Running

The think the end is actually:

Oh the sinking and descent, Of every saving word. And the destruction of all convention, and all corrupted thought. Dig their nails into my optimistic shell I must always run the race on my own

This is probably kind of a stretch, but this seems like it could be a love song from someone with borderline personality disorder. If you're unfamiliar with the disorder, in essence the person experiences negative emotions very intensely and for longer than normal periods of time (scientifically verifiable using brain scans, not pseudoscience). One of the results is that people with BPD tend to be hypersensitive and paranoid and constantly fear abandonment. Although anger management issues are common, anger is a secondary emotion stemming from sorrow, fear and guilt, and people with BPD can control their anger and express mostly panic instead when they are hyper-vigilant about not hurting a loved one.

"You sing for me my friend, Brave and confident, And there is comfort between your breaths, And I use sense to help."

((His lover constantly tries to reassure him that they love him, that the relationship is strong, that everything is fine. And this does comfort him, and he also tries to let logic override his intense negative emotional reactions to the little 'warning signs' he perceives.))

"But when the days beneath me, scream into my present, I must always run the race on my own."

((Due to the nature of the disorder, he has always struggled with maintaining close relationships of all kinds. All of his past relationships of all kinds ended or went very badly, and he perceived each time as abandonment. He is secretly convinced he is doomed to be alone. The last line is a combination of that sense of doom and also a defeated acceptance of it.))

"Your warmth is in my bed, Your voice above the stairs, And then the touching that comes regret, Becomes my mercy chair."

((The literal, objective signs that they do love him and everything is fine are there, but he is so sensitive and so terrified of abandonment that in his mind he holds onto these signs for dear life. This relates back to using sense to help.))

"Even when the sun is burning, Saving graces, I must always run the race on my own."

((No matter how objectively obvious it is that they love him and things are okay, he still feels paranoid, which causes emotional instability that ultimately damages the relationship more and more over time. He is bracing himself for what he fears the most: the relationship falling apart, feeling abandoned and being alone again.))

"Oh the sinking and descent, Of every saving word. And the destruction of all convention, and all corrupted thought. Dig their nails into my optimistic shell I must always run the race on my own."

((Relating back to the first verse, every reassuring word they give him means way more to him than they probably realize, saving him emotionally moment by moment, but the effect fades quickly as paranoia grips him again. Logic is out the window again, his thoughts are corrupted and he is sure they don't really love him and they're going to leave him, even though what he wants most in the world is for this to not be true. Which it isn't. But he can't help the paranoia and the extreme emotional reactions to every little perceived 'warning sign'. Deep down he knows it is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and he feels it is his fate.))

My 2 cents.

The beat in this songs sounds like someone running...

Oh man, I always heard "And I use sense to help" as "a naive sense to help", which gave the song such a clearer meaning in my head. But even then its not that great a difference. The song still sings of introversion coupled with a tortured past in my mind.

TO ME IT'S:

Oh,the sinking and descent Of every SAILING word...

I think it's "the touching that calms regret", also.

this song is so deliciously beautiful.

i think this song is about how when he tries to let people help him with his music, it goes wrong, so he has to do it himself. it's so beautiful. a great way to end the album.

I think this maybe a regress towards an ex.

But when the days beneath me, scream into my present (Here he thinks back to the past too much, to when they were together)

And then the touching becomes regret (Once they were close, now he regrets letting himself fall so hard for her/him)

And the destruction of all convention, and all corrupted thought (There is no longer the conventional relationship and his view has become poisoned by what's happened)

Dig their nails into my optimistic shell (He's now left bitter, and so negative. He's very down) I must always run the race on my own (He never wants a relationship like that ever again)

"And when the touching becomes regret, becomes my mercy chair." Using the term "mercy chair" is usually an allusion to God, or a God. Almost sounds like the song is about running from an abusive past, and so the those abusive people are now at his mercy........?