonist still dreams every night of the person they have lost* |
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