| Thrice – Yellow Belly Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's not as directly religious or Biblical as some of their other works, but I'm pretty sure the song is meant to be God speaking to to an abusive father/husband. He admonishes the man for misusing the hands that God has given him - using them to bruise and draw blood and cause fear instead of to bless and to comfort his family. The end of the song I believe is a direct Bible reference, but I don't know the verse offhand - regardless, it's the man's creator saying, "You never showed them mercy - why should I show it to you?" (I'm pretty sure the last line in these lyrics is incorrect - it should be "what mercy have they known from you, to ask that it be shown to you") It doesn't necessarily have to be from God's perspective, but it's definitely at least about God's mercy, and the Golden Rule. If you give no mercy, you should expect none in return. |
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| Thrice – Disarmed Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Onliberty and mtamerson already have this down pretty well, but I wanted to draw attention to some of the lyrics. "Doomed to face the dark alone, 'til vicarious perfection dearly won was made our own" - That has to be the most poetic and beautiful reference to the sacrifice of Christ I have ever read or heard. Vicarious perfection is obviously referring to the perfection of Christ as God made human; that perfection was "dearly won and made our own" through his sacrifice for humanity, which washes away sin in Christian theology. Through the sacrifice of his perfection, we are made more perfect. Incredibly poignant and well-written. However, I must confess I don't totally understand the "sons of insurrection" line. Maybe referring back to original sin, inherent wickedness and turning away from God? Insurrection is a term for violent rebellion and strife... It doesn't quite seem to fit with that interpretation but it's teh best I can think of. Anyone else have an idea? |
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| Thrice – Broken Lungs Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This song bugs the hell out of me. It's incredibly well-written, and the themes it emphasizes are important (questioning authority, demanding the truth, and so on)... But its subject matter is a conspiracy theory that's no less absurd than the Illuminati or the Masons secretly controlling the world government. It's bullshit, plain and simple. We don't know everything about what happened that day, and we never will because of the millions of people indirectly involved, the extreme complexity of the events, the close connections with national security, and the right to privacy for the victims' families, but of what we DO know, there is nothing to even remotely suggest that anything other than the "official story" happened. ALL of the evidence points toward it, ALL of the points in "Loose Change" have been debunked as much as is scientifically possible without rebuilding the damn things and crashing another pair of planes into them. Dustin is an incredibly intelligent, well-read, and gifted lyricist, but he's so far off the mark on this one, and it disappoints me. |
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| Thrice – Night Diving Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Breaking the surface seems to make sense, but after listening closer I'm not so sure actually. I turned it to max volume on my headphones and listened to the part after, and there's a distinct sonar "ping" repeating in the background, as well as a low rumbling "whoosh" that sounds like waves heard underwater. If he's on the surface, why do we hear underwater sounds? There's similar sounds in the song's intro, but the "ping" is at a lower pitch for some reason; it comes up to the same pitch as the outro once the drums and other instrumentation kick in, and if you listen closely you can continue to hear it through the rest of the song. No idea what the significance of it is, or why the pitch changes, though. |
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| Thrice – Circles Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Just because they occasionally put in a melodic slow-tempo song doesn't mean they've moved away from complexity entirely. "Circles" is slow and simple because that style suited its message - the music provides a thoughtful, introspective, and slightly somber tone that helps the message really sink in. I can't speak for the difficulty of the music being played, as I'm not a guitarist, but I can give you plenty of examples of musical complexity from recent Thrice albums. "The Earth Will Shake" has a pretty complex rhythm pattern - 8-beat measures accented by 3-beats through most of the song, 7-beat measures through the chorus, and back to 3-beat through the outro. Extreme changes in dynamics are present throughout the song in the vocals, lead guitar, and bass. "Firebreather" confuses the hell out of me, honestly - as best I can tell, it's some kind of 11-beat measure with offbeat accent notes. Coupled with 8-beat on the chorus, of course, and what sounds like very technical and layered guitar work. (Again, not a guitarist, so I can't vouch for the actual difficulty of the piece.) "Flags of Dawn" is a b-side, but goes from a 3-3-2 pattern, to a four-beat with accent on the third note, then double-time in the chorus, and so on. And even on the slower, melodic songs, there is plenty of complexity. Writing lyrics in Shakespearean sonnet form counts as complex and interesting - that of course applies to The Flame Deluge, Kings Upon the Main, Child of Dust, and Silver Wings. Using unconventional recording techniques counts as well (such as literally burying a microphone for the recording of the couplet at the end of Child of Dust, to simulate what it'd sound like inside a coffin being interred). The way I see it, Thrice has always been trying to experiment and evolve; in their early days they did so mostly with song structure and instrumentation, and now they've instead branched out into dynamics, melody, lyrics, and the like. But they haven't abandoned structural complexity and experimentation, and they haven't pigeonholed themselves to slow, melodic "mood music" - to claim that is to ignore at least half of their recent work. |
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| Thrice – At The Last Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Can't edit my previous post, but there is one mention of God when he says "My God now I see how I've squandered each and every breath"... I still think my point stands, though, as it's mostly used as an expression of surprise and regret there. And even if the *speaker* is religious, the message still isn't, because he's not necessarily being judged by God here; he's actually judging himself, and the only punishment he receives is the knowledge of a life lived without purpose or meaning. | |
| Thrice – At The Last Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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You don't have to be religious to relate to this song. Hell, this is one of the most agnostic/secular songs that Dustin has ever written. There's no mention of God, and there's not even any actual discussion of the afterlife. The song is really about what defines a life as a success or as a waste. The speaker has spent his life in denial of what really matters - humility, relationships, the treatment of others, and so on - and has been "looking out for number one." (These are obviously important principles in Christian teachings, but those morals and virtues aren't exclusive to religion.) As the speaker is dying, he slowly comes to the realization that he isn't the "good man" that he thought he was - that he's wasted his life by missing the real point to living. Obviously in the context of Dustin's beliefs the song is referring to the speaker's judgment by God at the end of his life, but the message doesn't really rely on that religious imagery. Morality, selflessness, and altruism aren't exclusive to Christianity, and neither is the message that this song conveys. |
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| Thrice – Of Dust And Nations Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Other than the concept of reincarnation, Buddhism and Christianity are essentially compatible - and most of its philosophical concepts can be put to good use by Christians, Muslims, Jews, and members of every other religion. Besides - Dustin's Christianity isn't the sole inspiration for their songs. Look at "Daedalus" and "The Melting Point of Wax" - both retellings of the story of the Wings of Icarus from different points of view. Even this song mentions Saturn, a Roman god. |
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| Thrice – Of Dust And Nations Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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...Seriously? Thrice: "Don't store your treasures up, with moth and rust, where thieves break in and steal" Matthew 6:20, New International Version: "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." You're calling that a coincidence? |
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| Thrice – Of Dust And Nations Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I'm not sure exactly what you're unsure about. It's referring to the ravages of time on earthly treasures - moths eating away at fine clothing, rust destroying works of metal, and thieves taking them away entirely. Both the song and the Bible passage are emphasizing that earthly treasures are impermanent and can be lost to time - but spiritual treasures and gifts cannot be taken from you, even by death. The lesson is that hoarding physical treasures is a foolish way to spend your life; seeking spiritual and religious "treasures" is much more fruitful, because those are the ones that last and that truly matter. As the song says, "we live in but a shadow of the real." |
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| Thrice – Of Dust And Nations Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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"Ozymandias" is a poem about foolish pride, the illusion of permanence, and the insignificance of man compared to the forces of the universe. The key phrase in the poem is the pedestal's inscription: "Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" It uses a double meaning to convey the "moral" of the poem. The original intended meaning is to strike fear into other powerful rivals - it's implied that the statue stood in the center of a great city, grand enough to intimidate any rivals that would see it. But now that the statue is destroyed, and nothing remains around it but desert, it instead serves as a warning to the prideful and powerful. "Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair - eventually, yours will suffer the same fate." |
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| Thrice – The Lion and the Wolf Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Considering the fable and Bible references others have posted, I could be way off here, but I took a political point of view when I heard this song. To me, the Wolf represents the ruling power (or at least its negative side), and the Lion represents the "enemy at the gates" - whether it be nazis, or communists, or terrorists, or whatever. They may seem opposed to each other at first, but in the end both just want to harm you. The key to this interpretation is that the "real fun" doesn't begin until the Wolf actually lets the Lion into the house. This implies that the Wolf can't overcome you and achieve his goals on his own - instead, he lets the Lion do the dirty work. Japanese internment camps never could have happened without Pearl Harbor; Joseph McCarthy couldn't have led his communist witch hunt without the Russians developing a nuclear weapon; the American government couldn't have passed the PATRIOT Act without the September 11 attacks. Essentially, the message here is that the people around us - the ones who claim they're protecting us (man's best friend) - may be less fearsome or destructive than the evil confronting us, but they're just as dangerous. After all, without the Wolf, the Lion could never get to you in the first place. |
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| Thrice – The Flame Deluge Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Drew8486: Dresden is a German city... The RAF and USAF dropped incendiary bombs on it, not Hitler. It's one of the most famous and controversial actions by the Allied Powers of the entire war; the deaths from it have been estimated in the tens of thousands. | |
| Thrice – The Arsonist Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This song reminds me very strongly of the Parable of the Broken Window. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window) Basically, the speaker is advocating destruction as a force that spurs creation. By burning the city, it can be rebuilt; by overthrowing the government in revolution, it can be made into something better. But like the townspeople in the Parable, the speaker doesn't properly take the loss from these strategies into account. The lives, buildings, and resources that the "arsonist" destroys could instead be used to help bring about the change he seeks, for example. By destroying them, he may bring about change, but ultimately his society has forever lost what the arsonist has destroyed. This may be why the lyrics are delivered with such an insane, frenetic tone - the decision to destroy isn't being made by a rational being, but by a psychopath hoping to justify his actions. It may seem like a call to arms, but I think the band is actually advocating peaceful change through this song. |
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| Thrice – Kings Upon The Main Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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What's interesting to me is the contrast between "Kings Upon The Main" and "The Flame Deluge." The fire element laments that mankind has controlled it, and twisted it for destructive and evil ends; the water element portrays itself as uncontrollable and wild, a force that strikes down anyone proud enough and arrogant enough to claim control over it. In reality, mankind has claimed some control over both fire and water - but is occasionally humbled by the power of both. It's interesting to wonder why the band decided to emphasize as untameable, while emphasizing the dangers of taming fire. |
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| Thrice – The Whaler Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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The song definitely metaphorically applies to Dustin and his family, but I think it's an expression of a story archetype as well. The idea of the father leaving his family because of duty, or passion, or even to provide for them, is used in countless stories. Sometimes, the father is drafted into the military; occasionally, he volunteers out of duty to his country; or, it could be more mundane, like being forced to travel for his work, just to be able to provide for his children and his wife. In fact, it could even apply to my own father's life - when I was a young child, he was regularly forced to make business trips to deal with customers, and would be gone for weeks at a time. |
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| Thrice – Lost Continent Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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To me, this song is a very obvious commentary on politics in America (and the world) today. What's interesting about it is that every part of the song has both a topical meaning and a more general one: the first two stanzas, for example, are references to the seemingly endless war in Iraq, but also apply more generally to conflict as an inherent part of the human condition. Similarly, the references to the "waters rising" and being "swallowed by the sea" apply directly to the issue of global warming and the rising sea levels, but also more generally to the fall of mankind. I'm almost positive that "Was there a time we looked around, and do we really even want to know what's going down? Well I think no one really does" is a reference to "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield ("Stop, hey, what's that sound, everybody look what's going down") - a famous protest song from the 60's. The song is suggesting that even the political activism of the 60's was hollow and false - that even back then, nobody really wanted to be aware of what was happening, or to work for change. |
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| Thrice – The Flame Deluge Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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The Second Flood is probably a Biblical reference to the Flood of Fire, as was previously mentioned - but it could also refer to a second conflict with nuclear weapons. The "First Flood" would be the use of them in World War II; the "Second Flood," the one that would bring about Armageddon, would be a conflict between two nuclear superpowers. "The smallest thread" could refer to a single screw keeping a nuke from falling, as someone else suggested, but I think it's more metaphorical - that our way of life and our very existence is "hanging by a thread," and the only thing preventing Armageddon is the concept of mutually assured destruction. |
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| Thrice – Burn the Fleet Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Good call Sojourneyman, I knew there was at least one historical example of burning the ships like that. There may be literary examples that this is meant to reference, as well. I'm pretty sure it's not what they were going for, but Warcraft III's storyline has a similar plot device, where one of the main characters secretly destroys his own army's ships, to prevent them from deserting and to rally them against the enemy. Anyway, the song is about committing fully and completely to a cause. The speaker is ordering the ships burned, forcing himself (and his men) to commit to his task until the very end - either he'll be a ghost or a king, but he won't turn around and run. |
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| Thrice – Firebreather Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Thrice has plenty of songs with religious or spiritual meanings, but I don't think this is one of them - at least, not directly. To me, this song is about freedom of thought, speech, and expression ("In word or thought or deed, tell me, are you free?") - or, more specifically, the suppression of those freedoms. This can, of course, apply to freedom of religion, but I really think it's meant for the more general case. The threat to freedom is represented by hanging (the gallows), firing squads (bullets lancing the bravest lungs), and being burned at the stake (flames licking at your feet, breathing in fire) - all traditional and brutal methods of execution and suppression. Rather than "fold his hands and hold his tongue" in the face of these threats, the speaker would choose defiance; at least he would die knowing he was free. The message of this song is that without freedom of expression, physical freedom (from imprisonment or execution) is meaningless - that it's better to die with true freedom of thought, speech, and action, than to live under fear and oppression. |
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