Aqua Dementia

this song is goes right with hearts alive and is about the encounter between moby dick and the pequod. the harponeers throw harpoons into moby dick like cigarettes into an ashtray i guess but in the end moby dick destroys the pequod and all the sailors die except for ishmael who floats off in a coffin. i'm pretty sure hearts alive starts with the destruction of the pequod. i didn't actually read all of this though, its too boring...

To me the basic message is that even though there are a great deal of people out there who strive to preserve our earth and protect it from pollution and things of that sort, the people that don't give a shit are obviously the majority, so they are essentially the ones determining earth's fate. Whether or not the guys from Mastodon are pro-environmentalism and whatnot, I don't know, but nevertheless this still remains one of my favorite songs from them :)

it kind of has 2 meanings,the pollution thing and fighting the whale

No No No You're all wrong

It's about the character Pip

He falls overboard during an encounter with Moby Dick and goes insane waiting to be rescued

Hence the name "Aqua Dementia"

It certainly does seem to be about pip, but I would also venture that Mastodon might be using it as a metaphor for the earth as well.

It starts out with An invitation to clairvoyance which appears to be a starting point for pips story

next is

It's hard to stand around and watch while they ignore us She is dumped on Used as an ashtray At the expense of an organized association

I have a hard time figuring out what this is if it is NOT in fact about man damaging the planet. I suppose it could very wellbe a reference to a specific person? or mebbe a character from the book (via pips hallucinations or something) but as much as I can recall theres nothing like that from the book. Until more data is present, I will conclude that its about the earth.

I see the stones in the path we laid It's a question of tomorrow We like to breathe the ancient wind that we have followed A perfect fire to burn the land

This section also seems to reference the earth. The path stones are relics of the past. The paths upon which our ancestors tread, and slo the way of life they led (the ancient wind). But our behaviors threaten our history and existence into the future....making existence...a question of tomorrow.

Before they knew it The sun had fallen Boiling the water where the hydra's crawling The righteous go in blazing fury

This section is very much about pip. "they" are the other whalers, busy chasing whales, without time to rescue pip. He treads water by himself for so long he begins to feel the effects of aqua dementia, at first becoming strange and quiet, and then later almost prophetic. The general assumption is that pip began hallucinating and saw things so horrible they scarred him forever. So pip sits all day and into the night in the water, and sees terrible things (boiling the water, pips mind, with visions of monsters ect - thus the hydra). The last line is a reference to pip's prophetic new outlook that leads him to drive ahab on.

And we cleanse the earth to bring it down Bring it down And God will watch it burn Releasing souls

This is the songs tie in. I want to say its the messages about the earth, now originating from pips prophetic dementia. I say this mostly because the speaker used the word "we", suggesting a conversation with a group or preaching like pip began to do at the end of the book. I believe the rest of the lyrics fall in line with this as well.

Generally speaking, pips story is originally separate from messages about the earth in this song, but pip's own sad story, and his mad prophecies become the words of damnation for ahab, and for all mankind.

No comments?! This is the best song on Leviathan

And God will watch it burn Releasing souls Within the wrath we wait To be dirt again There is a flame I lit I upon high

hells yes

I got the same feeling from this song, v2kv. With such lines as: "She is dumped in. Used as an ashtray at the expense of organized association" and also: "It's a question of tomorrow. We like to breathe the ancient wind that we have followed" To me, that means with the current pollution rate, we'll just have to wait and see what happens to the earth and oceans. That bit also mentions how they long for years past, when such pollution wasn't much of a factor.

And I know this album is about Moby Dick, obviously. But I got the whole pollution vibe from this song.

Oh, and v2kv, on the Blood Mountain DVD, Brent is wearing a shirt with Earth on it, and right above it is says "Handle With Care" So I'm assuming they are pro-environmentalists. :]

Anywho, amazing song. Third fave song on Leviathan. Behind Hearts Alive and Megalodon. :D

"The sun had falledn Boiling the water where the hydra's crawling The righteous go in blazing fury And we cleanse the earth to bring it down Bring it down And God will watch it burn Releasing souls Within the wrath we wait To be dirt again There is a flame I lit I upon high" This sounds to me like what will happen when the Sun is about to die, i blows up to a Red Giant boil the Water and cleanse the Earth. "God" will watch us burn the releasing of "Souls" by dying people's and other creature's to be dirt again, every creature lit up a flame by burning of the heat from Sun.

But maybe i've just misunderstood it or have to much creativity i don't know :> Anyway great Song

haha, i like how the fonz said everyone was wrong, but he has a point, but i also see everyones points

great song but the way, i love the whole album equally =]