This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Withered hands, withered bodies begging for salvation
Deserted by the hand of gods of their own creation
Nations cry underneath decaying skies above
You are guilty, the punishment is death for all who live
The punishment is death for all who live
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of delation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
The killing fields, the grinding wheels crushed by equilibrium.
Separate lives, no more disguise, no more second chances.
Haggard wisdom spitting out the bitter taste of hate.
I accuse you before you know the crime it's all too late.
Before you know the crime it's all too late.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent
planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are,
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Withered hands, withered bodies begging for salvation
Deserted by the hand of gods of their own creation
Nations cry underneath decaying skies above
You are guilty, the punishment is death for all who live
The punishment is death for all who live
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of delation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
The killing fields, the grinding wheels crushed by equilibrium.
Separate lives, no more disguise, no more second chances.
Haggard wisdom spitting out the bitter taste of hate.
I accuse you before you know the crime it's all too late.
Before you know the crime it's all too late.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent
planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, dreams of desolation,
Out of the silent planet, Come the demons of creation.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are,
Out of the silent planet, out of the silent planet we are.
Lyrics submitted by numb, edited by Wh1teChaos
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
The point of the novel out of the silent planet was that earth has become 'the silent planet' because human being thrown into isolation vied to host the whole world within their minds, to become 'oyarsas' themselves is the term the novel uses. The 'oyarsas' on other planets were being who occupied an upper tier which they merit for having authentic wisdom, who were in mediate contact with a godhead and whom hosted forums for the community. On a planet where this is the state everyone imagines themselves to be, there is an apathetic attitude towards communication and nothing amasses. Maiden always does refer the cause of this to the 'brave new world' structure of current society. And 'the punishment for all who, wittingly or innocently, contribute to making the planet silent are punished naturally with 'death'. They become dead souls over time. I think the song is also trying to up-scope an effect of a mass of deadened souls as being the 'fermentation' of new 'demons of creation', which would be those who vie for 'decimation', a grand redux of complexity back into a single point, a desire to just go 'home' and be done with. 'Haggard wisdom spitting out the BITTER taste of hate' would be from those already molded by that sort of predicament who chose temperance and perseverance, among other things. And the silence goes on as the two mentalities demonize each other without really knowing who is who, in passing by. The conversation is suppressed yet no one 'has a disguise' since in these conditions 'mindless projection' is instinctual. Self-loathing is the off-shooting point, no one wants to see the other, needless to say see right through themselves. Everything is dandy as it is, and everyone is perfectly placid hosting the world within their own mind as is imagined. In short, decimation has already taken place.
They are talking about society as it stands today. Its every man for himself as the human race battle for dominance over each other and will do anything for it (cheating, scamming etc). The planet is silent because everyone is in it for themselves and not together as a race.
@Metbloke Its about a book. called Out Of The Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis.... Dave Murray had read it over a winter and was so inspired as to write the song....
The title is probably a reference to C.S. Lewis's "Out of the Silent Planet". In it, the "silent planet" turns out to be Earth because it does not reply to repeated attempts to communicate with it by other planets. It becomes a symbol of isolation and corruption.
It has the same title as the book and the lyrics make PERFECT sense.
"Actually, every song of the Brave New World CD was written from the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley." false btw.
@ARedSlime exactly, so many people seem to think that...
Actually, every song of the Brave New World CD was written from the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Metbloke takes it from there. It's kind of a play on our world after talking about the "Utopia" from Brave New World for most of their other songs.
@RainbowDemon so The Wicker Man is from Brave New World? I don't think so...
the bit that says "underneath decaying skies above" i think is about global warming and the greenhouse effects
I agree with archagon. The book Out of the Silent Planet is basically Narnia for adults--Earth is corrupt because it isolated itself from God, whereas Mars and Venus haven't. (Thus the lyrics about salvation and desertion.) I'm not sure how these lyrics would correspond to Brave New World; I've read the book twice and none of this rings a bell. It rang the CS Lewis bell right off the bat, though.
Although the lyrics kind of make me picture New Mexico's role in Brave New World. That's a possibility.
first song i learned to play on bass, its based on the movie forbidden planet but the name came from the c.s. lewis book
I think this song is about the slow destruction of the world caused by humans. "Nations cry underneath decaying skies above You are guilty, the punishment is death for all who live." Tha, to me, sounds like Ozone depletion on peoples ignorance of the enviornment.
"Haggard wisdom spitting out the bitter taste of hate." This line seems like it is talking about the negative impact of most technology.
"I accuse before you before you know the crime it's all too late." And this line seems to say most people are ignorant about what is happening and before its realized (which is happening now) it will be too late to save our planet.
PS: I don't argue with anyone talking about the reference to "Out of the Silent Planet" by CS Lewis or "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. It seems to incorporate a lot.