Porcelain Heart Lyrics
This song probably shouldn't be interpreted too literally. I think it's more about the concept of being heartbroken, hence the title "porcelain heart", which is a beautiful metaphor for having frail emotions. I'll give my thoughts on each segment:
First Verse (I lost all I had...): This is about facing the moment of heartbreak. Friends may be able to provide some comfort, but more often than not they are unable to do so because of the internal nature of emotions (it's often hard to know how other people feel). "Writing down a name" feels like a metaphor for placing blame. You want to blame someone for whatever has happened to you, but you can't really be sure anyone is responsible at all (hence the "reading it twice"). Lastly, "wallowing in shame" comes for blaming yourself instead.
Second Verse (I said that I loved...): This verse is harder the interpret, but I think the general idea is that this time you are hurting someone. Maybe the heartbreak experienced in the past has affected you in a way that causes you to hurt someone else. Even though it feels childish, you can't help clinging to that past experience and so there is a perpetual quality to the whole situation.
First Bridge (icy roads beneath my feet...): This part is clearly about the experiences gained so far. You have been on both sides of betrayal and seen the cruelties of life from different perspectives. The second half is about comforting someone about all this, maybe it's directed towards yourself or maybe towards someone you are sharing your perceptions with. Either way, the message is that asking why things are the way they are is pointless because there's really no reason behind it all. The world is not designed to work for or against you, it simply is.
Second bridge (kept inside our idle race...): This is my favorite of all the parts. It deals with human nature, and how we are locked in the repeating sensory experiences that evolution has given us. There's no escaping this, even though some people may fool themselves otherwise ("ghost of an idol's false embrace" is an obvious nudge towards the empty comfort of religion). Again, the second half is the same as in the first bridge. Even though the world can seem cruel, it's not trying to be neither cruel nor comforting. All you can do is accept this, move on and make new experiences.
I take it as a bleak beginning, but in the end it's a quite positive and realistic outlook on life. But that could just be me.
Eternal skis? Hahahaha.
No, the real lyrics are:
I lost all I had (that April day) I turned to my friends (nothing to say) I wrote down a name (and read it twice) I wallowed in shame
I said that I loved (eternal schemes) I cling to my past (like childish dreams) I promised to stay (and held my breath) I went far away
Icy roads beneath my feet Lead me through wastelands of deceit Rest your head now, don't you cry Don't ever ask the reason why
Kept inside our idle race Ghost of an idol's false embrace Rest your head now, don't you cry Don't ever ask the reason why
They just keep outdoing themselves. What a song. I guess we have to await the full concept to really analyse it. But honestly now. This is just a fantastic piece of work. BRUTAL.
this is such a beautiful but brutal song.
I love it.
"Kept inside our idle race Ghost of an idol's false embrace"
I love this part. It's about how we struggle all our lives to find a meaning to our idle existence for the 'false embrace' of a god that was never actually there.
This song is a song of DEEEEP regret and pain. i love it! Brutal and beautiful at the same time!
yeah 6th sadistic sniper, i agree. i don't think Opeth wolud sing about skiing...
I said that I loved (eternal skis)
LOL
It is about giving up in someone you though will would love forever: "I said that I loved (eternal schemes), I promised to stay (and held my breath), I went far away" Then he is filled with regret and cannot forget what he have done: "I wallowed in shame, I cling to my past" Finally he's telling the story to someone, most likely a kid, warning him to do not believe in real love, because it would only bring pain at the end, using himself as an example: "Kept inside our idle race, Ghost of an idol's false embrace, Rest your head now, don't you cry, Don't ever ask the reason why"
The song being called "Porcelain Heart" definitely means something. I think it makes a statement about relationships of any kind. They are beautiful but can easiliy be broken. These lyrics tell me a story about a man who loved his family but had a very rough past, and needed to escape to another place to raise his own child. It killed him to leave his life behind but he knew it was necessary. Now, he has nearly forgotten his own way of life and does not want his child to ever know, or "ask the reason why."
eternal skis would be awesome.
Ok this is also just a theory, but it really fits in with the lyrics and what people here said.
To me it sounds like he indeed got a child with someone that he thought he would love and stay with forever. But something happened.
"I lost all I had (that April day)" - After reading the rest of the lyrics, this could indicate that his wife/girlfriend had cheated on him (in april).
"I turned to my friends (nothing to say)" - He turned to his friends (for comfort?) but they do not really help
"I wrote down a name (and read it twice) I wallowed in shame" - This is hard to interpret, maybe the guy who cheated with his girlfriend, or it could also indicate that hes the one who cheated on her, so hes in shame.
"Icy roads beneath my feet Lead me through wastelands of deceit Rest your head now, don't you cry Don't ever ask the reason why"
These lines gave me the hint that she cheated (wastelands of deceit). I believe he is talking to his child here, comforting him/her because his/her parents just seperated. He doesn't want to tell why they seperated though, because the cheating story isn't good for a child's ear.
Like i said, just a theory, but i believe that this might be correct to what Mikael meant.