Heart in hand passed to the clasp of pain
In a dark lowland that set bad blood in veins
Burning, like penal fires roused stain
The jagged-toothed skyline braced with crosses

The golden dawn
Lay lost to mist where
Emboldened thorns
Made their bed with toppled stones

He closed His eyes
Sunken to dream there
OF crow-black skies
And a great white empty throne
Horror stalked the bilious fogs
That balked His vision

He licked the spittle from the cheeks of the wry
And drifted back to when His stung it's target
The sneer of Michael on a glorious high
Of angel dust and Virtue by His side

Drowning in the past
That downfall seemed like yesterday
Though blurred moons passed
As enemies in high places laughed

Moved to mirrors cracked with heavy lines
He rose snowblind, though shifting sands of time
Erased the trace and taste of bitter wines
The grapes of wrath grew fat on the vine

She came to him
A little whip of tantrums
Thrashed on velvet skins
That lined Her wishbone Henge

Her name as Sin
A warming spurt of mantras
Splashed on occult tongues
That whispered sweet revenge

For the shame of their crawl from grace
Cold and hollow as the grave

And for the rape and a ruinous scourge
Spared for souls that had shared God's worship
For now their throats coated notes with dirge
That poured from parapets to the pits below

Drowning in the past
A wretched scream like yesterday
Died at last
With the rising of the revenant dark

All sharpened claws and blunt discharge

"I shall bow no more to the dogs of the Lord
Tearing at my carcass heart
I shall fall to my knees only at the keyholes
Of Virtue slipping into bondage masks...

Freewill made me better to reign in Hell"

And with new wings
Unfurled and spoken
He took the things
That would desecrate the world

The seduction of both woman and man
For a bastard masterplan

Drowning out the past
Fool Fates unwound cruel yesterdays
Beneath the stars
That staggered from the blast


Lyrics submitted by Dying_In_Vain

Better To Reign In Hell Lyrics as written by Dani Davey Paul James Allender

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Better To Reign In Hell song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

17 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    I'm not totally sure about this, but it sounds to me like he is talking about some dude selling his soul to the devil.

    The name of the song would certainly tie in with this, it is based on the phrase "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven", which is spoken by lucfer after he has been cast down from heaven in 'Paradise Lost' by John Milton.

    quiffpornon October 28, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I'm not totally sure, but to me, it sounds as though he is describing someone who is selling their soul to the devil.

    The song title would certainly tie in with this, it is based on the phrase "Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven", which is spoken by lucfer after he is cast down from heaven in "Paradise Lost" by 'John Milton'. This makes sense, because the result of him selling his soul will be that he goes to hell.

    quiffpornon October 28, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    weak...

    quiffpornon October 28, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    lucifer is actually the bringer of light, not satan, this is an interesting song, but they could have gone a little more in depth with the ltrics, i think the song is missing something...

    zoo_skateron November 15, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Lucifer and Satan are both names for the devil. Lucifer means "Morning star", Satan means "Conspirator" and Devil means "Slanderer", but in the bible (aswells as the dictionary) they are all used to refer to the same being.

    quiffpornon November 20, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The song makes more sense in the context of the other tracks on the album. Damnation and a Day, which this is from, "tells Satan's side of the sotry." The two songs before Better To Reign In Hell, "An Enemy Led The Tempest" and the orchestral song "Damned In ANy Language", which tell of the war in Heaven and Lucifer's downfall.

    Better To Reign In Hell, then, picks up with Satan awaking in Hell. First coming to grips with his predicament, he rallies his fallen legions and they decide on a course of action - to corrupt the fledgling human race so that they, too, may be fallen in the eyes of God.

    selrachon November 22, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song, imo, is just going through the course of satans rule in hell... Not being a satanist I know nothing about anything, but to me the songs talking about the war in hell, his loss in the war, being cast down to hell, him noticing theres noone to rule there, and then corrupting our human race. Its obvious that the songs based on satan. Pretty much what you guys have wrote. The end of the song is just stating that hes ruined us. Half the world no longer worships god, something we would be killed for back in the day, and everyone is sinning. Just my opinion

    SithspawNon November 25, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    talking about the war in heaven** sorry

    SithspawNon November 25, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    selrach has it right. this song is lucifer's decision and realization of his situation at hand after he was banished, by Michael. out of heaven.

    AClokWrkOrngon February 04, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    following the coarse off the album, this song would be about satan accepting his damnation. in the instrumental piece before this song the naration discribes the devil being cast out, sothis is prob a follow up of that.

    erudite strangeron March 29, 2005   Link

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

Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
American Town
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.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.