The Three Shadows, Pt. 1

"o gentlemen swallow your prayers because the wind makes a mockery of men"

Read my views on Three Shadows Part I/II. They hold pretty much here. It's about the futility of prayer when the gentlemen preaching are anything but saintly.

"your soul becomes a fish you swim in idle waters and drink other fishes piss"

Referring to to those who become too consumed in Christian values; the symbol of Christianity besides the cross, is a fish. Idle waters refer to the conservative bore that a strict religious existence can end up leading to, and drinking other fishes piss is a purposely vulgar jab at the unpleasantness of this existence; and is referring to the way in which strictly religious people communicate in such an artificially refined manner; but in reality, it's just all piss, yet they drink it up anyway.

"your soul feeds on fish on piss, puss and men"

Piss, is the empty conservation I mention earlier, Fish refers to the how many religious people are also very business orientated, or just plain corrupt and feed on other religious people's values to get where they are, puss refers to the traditional values I mentioned in the Part I/II article, and "men" refers to people not of that religion, that get used and abused in other ways.

"who in turn, become as you have become, a fish no, not even that, but a symbol of a fish"

This is what really clued me into this being about christiniaty.

If this is what I think it means - it's kind of a beautiful way of putting it. To the fundamental, nothing can be worthwhile "On it's own" - this isn't a cup of coffee, it's GOD's cup of coffee. They aren't even a fish - they're GOD'S fish and God's fish is just a symbol for the religion.

"hooked by the baby flesh of maggots"

Refering to the "baby" used earlier no doubt; the "Baby Jesus" used to reel people into religion, when in reality the version they're using of Jesus is a skewed, Maggoty version

"a ripple of life in tin this tin could become your world too"

Like the way sardines are squished up together and sold in a tin. The sheer restriction of trying to push so many people to have the same set of values.

"so choose between this and water choose between tin and piss"

The false dichotomies often present by the religious "Do this or burn in hell".

Though since both the tin and the piss were used as the same thing, I think it's perhaps using that false dichotomy as a kind of metaphor for all the other false dichotomies and general lack of freedom you have when you do "Sign up".

I really get the feeling there's something very clever here, and I an't quite put my finger on it.

"do you still feel thirsty now are you thirsty now are you thirsty now"

Do you still want to suck up all this nonsense even after realising what it really means, etc.

"do you still feel thirsty thirsty now"

I like how this sounds in the song. It's very cool. Feeds off Three Shadows I/II very well.

wow.you've spent a long time thinking on this. perhaps the 'three' shadows refers to the father the son and the holy ghost.

HOLY. SHIT.

Peter Murphy cosplaying Satan. I can sympathize. A hilarious rebuke of what has become of western organized religion.