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.
Will their children cry
When their mother dies
And in the autumn of their lives
Will they feel the same?
[reversed lyrics 2:03-2:22]
The longing for me
Comin' down like hail
Why did you leave me?
Come here inside
And tell me how
How in my final days
You found around
Your concern
The signal for us to end our lives
To wipe beneath the watches
And you wait forever
The night comes high
Your weakness
Storing trace on your eyes
So I left you alone
We all left you alone
[reversed lyrics 7:21-7:24]
Lock the children away from harm
They'll lock all your reason why
Seeking (?) with a dagger
Skin is blocked by the years of trial
You felt abandoned in the fog of flesh
Sitting in place from the dead
Awaiting the face of the moon to ascend
You follow the siren in your head
In your head
When their mother dies
And in the autumn of their lives
Will they feel the same?
[reversed lyrics 2:03-2:22]
The longing for me
Comin' down like hail
Why did you leave me?
Come here inside
And tell me how
How in my final days
You found around
Your concern
The signal for us to end our lives
To wipe beneath the watches
And you wait forever
The night comes high
Your weakness
Storing trace on your eyes
So I left you alone
We all left you alone
[reversed lyrics 7:21-7:24]
Lock the children away from harm
They'll lock all your reason why
Seeking (?) with a dagger
Skin is blocked by the years of trial
You felt abandoned in the fog of flesh
Sitting in place from the dead
Awaiting the face of the moon to ascend
You follow the siren in your head
In your head
Lyrics submitted by 2006200720082009, edited by JucaOPastor
Hessian Peel Lyrics as written by Mikael Lars Akerfeldt
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Holy crap. If you listen to 2:03-2:22 in reverse, it sounds like he says:
"Out of the courtyard, come back tonight, My sweet Satan, I see you..."
Possibly a reference to the infamous reversed message in Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven?"
'Seeking (?) with a dagger'
I think the question mark stands for 'tenderness' isn't it?
Really good :D
This song is sweeet, and relaxing. It's my favorite song from Watershed. I can't get over the guilt of having listened to the leak, though... Haha, I can't imagine Opeth putting satanic hidden reversed messages in, but who knows.
Does anyone else dislike the song titles on Watershed? "Hessian Peel", "Hex Omega"... a bit odd, no?
Not sure what this song means, but it's no doubt my favorite song on the album!
can anyone figure out what Mike is saying in the second reversed section (7:21 - 7:24)?
Some corrections:
Her longing for me coming down like hail Why did you leave me Come here inside and tell me how How in my final days I'd find the rhyme
And:
You felt abandoned in a flock of friends Singing praise for the dead Awaited the face of the moon to ascend And followed the sound in your head
The rest I'm not sure of, but the above was confirmed via the code in the lyrics booklet.
this would be the son/daughter observing the faults of his father who dead. He left his children in the mess that he left behind with his murders, because he says he was alone, and abandoned truely. He suggested the children should have died with him, because he left them in a world of disgust, which was probably his burden.
The backwards "satanic" message is obviously a joke. Akerfeldt is probably making fun of the hysteria that surrounded Led Zeppelin's "backwards satanic message". Akerfeldt probably got the idea from Tool (a band he is a self professed fan of) because they're always making tounge in cheek references to satan.
I'm surprised nobody is asking about the Hessian reference. The Hessians, of course, were the German soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War...one of which lost his head in the New York town of Sleepy Hollow, from a stray cannonball...and later inspired a certain story...
@theotherness No, Hessians are just a 'type' of germans, to say that Hessians were: "the soldiers who fought in the American Revolutinary War", would be false. <br /> <br /> I wouldn't know if there were Hessian soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. But that doesn't matter to my point. <br /> <br /> Either you phrased it poorly, or you said that based on half-knowledge, which I don't say to insult, it is just what it is.
@theotherness No, Hessians are just a 'type' of germans, to say that Hessians were: "the soldiers who fought in the American Revolutinary War", would be false. <br /> <br /> I wouldn't know if there were Hessian soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. But that doesn't matter to my point. <br /> <br /> Either you phrased it poorly, or you said that based on half-knowledge, which I don't say to insult, it is just what it is.
its not they'll lock all your reason why. Correct way is: They're no long your reason why....got this from the code inside the liner notes.
And I'm still not convinced he says tenderness at the (?) part.