It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind
The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
'Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind
So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand
So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say
'Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be
And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind
The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
'Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind
So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand
So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say
'Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be
And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
Lyrics submitted by Nobody-special, edited by 1770, dodgerblue
The Cave Lyrics as written by Edward James Milton Dwane Benjamin Walter David Lovett
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Don't know why I'm writing this here, just felt like it.
Not all songs that involve the idea of love have to be about relationships. For a song with this much depth and intensity, I think it sullies the concept to apply it to a simple relationship between two people. To me, it seems obvious that the idea of this song transcends that.
It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind
*He didn't deal with his fears and faults, he ignored them and they act as an anchor.
The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat
*See, even here it's like he sees the faults and feels the shame of others but fails to see them in himself.
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
*This is his heart talking to himself.
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
*His heart has courage and is keeping faith!
Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind
*The body wants to continue doing what it has always done, what's comfortable by habit but his heart wants nothing of it, wants to change life for himself.
So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears
*He's saying he will persevere, even though what is around him doesn't change or can't change or won't change, he will despite his growing fears.
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's land
*He needs to come out of his cave and change his view and he realizes he can't do it all on his own, hence understanding dependence.
So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say
*The siren's call, the panic! His doubts can sing all they want but he won't listen anymore. He knows a different tune now that he has made a choice to.
Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be
*He's open and learning.
And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
It took my own choice to confront my own demons to see this song in the way I do. =)
It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind
*They're finally beginning to leave behind that dark life of drugs, and moving towards a new beginning, with the sun coming up.
The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat
*Here he related to the person's shame in relapse, and the harvest reference "left no food for you to eat" means they hit rock bottom, unable to go anywhere from there.
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
*Here he is saying he will not allow the addiction to overcome the person/kill them. He is not giving up on himself/that person to get through this. Support.
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
*I think the "I'll know my name as it's called again" is a biblical reference, but basically he's getting at the fact that the person will be able to make it through, and become themselves once again, rather than an unrecognizable addict.
Because I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind
*Here it seems like he's addressing the addiction directly, saying that he has better things to do than drugs.
So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears
*He was using drugs to numb the pain, but now he is seeing the pain in the world around him and attempting to deal with it.
But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's land
*Here, he is telling the person to come out of their reverie from the addiction "walking on your hands" and "seeing the world hanging upside down" to see the mess they have created of their lives. Also, the direct reference to "dependence"; you can only fully understand a dependence when you know how much you depend on God, another source of strength; even stronger than a drug dependence; also when addicted, you don't notice the world around you. so it's coming out of that "cave" that brings all these realizations
So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say
*Here he is saying that no matter what the temptation is, he will not give into the addiction, the siren's call. He is moving on now.
Because I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be
*He needs freedom from being a prisoner to his addiction, and to live without that chaining him down.
And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
Plato describe a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to Plato, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall do not make up reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners.
I believe that in the song he has found something to believe in, where as he didn't have before and he is upset that her heart is 'empty' of this - hense the valley - in this she is defeated as it is the sun (the light) that rises over her path (walk) of faults and fears, showing that her path is the one wrong, the one that strays away from the light.
Yet, he holds on hope and wont let her choke on the noose around her neck. He holds on hope for them even though he will be changing his ways, and the person he is, that she supposedly loves. Personanly i think he is changing into something she does not believe in and he will know his name as it is called again, thus stating that he will accept his calling over her and his only hope is that she will change and accept his calling with him.
An wonderfully awesome and inspiring song speaking of truth, hope, fear, individuality, freedom and 'the maker'. Thank God for groups like this.
Changing ways, using the truth (of God) to refresh the mind, walking out of the cave (the cave that Jesus was entombed in?), living lives as they were meant to be, being called to something, taking what's yours and basically not worrying about what belongs to others are all themes that are very common to Christian teachings.
And the widows and orphans is a direct reference to the book of James and I really feel that the siren's call refers to the temptations of the world (and being "in" the world but not "of" it).
We know dependence when we know God, the maker's land - we're dependent on Him because of our "broken minds." There is a lot of focus put on the shame Jesus suffered on the cross - being beaten and mocked - and the glory that came from His "defeat" ("I know the shame in your defeat")
"I'll know my name as it's called again" really makes me think of Isaiah 43:1, God says, �Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.� And in verse 4 God says, �You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.� When we're in Heaven we will recognize our names when God calls them again.
Knowing our call despite our faults also reminds me of the quote "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called" which is a great confidence booster when we feel too screwed up to be able to help others! God relies on our faults so other imperfect people can relate and realize that perfection isn't expected...thank God!
you'll have to read the whole chapter to feel the full meaning of the song, but here is one paragraph from it:
"Francis, at the time or somewhere about the time when he disappeared into the prison or the dark cavern, underwent a reversal of a certain psychological kind; which was really like the reversal of a complete somersault, in that by coming full circle it came back, or apparently came back, to the same normal posture. it is necessary to use the grotesque simile of an acrobatic antic, because there is hardly any other figure that will make the fact clear. But in the inward sense it was a profound spiritual revolution. The man who went into the cave was not the man who came out again; in that sense he was almost as different as if he were dead, as if he were a ghost or a blessed spirit. And the effects of this on his attitude towards the actual world were really as extravagant as any parallel can make them. He looked at the world as differently from other men as if he had come out of that dark hole walking on his hands."
saints.sqpn.com/saint-francis-by-g-k-chesterton-chapter-v/
so here is my take on it... with all that in mind. but you can take whatever meaning you like from a song ;) this is only what I think he was inspired by.
He's left his fears behind
he will not give up hope, he finds strength in pain (i.e. Job)
he turned his life around (walk out of the cave on his hands)
understands his dependence in his Creator (the makers hands)
is free from the noose around his neck (frequently the allegory used for sin)
and will know his name when it is called again (God calling his chosen)
you never know - it is maddeningly vague :D
English is not my first langage, so I had to check up the lyrics, and well, somehow I stick to the idea.
Anyhow lyrics are beautiful and cryptic in a poetic way enough to find many interesting and different meanings (to find to eat and to drink would we say in french " y trouver à boire et à manger")
But "come out of your cave walking on your hands and see the world hanging upside down" definitely reminds me of the allegory of the cave. Because when you come out of that dark cave and face reality you see the world in an entirely different way. It's confusing and crazy like walking on your hands!!
awesome song :)
The subject sucked all they could from the relationship and now the narrator left, and the subject is despondent and Mt. The narrator is trying to prevent the unpreventable, but knows even after pain and tears of them offing themselves they will be better off. Both of them.
Ditto siren's song/blocking ears/tying to a post stuff. Can't beat the classics for imagery. Probably the same great themes as Homer's epic work. Retuning home, overcoming adversity, defeating human failing, and resisting temptation to reach your goals. Good stuff.
"Sigh No More" - Shakespeare, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
"Roll Away Your Stone" - Shakespeare, MACBETH
"Timshel" - Steinbeck, EAST OF EDEN
"Dust Bowl Dance" - Steinbeck, GRAPES OF WRATH
"The Cave" - Plato??? perhaps.
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's land
reminds me of the part in plato's symposium in which the original people were physically attached to their "other halves" and they cartwheeled around instead of walking. now, because people are separated, they must find their matches.