4 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Cathagio Est Delenda Lyrics
To Carthage then I came
As a young boy lost in the promise of
The steady beating heart
Of the metropolis.
But I spent so long here beneath
The dim street lighting that
I strained my eyes and
Lost the finesse of hy fine hand-writing.
It's not like I need it these days-
My letters home have been
Getting shorter. I can't concentrate if
I can't secure a source of clean water.
But there's never a drop to drink
In these concrete furrows.
My anger is Vesuvius casting its shadow.
I spent so long walking across bridges,
Failing to appreciate
The sweating rivers flow escaping.
Leaving the city streets
Tinderbox-dry and its oh-so-tempting.
My fatigue is San Andreas
Shuddering slow.
I mark my lintel with bloodstains and
Dream of suburbs up in flames.
Every evening when i arrive
Back at home and
Finally lock my front door,
Carthagio Est Delenda,
And the pavements are
Beaches once more.
The alarm wakes me,
The concrete is back in its place.
As i trudge through the streets
At the break of day.
It's the river that calls me away.
The river flows outside of town,
If i could follow it to the sea
I'd wash the sweat right off of me.
So break my legs and weigh me down,
Throw me in, but I won't drown-
I'll float away, go down the stream.
The river flows outside the city.
As a young boy lost in the promise of
The steady beating heart
Of the metropolis.
But I spent so long here beneath
The dim street lighting that
I strained my eyes and
Lost the finesse of hy fine hand-writing.
It's not like I need it these days-
My letters home have been
Getting shorter. I can't concentrate if
I can't secure a source of clean water.
But there's never a drop to drink
In these concrete furrows.
My anger is Vesuvius casting its shadow.
I spent so long walking across bridges,
Failing to appreciate
The sweating rivers flow escaping.
Leaving the city streets
Tinderbox-dry and its oh-so-tempting.
My fatigue is San Andreas
Shuddering slow.
I mark my lintel with bloodstains and
Dream of suburbs up in flames.
Every evening when i arrive
Back at home and
Finally lock my front door,
Carthagio Est Delenda,
And the pavements are
Beaches once more.
The alarm wakes me,
The concrete is back in its place.
As i trudge through the streets
At the break of day.
It's the river that calls me away.
The river flows outside of town,
If i could follow it to the sea
I'd wash the sweat right off of me.
So break my legs and weigh me down,
Throw me in, but I won't drown-
I'll float away, go down the stream.
The river flows outside the city.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
frank sez:
""to carthage then I came" is the first line of St Augustine's City Of God, which details his arrival in the city, descent into hedonism and final redemption through Christianity (among other things).
the pavements / beaches thing is another quote - one of the more famous may 68 slogans in Paris was "dessous les paves la plage" - underneath the paving stones, the beach.
it's a song about being sick of the city, wanting to get washed away by the river."
"Carthago delenda est" is a latin phrase meaning Cathage must be destroyed (Carthage being an ancient african city). So the title would be carthage is destroyed.
Perhaps he wishes for the destruction of the city thats destroyed him.
anyone read Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami? I've just realised the common theme of a river being the only way of escape and symbolic of freedom from a stifling city... random point :S
The title of this song is "Carthago Est Delenda" not "Carthagio"!