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Hebrews 11:40 Lyrics

Masks hanging on the tomb walls
Where the coven grieves
Witches hiding in the brambles
Ground level down where the dry leaves
Blow and burn slowly
No ground is ever gonna hold me

Bright candles in the manor
Where the curse takes hold
Bodies reassembling down where the worms crawl
Make your own friends when the world's gone cold

It gets dark and then
I feel certain I am going to rise again
If not by faith then by the sword
I'm going to be restored

Build fires to keep the beacon flashing
Where the earth lies flat
Blood calls to blood as the hours draw down
Invent my own family if it comes to that
Hold them close, hold them near
Tell them no one's ever going to hurt them here

Steal the treasure and try to leave town
Fight my way back down
Don't want to hurt anyone
Probably gonna have to before it's all done

Take to the hills right away
I'm gonna get my perfect body back someday
If not by faith then by the sword
I'm going to be restored
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Cover art for Hebrews 11:40 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

This is the most metal-ass song I've ever heard.

My Opinion
Cover art for Hebrews 11:40 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

"because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect."

Cover art for Hebrews 11:40 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

John said at a show two days ago that this song was about something like self mutilation or something to that effect.

He said that before people had to grow out of that stage and mature past it but now thanks to the advent of the internet people who enjoy that can talk to one another and converse about it.

I'm still not very sure on what this song means on any level. For me personally I have a strong resonance with the determined spirit in the line "If not by faith then by sword/I'm going to be restored."

Cover art for Hebrews 11:40 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

It sounds to me like it's about the devil, at least based on what literature I've read on him. He's a fallen angel, seeking largely to make it back home (literally "rise again," if the mythology regarding heaven above and hell below is right) by whatever means necessary. That's just what I took from it though.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Hebrews 11:40 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

I don't know why, but I get the feeling that this is about a man living in a post apocalyptic world, he was mutated/mutilated by the war, and people fear him because of it, he lives outside of a town, alone

perhaps the "treasure" he is speaking of is food and water, that would certainly be considered treasure to anyone in this situation, his will to be restored is a will to be accepted by society, so that he doesn't have to be alone anymore

Cover art for Hebrews 11:40 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

Hebrews 11 happens to be my favorite chapter in the Bible at the moment. It focuses on all the great things that faith has allowed people to do. Faith made the world go around back in those days. To me this song reflects the passage greatly. "It gets dark and then/I am certain I am going to rise again." That right there is the hardest proclomation of faith, but the biggest one all-together, I will rise again after my fleshy body ceases to be. Which brings me to point number two, the lyrics are heavily-laden with self-mutilation clues to proclamate that faith is the only thing you should aspire for, because your fleshy body is just that, decaying and oxidising from day one. "If not by faith then by the sword/I'm going to be restored." By faith is the refrain for not only this song, but also the refrain for the Hebrews 11 passage in the bible. Matthew 26:52 - "for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." If you choose to chose a life filled with bright shiny things, fleshy desires, and violence, you will remain with it for your eternal life. If you choose to live with faith in Jesus Christ, you will be restored to the heaven above with your new body and then come back to a new earth with no violence and no chaos, just peace and love! Sounds pretty awesome!

Check the verse, you will enjoy! http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+11&version=ASV

My Interpretation