Duress

"And when the dawn begins to creep Sunlight finds you in a heap And how you wish that you could sleep "

I think of a newly embraced vampire who is coming to terms with their undead existence.

The word ‘duress’ means forcible restraint or restriction. I think this song is about defeat and the trials and tribulations of dealing with reality. I feel like the song is trying to convey a general sense of conflict. The subject resorts to sleeping worries away and discovers that the problem persists in wakefulness. To me it’s about an inability to conquer that which displeases you.

I think this song is about getting older and not being able to do anything about it. The parties are not that fun, the conversations are not so interesting and unique, the love became a burden, the dream of being free is fading out.

Man... this song was the theme of my failing marriage a decade ago...

"And when the dawn begins to creep Sunlight finds you in a heap"

Yeah, hung-over from seeking liquid perspective in a finite pool of bad decisions. Been there; woke up like that so many times.

"And how you wish that you could sleep Forget the lies that you've been told"

Perhaps, it was the tranquility of the lie of marriage... Perhaps it was chasing the American dream we thought we wanted but was nothing but a sham of idealism, garnished with that growing twinges of doubt and resentment - both at the fabrication of what "perfection" might be and that the "till death do us part" bit was a bit more than we really should have chased after...

"You think you're settin' free your soul But you're really gettin' old"

You think that the money and status of suburbia might be "it" but what it really is is just that slow leak in an inflatable lifeboat...

"You've dreamt of divin' in the sea Your outstretched arms in front of me"

This... this line was in my mind every time I dove off the transom of my boat following the anchor being set... freedom in the danger of a medium which is both supportive and suffocating at the same time. I still think of that boat and those moments every time I hear this line.

"And how you wished that you could breathe In the grip of ecstasy When the shadows follow me And the night won't set me free"

Back to the "happiness" that should be a refreshing breath... but in reality is that frothy in-between mess from the maelstrom of the chaotic, blown-out surf that is life... Oh, the lurking specters of obligation and approval... but tomorrow is right back at it all over again.

"You wish someone could love you less Longing for that one caress"

All the time, I kept thinking: "Friends. Let's just be friends before we destroy each other. Please?"

"I see you sink under Duress And when you wanna kill it dead You let it throttle you instead"

Aaaand the best part: that duress - that state of being compromised at the hands of an enemy - is something that, from the perspective of Adam, is something which forces the resignation of the spirit. Why bother? Oh, this line pisses me off because I took a much different route - rather than wallow, I dug in and persevered.

However, in looking back at the words, the idea of breathing is vital. "You wish you could breathe..., "You let it throttle you instead." The person isn't the point of view, it is a third person looking at it the situation and state that the person is in and making a sad observation of how they are giving up on everything. Choking on indecision... or under the pressure.

The melody is key as well - melodic transitioning to aggressively repetitive. Driving. Maddening. Mournful. Compelling. Increasing in complexity (the bass line adds one more layer of detail with each iteration...) Kinda like... being stressed the hell out and overthinking the simplest thing... kinda like I just did.