Carve Away the Stone

"The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than fu tile and hopeless labor."

taken from site i dont bother siting...sue me...

To me this song is about peoples sin and consciouses leaving a heavy burden on them, like Sisyphus, the king of Corinth, who, according to Greek legend, was condemned to forever roll a huge stone uphill that always rolled down again.

Just my offhand impressions...

It comes across as something of an admonition not to sentence oneself to the fate of Sisyphus, to perpetually roll the ball of chain of past sins and pains against nature (gravity), as the forced position is unstable and the past will not stay where it is so forcably put. Your past will always remain behind you, whether you spend all your energies rolling it around or not. Be true to yourself, do what you feel and know is right, and thus put your own face on all of your actions and your past, and it won't seem so heavy any more, because it fits, it's right, it's you.

"If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are!"

I always thought this song was about hard work, perseverance, and a little lateral thinking. After all, Sisyphus was sentenced to bring the stone to the top of the hill, but nobody said it had to be in one piece when it got there. If you're willing to put some effort and creativity into your endeavors, there is always a way.

Of course, the last chorus kind of makes the singer sound a little hypocritical, not being able to follow his own advice until someone else tries it for him. Maybe that part's about how a good example can inspire others to follow?