The man of shadows thinks in clay
Dreamed trapped thoughts of suffocation day
He's seen in iron enrironments
With plastic sweat out of chiselled slits for eyes
From the growth underneath the closed mouth
You'll cath if you listen
Rack trapped cubist vowels
From a dummy head expression
From a dummy head expression
The transformation is invested
With the mysterious and the shameful
While the thing I am becomes something else
Part character part sensation
The shadow is cast
Dreamed trapped thoughts of suffocation day
He's seen in iron enrironments
With plastic sweat out of chiselled slits for eyes
You'll cath if you listen
Rack trapped cubist vowels
From a dummy head expression
From a dummy head expression
With the mysterious and the shameful
While the thing I am becomes something else
Part character part sensation
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I think this song is about bearded men working in an industrial setting, wearing face protection and a mask to filter out contaminants.
Interesting how everyday life can inspire poetry that sound so mystical and esoteric.
This song is stunning. Lyrically, and the musical composition is fantastic.
he could be referring to himself being something he is unsure turning...or a deadman simply turning into the living dead...-_- any thoughts on what the lyrics could mean?
I'm pretty unsure as to the maening of this song, but my guess, and I may be way off base, is that it is based on the character in the Alexander Dumas novel "The Man In The Iron Mask". Think about it, "the man in shadows"? Kind of sounds like someone being kept as a secret prisoner.
But, whatever the meaning of this song is, it's an awesome song. Probably my favorite Bauhaus song, along with "Crowds" and "Swing The Heartache".
Reminds me of the character Valentine from "Mirrormask," which I am aware this song antedates by at least 15 years.
guitars on this song are simply HYPNOTICAL... I just love the song... sounds so deep and in some way bizarre... I kind of believe it`s about internal struggles inside your head... about feeling lonely...about changing as a person... Love the song and the video... THE SHADOW IS CAST
guitars on this song are simply HYPNOTICAL... I just love the song... sounds so deep and in some way bizarre... I kind of believe it`s about internal struggles inside your head... about feeling lonely...about changing as a person... Love the song and the video... THE SHADOW IS CAST
Agreed, my fave bauhaus song. Just heard this album for the first time in about 20 years (not that anyone cares) and it floored me anew. How they set the standard for goth! I can see the image of iron environments as a post holocaust NYC, twisted metal and "fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats", and the labored breathing of trying to survive while trudging through the mire... much like life. Something absolutely alien here, with nonsense lyrics phrased just for the emotions they evoke.
MASK – (by Bauhaus) Beggars Banquet Music, 1981 (BEGA 29) Moore wrote a seven line poem on the inside sleeve under the pseudonym “Brilburn Logue”
I just took this info here: http://twomorrows.com/media/MooreList.pdf
in the section DISCOGRAPHY. Take out conclusions, then share.
No comments on this? Why? One of my fav. Bauhaus songs, purely amazing usage of words...a shadow is cast...must be about a lonely being... /Saturnine/