Wretched World

this is really interesting. i like the ambiguity of it all, like the line break between "you never do" and "own these..." like i'm assuming that he's asserting that the person he's addressing never responds to his touch, but is he saying that the person it's addressed to never "owns" these dire nights etc meaning that they never directly invest in their relationship with the speaker or take any responsibility for the relationship, or is it more of an imperative command to this person, or both? either way, i read this as describing a kind of loveless or non-reciprocal relationship, one that the speaker puts more work into than the other party, possibly one that the speaker feels trapped in. i read the last line as saying that although the relationship isn't fulfilling for the speaker, it's comforting for him and he doesn't want to let it go.

great song. i think the person the person he's referring to just sees him as a way to pass her time, and based on the line 'own these dire nights', i think their relationship isn't a steady one, and they just meet from time to time and have these 'nights'. the speaker though has real feelings for this person despite her ignorance. even though her attitude towards him remains the same, and even though he must be hurt by her, he continues seeing her and feels whole just being close to her(to be in your shadow is to be home)

Just got the album today. God, what a great song.

"Own my damage"

One of my favorite lyrics from Bannon and of all time.

Bannon does a lot of personifying, so like how on No Heroes, the album not the song, he makes a reference to a Queen of pain or something along those lines, he's doing that again here. THe woman likely represents the upper class or the ownership class aka rich fucks who don't give a shit about anyone. I think this keeps in congruity with the rest of the album being about the working class being trampled upon.

Nice interpretation, guys. I wouldn't get too hung up on personal meaning, I think J. Bannon is simply "painting" an image it doesn't necessarily has to be something he personally experienced. To me it sounds more like an invitafion to someone to accept you as you are, with all your flaws and "brokenness". Anyway, the last line really stuck with me. "To stand in your shadow is to be home." I'm not a native English speaker, so does "(to) stand in (one's) shadow" has some idiomatic meaning? I am familiar with the expression "(to) be in (someone's) shadow". Does this line of song refers to that expression? I also found some Christian tale about a master and apprentice where the exoression "You're standing in your own shadow." was used to say "you are creating your problems", but I don't know if this is a common knowledge/tale in the US. I would appreciate if someone would share their thoughts on this.