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Samarithan Lyrics
One day I saw a man
dressed in rags, with a staff in his hand
begging for a penny to survive
How poor a man can be
I gave him hospitality
a room, a bed and lots of food to eat
Still I hear his last few words
"I can never return what you've done
heaven will remember and repay"
Fifty years had gone since I saw him
I was dying and I'd soon be dead
Three angels stood in front of me bed
The first one she said to me, don't be afraid
I will give you immortality, and grace for your soul
The second had eyes of gold, she gave me my wings
The third gave all wisdom, and angel could give
...to me
[repeat 1st verse]
[repeat 2nd verse]
I joined with my destiny, eternally
I knew I was born again, an angel to be
A vision beyond my dreams, called me by name
So in devotion I spread my wings, to heaven I had came
...to stay
dressed in rags, with a staff in his hand
begging for a penny to survive
How poor a man can be
I gave him hospitality
a room, a bed and lots of food to eat
Still I hear his last few words
"I can never return what you've done
heaven will remember and repay"
I was dying and I'd soon be dead
Three angels stood in front of me bed
The first one she said to me, don't be afraid
The second had eyes of gold, she gave me my wings
The third gave all wisdom, and angel could give
...to me
I knew I was born again, an angel to be
A vision beyond my dreams, called me by name
So in devotion I spread my wings, to heaven I had came
...to stay
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Personally my favorite Candlemass song of all time.
A man meets a beggar dressed in rags, and offers the beggar a place to stay and eat in his own home. The beggar tells him that he can't return what he did for him, but that "Heaven will remember and repay." Fifty years pass, and the main character is on his death bed, when three angels appear. They make him an angel for helping the beggar, and he goes to Heaven.
If this song has such a kinda happy, positive meaningm, why is it so slow and heavy? Maybe because few people in reality are that nice, or maybe because he thought he would go unrewarded up unitil he was about to die, when he got his reward.
@Bauds hahahahahaha The xact same thing I think. the song is slow, agressive and bitter because it's a Candlemass song. It is very enjoyable, but the lyrical themes of charitable love and heavenly gratitude sound kind of funny in the style of Messiah Marcolin and Co.
@Bauds hahahahahaha The xact same thing I think. the song is slow, agressive and bitter because it's a Candlemass song. It is very enjoyable, but the lyrical themes of charitable love and heavenly gratitude sound kind of funny in the style of Messiah Marcolin and Co.
It's difficult to take this song at face value unless you're a Christian. Of course, it could just be about the virtues of caring for those in need, but there is so much emphasis on going to Heaven, that the song seems to be written primarily from a Christian perspective.
So, I think that on one level the song can be perceived as describing a good deed that one man did for another man. However, the Christian stuff actually seems kind of ironic, and almost bitter. I get the feeling that these lyrics may be pondering on the nature of helping other people. Why do we really do it? The protagonist of the song does not hide the fact that he is delighted to have gone to Heaven, and he acknowledges that this happens as a direct result of his good deeds. So for me, the song discusses how, in some ways, when help other people, we are ultimately only doing it for our own ends. If someone asks us for help, we don't help them because we want to. We do it because we think it is in our best interests.
@Songmeaningsuser That would apply if the lyrics didn't state that the heavenly reward came fifty years later.
@Songmeaningsuser That would apply if the lyrics didn't state that the heavenly reward came fifty years later.