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Destroyer Lyrics
Here she comes dressed in white
Her mouth is filled with flames
Her skin is black, her fingers trace
The diamonds in her veins
Here she comes down from the sun
To wash this country clean
Comes down for us, down from the dust
To murder what remains
Here she comes now dressed in red
To heal this ruined race
I know somewhere, where there's a god
He's lying at her feet
And we'll walk freely through the mountains and the trees
And we'll breathe deep again where the air is pure and clean
And we will drink freely from the milk of our revenge
And we will break down the prison gates that keep you in
So please show no pity as we come up from the ground
And please remember as you kill us and cut us down
That time will not wash clean the bloody face of history
And someone will breathe here again and they will hate you for what you leave
Her mouth is filled with flames
Her skin is black, her fingers trace
The diamonds in her veins
To wash this country clean
Comes down for us, down from the dust
To murder what remains
To heal this ruined race
I know somewhere, where there's a god
He's lying at her feet
And we'll breathe deep again where the air is pure and clean
And we will drink freely from the milk of our revenge
And we will break down the prison gates that keep you in
And please remember as you kill us and cut us down
That time will not wash clean the bloody face of history
And someone will breathe here again and they will hate you for what you leave
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It's a portrait of Michael Giras former partner and bandmate, Jarboe, pictured in the image of the hindu goddess Kali.
here's a good interview with Michael Gira actually: http://www.furious.com/perfect/michaelgira.html he's asked if the song is written about Kali and he says "Not really. The song was written during the build up to the war in Iraq, and it just struck me that the world was again, inevitably, convulsing with violence. I'm not passive, but it's inevitable. It's in all of us."
Seems to be about war. I think "She" represents America.
The Kali interpretation is definitely right, she's usually represented as standing on the god Shiva, which the lyrics refer to : "I know somewhere, where there's a god He's lying at her feet"
I heard it as addressing the White oppressor in the USA. It sounds like blacks revolting. The Destroyer may be Harriett Tubman or maybe someone who doesn't exist but is an idea of freedom. The last two verses especially seem to support this idea for me. "Time will not wash clean the bloody face of history." What's been done to an entire race and culture will never be undone. "they will hate you for what you leave." They left the ideas of white supremacy and racial constructs and all the evils that come with it.
But it's broad for a reason. It can be applied to anyone who destroys hate and brings freedom with her.