In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
As an outcast I paced defeat
Seeking comfort in this painful retreat
Made an oracle against my will
Word spread of miraculous skills
Premonitions call my name
I once doubted them all when they came
Now I embrace it and I'll never be the same
Transfixed in the desert sands
Take a look at my once empty hand
See the rose that appears so real
Just like the one you saw in your dreams
Those who call me avatar
Know not what they're looking for
They just feed their flames with miracles
Just so you know
If you bathe within my light
You diminish your own might
The illusionist in everyone
As an outcast I faced defeat
Seeking comfort in this painful retreat
Made an oracle against my will
Word spread of miraculous skills
Premonitions call my name
I once doubted them all when they came
Now I embrace it and I'll never be the same
Those who call me avatar
Know not what they're looking for
They just feed their flames with miracles
Just so you know
If you bathe within my light
You diminish your own might
Illusionist in everyone
What I say and what I do was once potential
Sprung from the infinite place that dictates the seen
Those who call me avatar
Know not what they're looking for
They just feed their flames with miracles
Just so you know
If you bathe within my light
You diminish your own might
Illusionist in everyone
In everyone!
Seeking comfort in this painful retreat
Made an oracle against my will
Word spread of miraculous skills
Premonitions call my name
I once doubted them all when they came
Now I embrace it and I'll never be the same
Transfixed in the desert sands
Take a look at my once empty hand
See the rose that appears so real
Just like the one you saw in your dreams
Those who call me avatar
Know not what they're looking for
They just feed their flames with miracles
Just so you know
If you bathe within my light
You diminish your own might
The illusionist in everyone
As an outcast I faced defeat
Seeking comfort in this painful retreat
Made an oracle against my will
Word spread of miraculous skills
Premonitions call my name
I once doubted them all when they came
Now I embrace it and I'll never be the same
Those who call me avatar
Know not what they're looking for
They just feed their flames with miracles
Just so you know
If you bathe within my light
You diminish your own might
Illusionist in everyone
What I say and what I do was once potential
Sprung from the infinite place that dictates the seen
Those who call me avatar
Know not what they're looking for
They just feed their flames with miracles
Just so you know
If you bathe within my light
You diminish your own might
Illusionist in everyone
In everyone!
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I do agree in some way, but I also see some parallels to Stephen King's "Dark Tower" within the lyrics.
He sings about an outcast facing defeat and seeking comfort in retreat. I associate these lines with Roland Deschain seeing his home town being destroyed and later bringing death and destruction himself. He also feels most comfortable journeying alone, as death had been promised to those whom he calls his friends.
There is also the rose the character in the song dreams of and that appears "so real". In "The Dark Tower" the rose represents the Tower in the world of Eddie, Susannah and Jake growing in a deserted court in New York.
Would be interesting to know if the band (or at least the singer) have read the "Tower" novels.