Who wants to separate
The world we know from our beliefs
And who sees only black and white
Distinguish loss from sacrifice
Some day we may come to peace
With the world within ourselves
And I will await you
Until I close my eyes

When your time has come
You know you'll be lonely once again
And the final winter comes to us all
Life is treacherous
But you're not the only who must pretend

We're a second in time
We're the last in the line
Of the prey that walks the earth
Good and evil combined

I am the god in my own history
The master of the game
I may believe if she would come to me
And whisper out my name
Sometimes I wonder where the wind has gone
If life has ever been
Sometimes I wonder how belief alone
Can cut me free from sin

When you close your eyes
Mementos of summer retrieves your mind
Like a drizzle afternoon cleans the air
When the winter blows
You're glad you remember you really tried

And it comes to an end
Even winter... life fall
And we all have our beliefs
Pray for mercy for all

I am a man without a mystery
The deal is done within
I will embrace the coldest winter breeze
And pay for every sin

[Helena]
VICTORIA, NON PRAEDA
MEMENTO MORI

[Mephisto]
UNA VOCE... VOLO, NON VALEO
DULCE ET DECORUM EST
PRO PATRIA MORI
MEMENTO MORI

[Ariel]
So subservant in your embrace
No more denial
No run away
This is the final
My last recall
And that's the price for what we learn
The more we know the more we yearn
Cause we're so alone

I am a man without a mystery
The deal is done within
I will embrace the coldest winter breeze
The journey can begin
I'm still the god in my own history
I still believe that she will come to me
And whisper out my name

Some day we will come to peace
And reach beyond behind the lies
And I will await you
Until I close my eyes


Lyrics submitted by Nonny

Memento Mori song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

17 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    The best song I've ever heard. Truly a Masterpiece.

    Ragison July 15, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "a reflective death"? I was always told that this meant "remember you will die" or "remember you are mortal"

    ZenfullTangerineon November 01, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song!!!

    dannipersonon July 08, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is Ariel's death.

    tonimarieon July 11, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I have to disagree that this song is about Ariel's death. Well to some point it is. Since this album is a concept album based around Goethe's story "Faust". the Main Character Ariel makes a pact with the devil to find the true meaning of life and the answers to all questions, which is known as "epica". To make a long story short in the end the devil finally takes Ariel's soul, but god interupts the process. Thats why after this track you have "interlude III", where you will hear the town crier yelling, "I wish you all a happy new year", and at that point you hear foot steps of a man running in the snow. If you listen to the very end you will hear him say, " happy new year", i'm guessing that would be Ariel saying that. I'm not sure who he is talking to. So thats why I dont belive that this song is about Ariel's death, but I could be wrong. Still this song is a masterpiece!!!!

    kamelot1on August 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Ariel's final epiphany before his death. This is that moment that people talk about (life flashing before your eyes and all that) dramatized as a nine-minute epic. The title roughly means something to the effect of "a reflective death," in which Ariel looks back on his life and realizes a couple of ultimate truths that allow him to close his eyes with peace: 1. The greatest purpose that we can pursue is to strive to connect with others and create bonds of love and thus create a harmony amongst human beings. Karma deals fairly: Those who selflessly give to help others achieve their own happiness and fulfillment will receive their due reward in equal measure. 2. However he acted throughout his life, in good or in evil, he always acted as he truly believed he should, and whatever lies on the other side, he can accept it due to this fact. (He discovered in "The Black Halo" that Mephisto was simply a personification of the lust of his flesh) So he finally closes his eyes at the end of this track. In the next track Ariel is already dead. The tracks "Twelve Tolls for a New Day" and "Serenade" are meant to show that Ariel's death and final revelation can be a new beginning for us.

    Atreides1701on August 25, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song about Ariels epiphany in which he discovers the meaning of life, as well as his death and the ascent of his soul into heaven.

    in this song Ariel comes to the realization that everyone dies. he is contempt with Helena's death. He realizes that he will go to heaven, unlike what he thought earlier in the story, and he waits for his time.

    hence the title Memento Mori, which means "Remember your Mortality"

    He realizes that he is in control of his life, and no one else. the meaning of life is whatever any individual makes it to be and there is no wrong answer. the meaning of his life is his love for Helena, and he had it all this time and it came from within him and he did not need Mestipho.

    his soul leaves the body, just like his deal with Mestipho stipulated, however it does not reach him but instead goes to heaven. His soul meets Helena in heaven and you can hear Mestipho angered although i do not know the latin translation.

    . ---------------------

    Epica and The Black Halo are set up like a play in which each song represents a scene. if you start black halo at track 1 and rewind you can find a hidden track of people arriving and saying that they've come to see Kamelot. the Usher tells them that there just in time for the second act. Interlude III shows us that the play was part of a New Years eve celebration in the town of Gatesville.

    e60.deluxeon May 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song about Ariels epiphany in which he discovers the meaning of life, as well as his death and the ascent of his soul into heaven.

    in this song Ariel comes to the realization that everyone dies. he is contempt with Helena's death. He realizes that he will go to heaven, unlike what he thought earlier in the story, and he waits for his time.

    hence the title Memento Mori, which means "Remember your Mortality"

    He realizes that he is in control of his life, and no one else. the meaning of life is whatever any individual makes it to be and there is no wrong answer. the meaning of his life is his love for Helena, and he had it all this time and it came from within him and he did not need Mestipho.

    his soul leaves the body, just like his deal with Mestipho stipulated, however it does not reach him but instead goes to heaven. His soul meets Helena in heaven and you can hear Mestipho angered although i do not know the latin translation.

    . ---------------------

    Epica and The Black Halo are set up like a play in which each song represents a scene. if you start black halo at track 1 and rewind you can find a hidden track of people arriving and saying that they've come to see Kamelot. the Usher tells them that there just in time for the second act. Interlude III shows us that the play was part of a New Years eve celebration in the town of Gatesville.

    e60.deluxeon May 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    According to yuni.com/library/latin_4.html

    [Helena] Victory, not loot Remember that you must die

    [Mephisto] With one's voice... I am willing but unable... It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country. Remember that you must die

    Don't know if it's fully correct, but there they are :P

    armxon February 22, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is where Ariel rejects evil in the face of certain inevitable damnation, breaking the seals of his deal with Mephisto. Mephisto, unable to claim Ariel's soul, is cast into Hell by God (portrayed by his grunts and screams) as agreed in their divine bet. Ariel then ascends into Heaven to join Helena. Now... CAN SOMEONE PLEASE PLEASE GIVE THE TRANSLATION FOR HELENA'S AND MEPHISTO'S LINES IN THE MIDDLE?

    DOGFISH555666on March 23, 2009   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
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. “Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.