Halo Of Nembutals

Maybe the meaning of the chorus is we all deviate in what we call ourselves and our beliefs ( judaism, muslim, christianity, etc. )..... "cause we all crawl in quicksand the same" - meaning we all end up in the same place, or we all wade through the bullshit of life.

just my interpretation of the chorus.

"for all I ever wanted, is all you ever flaunted" is one of the best lyrics i've ever heard. i love cedric.

It's interesting that as soon as words and phrases becomes a little bit complicated and a little bit more "metaphorical" everyone jumps to the conclusion that it's about god, or religion in some way. Sure that's the case a lot of times, but you can describe views and thoughts with odd words without it having to be religious. Of course I could be wrong in this case.

(These are my thoughts about the lyrics) I believe that this song is a criticism to our society and what life has become within it. The "demon" is the coldhearted society that we live in. Describing it vaguely as a demon is a much more efficient way of portraying hate than just to use the word "hate". The demon is already evil, that's a given.

"What a foul little temptress your daughter's become", is referring to the followers and enforcers of the society and the arbitrary rules within it. The product of not caring for anyone for hundreds of years. The ones who obey without question.

"Cause we all crawl in quicksand the same". This has to be one of the strongest lines I've seen in lyrics. We all know, or have heard that if you're stuck in quicksand: don't move. But if we would fall in a pit of quicksand we'd all freak out, try to get out and eventually sink, even though we knew what we had to do. So even though we all know about the problems and how to get around them, when we're in them ourselves we forget everything we've learned and start to panic. The "quicksand" here is the inevitable realization of how sad our existence within society has become.

"You covered your wounds in a bandage of sloth the deeper the slur that rang from her laugh and something tells me to keep it together" This verse is really interesting. It treats our communities like a being with self-awareness. "The wounds" would be the people who speak out, try to change and reorganize and the "covering" would be the killing of those people or opinions.

"Of this I ate... communion shaped..." This portrays how easy we'll swallow the lies, and the disguise of a "community" in a structure that doesn't care about anything in it except the ones that will keep it growing.

"Serpent rays in prism tail rainbows escape" From my point of view, this line would refer to commercials, how intriguing they can be even though we all know it's crap and that it's only a psychological trick they use to get us to buy more shit we don't need.

Just a guess that this could be something to do with sin; how we are all going to end up in the same place anyway. The first verse seems to be about death/being judged and sent to hell, and the next few almost seem to be addressed from the POV of the devil towards God (just my guess). Or maybe more generally a person who has accepted that they (and we all) are inevitably going to end up in hell, addressing a "holier than thou" type of person waiting for salvation/convinced they are headed to heaven.

I guess it's kind of a religious interpretation but there are plenty of metaphors for Satan/the devil/snakes in there.

Well "Nembutal is a trade name for pentobarbital, which is a long-acting barbiturate used as a sedative. The drug is commonly used in suicides; and is also used in executions in the People's Republic of China." (source Wikipedia)

If you look at the first line it shows it could mean it about suicide but as execution for a wrong dead (probably murder of someone close). When listening to this song (which was very enjoyable) I kept that in mind. They (the band) are obviously coming from a person's point of view who is very angry at someone for doing some very very terrible. This person obviously thinks that the person that committed this crime isn't worth even being executed. This really makes sense to me until the second part of the song which I don't understand either way >.>

To Cruiserfan you are on to something, but The Mars Volta like to put religious allusions into their songs.

Like a lot of The Mars Volta songs interpretation is abstract. My interpretation of Halo of Nembutals is as follows: Just from listening to this, I feel a very evil undertone to it. It wouldn't surprise me if the band summoned some demonic spirits again (like with The Bedlam in Goliath album) and they provided the lyrics. I believe that this song is from satan's or at the very least a demonic spirit's point of view. Let's dig in. The opening verse "When the earth let you go When the verdict is vermin"- perhaps referring to dying and judgment from God and it is decided that they go to hell.

"By the fork in my tongue When you run out of sermon"- the demon/satan's ways taint the Christian church

"What a foul little temptress Your daughter's become"- satan/demon's wickedness influencing and deceiving us into sexual immorality.

"Deviate all by means in name Cause we all crawl in quicksand the same"- Losing faith in the Lord because of their perversion

"The night I begged you to come to me The limp in your talk and the scent of your bleed It's still not enough roulette to let you go"- satan/demon tempting someone and that person therefore sinning. Their temptation wasn't enough to make that person follow them (perhaps through God's light).

"You covered your wounds in a bandage of sloth The deeper the slur that rang from her laugh If something tells me to keep it together"- their influence is working and is making that person deviate from God (remember that slothedness is a sin)

"How could you turn your back on me? I've summoned the stampede of infidel feet For all I ever wanted is all you ever flaunted"- These lines are a giveaway. A person perhaps rejected satan and sins and he responds with saying that basically, "Why? You've flaunted your body like a prostitute and I've already led many astray and weakened their faith to God (infidelity)."

"Tables of ring worms have hung themselves Disarray Communion shaped"- I think it is "of this I ate" instead of "disarray." Anyway perhaps this is describing the horrors of hell? "Communion shaped" is perhaps referring to satan tainting communion and/or the church.

"Serpents raise in prisms and rainbows escaped"- I think it is "til" not "and." Anyway perhaps this is saying that satan and demons are trapped in hell until Armageddon (in which they will be defeated). In the bible, God told Noah that when it rains He will be a rainbow in the sky as a sign that He will never flood the Earth again.

"Reading from bottomless palindromes Hear my request to be disowned"- palindromes are words that are spelled backwards, like the name "Hannah." Maybe this is satan/demon/soul in hell's begging to be destroyed once and for all.

Beware of what you listen to folks. Trust in the Lord and follow His ways or you might end up like that soul begging to be destroyed. And remember that Jesus loves you!!!

Of this I ate, communion shaped.\nEver done LSD? If you have, you get this line... And most likely the rest of the song also. \nThere is meaning to this song, sure, but it was intended as surrealist art first and foremost. \nP.S- NEVER get stuck in a bottomless palindrome.