My Ashes

I think this song is about someone who has lost their inner child, because the problems given to them by their parents made them become mature at an early age. Their inner child is represent as the ashes. When he sees the boy on a bike, it reminds him if himself when he was young. The photos under the bed are all that remains if this inner child. Yet eventually, sleeping one night, he discovers the joys of his inner child again, and embraces them once more.

The whole album is great, but this track stands out. I think this is one of the best ballads the band ever wrote, which is saying something.

I believe on My Ashes the hero tells us how he was alienated from his parents, who rejected him. This caused him to withdraw into his inner world that no-one can penetrate to save him.

'Course mommy's gonna help build the wall...

I cannot explain, you would not understand; This is not how I am... I have become comfortably numb...

Goodbye, all you people, there's nothing you can say... To make me change my mind, goodbye...

!

I just got FOABP, wow, is all I can say...Still not my favorite PT, that would be Stupid Dream, but wow, this disc is nothing short of amazing, especially "My Ashes"

The album was based around some book, I read somewhere. There's even a few excerpts from the book in this song. The book is from the father's POV, while the album is from the son's POV. Something like that. Killer song, by the way.

"The concept of the album was heavily influenced by Brett Easton Ellis' novel Lunar Park. The novel is told from the perspective of the father, whereas the album is mostly from the son's perspective. Many of the lyrics for Fear of a Blank Planet are lifted directly from the novel, particularly "My Ashes", which is an homage to the last chapter, in which the ashes of a cremated father are scattered and cover the memories of his life." - Wiki

im_a_pirate, don't just accept what's on wikipedia as the truth. Not trying to offend you or anything, but you should have your own opinion about the music.

I can definitely see the influence by the last chapter of Lunar Park. And some of the lyrics are very similar to some of the sentences in the part of the chapter where they scatter the ashes. Although, this album is supposed to be from the eyes of the Ellis' son, this song seems more like its a dialog between Ellis himself and his father. The 'And my ashes...' chorus are his neglectful father's ashes, as they're floating away, saying that even though he didn't show it, he actually was interested in, and paying attention to his son(Ellis) when he was growing up. The rest of the lyrics are of Ellis. However, the chorus could actually be of Ellis, and the of lyrics of Ellis' son. Although Ellis never dies, he is just as neglectful to his child as his as father was.

Of course the Lunar park influences aren't meant to be the only meaning of this song. They're just a part of it.

is it just me or does the piano at the beginning of this song sound alot like the piano used at the beginning of echoes by pink floyd?