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The Brothel Lyrics
Purple pavement
Crookfingers knocking on windows without souls
Bodies are swinging from rooftops and poles
Howling through hollows
Restless nights and one night cheap hotels
Oh, I’m only drifting to always come back
And now I search for something
Oh, whatever I don’t really care
Driving with their lights off, they can be anywhere
Rolling down their windows
Open card with open mouths
Golden teeth and golden cars
You cover your eyes, you cover your mouth, you cover your ears
Still you follow my trail
And I’ll do it all, I’ll do whatever you say, God has left me anyway
Love I laid in payment
Stars with stains and heaven and afterglow
Beneath the ashes are echoes buried alive
They are howling through hollows
Once we share the temple of our arms
Now our heads are hung up on walls
We are ruins within ruins
On every corner a gladiator, is begging for another century
When no one cut your tongue, to know nothing and to know it all
To be both the animal and God
You cover your eyes, you cover your mouth, you cover your ears
Still you follow our trail
We’ll do it all, we’ll do whatever you say, God has left us anyway
You cover your eyes, you cover your mouth, you cover your ears
Still you follow our trail
We’ll do it all, we’ll do whatever you say, God has left us anyway
There are echoes in the garden, is anybody listening
There are echoes lost in the garden, is anybody listening
They whisper;
The ones who are only living are the ones who are only dying
Crookfingers knocking on windows without souls
Bodies are swinging from rooftops and poles
Howling through hollows
Restless nights and one night cheap hotels
Oh, I’m only drifting to always come back
Oh, whatever I don’t really care
Driving with their lights off, they can be anywhere
Rolling down their windows
Open card with open mouths
Golden teeth and golden cars
Still you follow my trail
And I’ll do it all, I’ll do whatever you say, God has left me anyway
Stars with stains and heaven and afterglow
Beneath the ashes are echoes buried alive
They are howling through hollows
Once we share the temple of our arms
Now our heads are hung up on walls
On every corner a gladiator, is begging for another century
When no one cut your tongue, to know nothing and to know it all
To be both the animal and God
Still you follow our trail
We’ll do it all, we’ll do whatever you say, God has left us anyway
You cover your eyes, you cover your mouth, you cover your ears
Still you follow our trail
We’ll do it all, we’ll do whatever you say, God has left us anyway
There are echoes lost in the garden, is anybody listening
They whisper;
The ones who are only living are the ones who are only dying
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Gorgeous times 856325415968745.
A song about hopelessness and loneliness. It has all gone to a point where staying alive or dying doesn't matter, you've become an echo, a weak and feeble version of who you once really were.
You know that what you're doing is wrong, and you suffer for it, still you can't give that up. You keep on going, it doesn't matter what you do, you're already ruined. "God has left me anyway", all the good in the world (society, family and friends) has turned their back on you, and trying to put things right again is too late.
From looking at the title, I presume that this is a song about prostitutes (It ain't a pretty thing, but hey, someone's got to tell their story as well!). The men seeking these girls are gross and careless, "crook-fingers knocking on windows without souls", they come and get what they want, and then they leave. "You cover your eyes, you cover your mouth, you cover your ears, still you follow my trail" The men know very well about these girls' suffering, but they choose to ignore it all, just so they can continue to get what they want.
The girls see this as a "business", they give their love in return for money, during it all, they feel that they're helping these men, they take care of them. But as soon as it is all done, they feel ashamed and filthy ("Once we share the temple of our arms, now our heads are hung up on walls"). Selling your body to a stranger, to be able to have a roof over your head and food to eat must make you feel so powerless.
The girls still hope for someone to help, for someone to hear them. "There are echoes lost in the garden, is anybody listening?", The "echoes", the girls, call out for help, but no one hear their weak voices, no one really cares. The "garden", symbolizes the world, or the Biblical Garden of Eden, the so called Paradise, where everyone should be happy, but after all, some souls are lost. The girls hardly live anymore, they are just staying alive, writhing in the thought of them closing up on death for each second they waste, "They whisper; the ones who are only living are the ones who are only dying".
A hauntingly beautiful song, it really leaves a mark on your soul! Susanne is such a genius, I love her!
Great interpretation! Such a beautiful song, I never get sick of it - same goes for just about all of The Brothel and TSV. The meaning can definitely be taken quite literally or it doesn't have to be, it depends really. "They whisper; the ones who are only living are the ones who are only dying", Yes, the girls are alive but barely. I don't think they really consider themselves to be living, after all if you have to sell your mind, body and soul over and over again what kind of existence is that? Maybe in the back of...
Great interpretation! Such a beautiful song, I never get sick of it - same goes for just about all of The Brothel and TSV. The meaning can definitely be taken quite literally or it doesn't have to be, it depends really. "They whisper; the ones who are only living are the ones who are only dying", Yes, the girls are alive but barely. I don't think they really consider themselves to be living, after all if you have to sell your mind, body and soul over and over again what kind of existence is that? Maybe in the back of their minds they feel like they aren't dying because they believe they aren't really living. Or they aren't worthy of dying because they haven't "lived" yet or they once did but are not now.
Ha, I thought I knew what I was going to say but now I'm not so sure, hmm 4:26 a.m. If you've never walked around on a derelict street in the darkness of the early morning by yourself listening to this, you should. Of course not too safe but I live in a small city and there is literally no one around in my area at that time of morning. It's something else, as fitting as listening to The Smiths or Burial.
"On every corner a gladiator is begging for another century When no one cut your tongue to know nothing and to know it all To be both the animal and god", favourite lyrics from favourite song.