Blindfolds Aside

For my english project (Im german) in school I did an interpretation on this song...I got an a but Im only 10th grade but here it is.

In the following I want to interpret the song especially the lyrics of “Protest the hero”'s song “Blindfolds aside” of their 2003 released record “Kezia”. The song is featured on the second part of the concept record in the prison guard's part. It's about a man wondering whether to follow his order and kill Kezia, an innocent girl, or listening to his conscience and keep her alive.

Right in the beginning of the song the prison guard looks into the future knowing that that day he has to kill someone “tonight we'll asleep as killers” “With a heart...” shows that Kezia is more frieghtend than the guard because she can't explain herself how she got into all that. “I watch a woman that I know...” and the following line shows that the prison guard knows his victim or can feel with her. The following line represents his hopes for his future in food and money witch he gets from his job and to not be sorry about his deeds he “blindfolds himself”. This he says also in the next verse that he has to atone for sins he doesn't care about which means that he just does his job and does not care for the background of the victims and murderers but he has also to be a murderer to do his job to get money that feeds his family, pays his debts and taxes and keeps his cigarettes running. In the next two lines beginning with “and no one ever said” the prison guards starts wondering weather he's doing right or wrong and if he should keep Kezia alive. The next lines are standing for the apathy many governments have towards the captives (“dutiful and obligated”). After that there is a a little bit more silent part and in reference to the text it should show the sedation of the executioners by the governments and the police. The text tells about five soldiers, witch goes along with the video where the guys of “PTH” appear as band and captives ready for their execution and as executioners. If you read between the lines you can easily see how governments want their soldiers to not have obstructions and do whatever the governments want. After that with the “her tiny steps”-line they tell about not believe what you see and ask about it to not make wrong decisions. The consequence is told in the next line that if the prison guard shoots Kezia he will mentally bleed dry. The question following is to understand like: “Why don't you stop with that you don't believe in and stop executing people for reasons you don't know?” The blindfold is here used a a symbol for having no conscience, not thinking independent and trying to ignore all the bad things that are going on in the world. In the next line you can see the “Angel versus Devil” fight because the official lyrics say “Drop the gun” but in the background you can hear someone shouting “Shoot her”.

The ending is sung by Kezia and the prison guard as a duet what says that both have all in all equal feelings. Kezia could be a prostitute and she doesn't care about selling her body because she gets money for this. The prison guard thinks equal. He also just wants to get money to live. The sin is just that they have a dependence to money so that they'd do everything. Protest the hero wants to denounce that and wants to make you think about what you are doing. The song is meant to shake up the people that they do not believe whatever they get told and to think about their deeds.

Well, since there's the question of "what is Kezia?" I did a bit of research....

"Kezia is a 'situational requiem', similar to a concept album in that it tells a story. It is an elegy of the young woman Kezia's execution, chronicled in the perspective of three characters: The Prison Priest, The Prison Guard/Gunman, and Kezia herself. Each character is designated a section containing three songs, with a single retrospective finale concluding the album. The three characters represent an aspect of the bandmembers themselves, endowing artistic fingerprints to a deeply personal album.

Kezia was not intended to be listened to superficially; only a fraction of the story and emotion will be heard in this way. Aesthetic should surpass the musicianship, and focus paid to deciphering the cryptic lyrics; the theme is more than a pretentious backdrop, but tells a poignant and provocative tale. The album was written to be interpreted in its entirety, not skimmed at face-value. The story (which is admitted to be heavily influenced by the works of Dostoevsky) of Kezia was conceived by bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi when the Protest boys were in the eleventh grade (2002-2003)..." Wikipedia

This is for ppl who didn't know... If you already knew it, godd for you, don't diss. heh.

xthroatoysterx "To atone for a sin I didn't care for, but a sin that paid my debts A sin that fed my children and burned my smiles and cigarettes uh..i dont thinkk ur supposed to literally think that the sin paid actual debts. more like, a debt to society. i think that this song has to do with "soilders" l;ike the american army. ive noticed amany of their songs deal with social justice issues ( fear and loathing in laramie..) and im thinking that thin one might have to do with the american armies exuctions goiing on in the middle east.

no shit surlock did the song saying so much things about soldiers give you that idea? and i dont think people actually took that sin part real literally if they did they are oretty retarted

Well i think that this song means that the president is sending the troops to fight a war that is killing so many soldiers. and that the persident is putting more money into the war and everything happening in the u.s now and you are paying taxes just to go to the war and all the shit thats going on

yeah the "sin i didnt care for, but a sin that paid my debts.." i believe is about the executioner being the executioner. like the "sin" is his job. he breaks the commandments and kills, no matter if "social justice" deems it justifiable.

i believe this is about him realizing that kezia is different. he knows he shouldn't kill her but is anyway, and until now hadnt realized that what hes doing is actually morally wrong but socially correct which is a huge problem in soceity.

he almost comes to terms with himself and stops the execution "drop the gun, shake away the blindfold from your eyes" but then realizes its his job and duty overpowers moral responsibility.

the songs on the album i believe adhere to the fact that kezia is something different. that she is showing the world something, i believe to be the fact that womens rights are to far and too little still, and that people can die for a crime not worth dying for while others commint heinous crimes and are set free, which ties into "social justice" theme that is prevalent in this cd. and in being different kezia affects the people around her, showing them the true beliefs and truth of what there doing in their lives.

first the priest than the prison guard/executioner and finally us the listener who ahs been taken on this turbulent journey.

its all and underlying message, a moral, like aesops fables

and its hinted that were learning morals from the repeated use of the word "moral".

protest the hero is an amazing band to have come up with such a complex adn intricate yet highly enjoyable and deep listening experience.

this is what music should be.

I love the part where he repeats "drop the gun" over and over again. It's like the voice inside of him so desperately trying to convince him to do the right thing.

I think it's really interesting that the female vocalist sings the "sin I didn't care for" part at the end along with Rody. I think that at first, it's just what the executioner is thinking, but then he realizes that Kezia committed a sin SHE didn't care for, either - and for the same reasons.

A sin I didn't care for, But a sin that paid my debts, A sin that fed my children, And burned my smiles and cigarettes

It seems to me like this is the executioner's view on what he does for a living.

It's a sin he doesn't care for, but it gives him the money and resources to pay his debts, feed his children, and buy (as well as light) his cigarettes. But this all comes at a price- it burns his smiles, and crushes any optimistic view of the world he may have.

Absolutely amazing song.

I think the "Sin I didn't care for" is quite obviously Kezia admitting her distaste for her work as a prostitute, but still reaping the benefits of such sin.

"And no one ever said I'd have to pull the trigger on her": The person in charge of executing Kezia is beginning to feel remorse for her, and has developed sympathy to her situation, causing his task to become steadily more difficult.

"Pull the screaming trigger and watch your carcass bleed me dry": As was stated before, the people shouting in the background "SHOOT HER", yet the guard is unable to do so. He knows he will feel the rush of overwhelming guilt if he does what he is being told to. The "bleeding dry" is symbolic of his shame and guilt for being in such a scenario.

"I watch a woman that I know My hope and my own future blindfolded": The narrator is hinting that he either understands Kezia's situation quite well and will feel horrible guilt for executing her, or alternatively, they had once been together, and he still has lingering feelings for her.

That's what I took from the song. I'm probably miles off, but tell me what you think.

I love this song. Probably my second favourite on Kezia.

They're making a video for this song.

the video for this song is pretty sweet. it gets airplay regularly..thats so wild. good stuff.

i agree, this song has so much talent in it, hah if you didnt notice they are whereing matching clothes in the video, rody said he felt rather silly whereing them,.