Mudvayne – Scarlet Letters

General Comment
hey, first time commenter.
heres my interpretation of the lyrics:

the heart is beating but the soul has died
the body's breathing beneath catatonic eyes
the blood is flowing, set it free for demise
i'v lost my balance but god knows i tried

i dont wanna be here anymore in scarlet letters
carved into what once was me, once was yours no more

an uphill battle, i failed to climb
left it all now and i dont mind
betrayed and broken consumed by the lie
farewell to you all, i'll be fine, goodbye

i dont wanna be here anymore in scarlet letters
carved into what once was me, once was yours no more
i dont wanna be here anymore in scarlet letters
torn in two, a pieve of me, the peace in you no more

do you believe in loss?
do you belive in faith?
do you believe in death?
now that i'm gone

forsaken me, ashes to dust just let me lie
lay me to rest, i'v done my best but lost my sight
turning my back, leave me alone let spirit rise
knives in my back, all hope is lost say goodbye

(chorus again)


here is what i get out of this song, which i love.

the person the song is about is fed up with his current situation in life
he feels like his soul is dead, he is apathetic, numb to everything around him
he feels like he has failed as a human being at life in general and is contemplating suicide
he feels that he is misunderstood and misrepresented by everyone and everything
the chorus is him saying, "hey look, i dont want to be here anymore because all you see are my mistakes, my sins, my "scarlet letters" and i cant stand it anymore"

please bear in mind this is my first interpretation, its what the song makes me feel

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  @wretchedremnantoflife

General CommentOk, the first part is:

"Beneath catatonic eyes"

The whole fourth part is off, its:

"An uphill battle
I've failed to climb
Left it all now
But I don't mind"

There. Also, this song is amazing.

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  @A Jaded Artist

General CommentIf any one has read Nathaniel Hawthorn's "The Scarlet Letter" they would understand the meaning of this song.
The scarlet letter is a brand and or burden that was forced onto a woman because she committed adultery, therefore she wears the letter A
The person in this song has done something that he shouldn't have and now he carries that burden.
and he doesn't want to affect his loved ones with this burden so he's going to off himself.

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  @upperman66

Lyric Correctioninstead of chained and broken, it is "betrayed and broken"
and instead of with scarlett letters, it is "in scarlett letters"
see, he carved "i dont want to be here anymore" in himself, the letters would be scarlett, blood color
this song is about a suicide scene. around the time they were making this record, that kid Brad Renfroe, killed himself, he had a fresh tatto on his back that said "goodbye", i think tis song kinda came from hearing about this story.

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  @dwide

General CommentI believe that this part:

"Chained and broken
Consumed by the light
Farewell to you all
I'll be fine
Goodbye!"

Should be:

"Chained and broken
Consumed by the light
Farewell to you all
I'll be fine
Confined!"

And I think this:

"Knots in my back
All hope is lost
Say goodbye!"

Should be:

"Knife's in my back
All hope is lost
Say goodbye!"

Emphasis on 'think' for both of those. I didn't look this up anywhere else, just the way it sounds to my ear.

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  @TheMadBag

General CommentJaded Artist has it right. But good job gettin the rest. Mudvayne can be heard to understand a lot of the time haha.

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  @chiefatarms

General CommentI think its about dieing and how it would effect everyone... he wants to die but he dosent want too hurt everyone he loves soeither way he has too stuggle through life living or die on a guilty conciounce of not being a man and not letting everyone down from your death...

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  @mudvayne123456789

My OpinionI agree with upperman66. I believe it deals with the side of the story that isn't told in the book, Dimmesdale's point of view. He didn't wear the letter but the hidden guilt caused him more pain than Hester, who openly wore a scarlet letter. He ended up "carving" a letter into his chest and then died after revealing it to the town. As said anyone who has read the book would understand this song.

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  @TylerAHM
  0

  I agree too-
  it is about adultery, but it is about the guy being left with nothing but the guilt, and the undying love he has that he will never get back.
  
  I don't wanna be here anymore in scarlet letters
  carved into what once was me, once was yours no more
  
  since he has destroyed her life, he sees no need in continuing his own. Just my personal opinion from my own personal situation.
  
  

  Flag desecratedmindon September 10, 2009  

General CommentI agree with wretchedremnantoflife. Of course, people get off on pretending they know what lyrics mean, when we're all just guessing. But what wretchedremnantoflife wrote jives with what I've always gotten from this song.

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  @despondent

General CommentBy the way these lyrics have hella errors. I don't have the time or inclination to correct them.

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  @despondent