Witchcraft Lyrics
I think it's hilarious that people totally ignore the title when interpreting the meaning of the song! I mean they didn't just name it witchcraft because it sounds cool! They named it witchcraft because if you watch the video it's about the birth of a witch! The girl is battling between darkness and light! Which is why in the beginning she's in a white dress spinning and struggling in the depths of the water. Going back and forth in her head trying to decide the right path while slowly being tangled by the dark's ribbons. Ultimately she is consumed by the darkness and close to the end of the song if you notice you will see that the light rays make the Wiccan symbol the pentagram the sign of the witches. And the girl is shown being reborn as a witch from the darkness in a black dress!
If you consider witchcraft being an equivalent of any vice, it may as well just someone coming to the help of someone who's overdosed or been a victim of abuse (in your eyes, color fade out, caught in the wire, she knows why), seeing approaching danger (killer in the hallway), not much time to act (living on a set time), trying to call for help (caught in the cellphones rays), trying to help (I'll lift you out, we gotta get out, go far away). Indeed some battle between darkness and light.
If you consider witchcraft being an equivalent of any vice, it may as well just someone coming to the help of someone who's overdosed or been a victim of abuse (in your eyes, color fade out, caught in the wire, she knows why), seeing approaching danger (killer in the hallway), not much time to act (living on a set time), trying to call for help (caught in the cellphones rays), trying to help (I'll lift you out, we gotta get out, go far away). Indeed some battle between darkness and light.
@Janneson I'm literally a whole ass decade late but I made an account just so I can tell you that most certainly isn't a pentagram. Hexagram if anything, it has 6 points on it. Still relevant to witchcraft, but just saying.
@Janneson I'm literally a whole ass decade late but I made an account just so I can tell you that most certainly isn't a pentagram. Hexagram if anything, it has 6 points on it. Still relevant to witchcraft, but just saying.
@Janneson To me the whole of Immersion (or at least the songs that aren't instrumental) centres around the theme of bad relationships; even the artwork to me is a visual representation of a couple in denial (they're so focused on each other that they don't realise they're drowning with the other people being representative of their friends and family trying desperately to reach out to them), also Pendulum's music videos aren't always that focused on the lyrics which could mean that the music video is more representative of the song title than it is of the lyrics.
@Janneson To me the whole of Immersion (or at least the songs that aren't instrumental) centres around the theme of bad relationships; even the artwork to me is a visual representation of a couple in denial (they're so focused on each other that they don't realise they're drowning with the other people being representative of their friends and family trying desperately to reach out to them), also Pendulum's music videos aren't always that focused on the lyrics which could mean that the music video is more representative of the song title than it is of the lyrics.
I'd also like...
I'd also like to add that in the cases where the song title isn't in the lyrics there's usually a more indirect connection between the lyrics and the title (such as Propane Nightmares being a reference to Thomas Nichols who used Propane to end his life as part of a ritual that was similar to that of the Heaven's Gate cult. Said cult is the subject matter of the song).
I'll leave a separate analysis of the song itself but I just felt these details were worth mentioning.
I think this song is a story about a girl he knows and she has done something and someone is coming to kill her so he is all like, time to GTFO BITCH!, but he like finds her dead or knocked out or somthing like that
EPIC SONG!
Close, but I'd say the narrator is the one who finds her dead, not the guy coming for her. Rationalizing and then realizing "I can't hear her breathing/Something doesn't seem right."
Close, but I'd say the narrator is the one who finds her dead, not the guy coming for her. Rationalizing and then realizing "I can't hear her breathing/Something doesn't seem right."
@Wolfgang and Duwom
@Wolfgang and Duwom
Yeah, I agree with Wolfgang, you can also see from, "Killer in the hallway." maybe the bad guy's still there?
Yeah, I agree with Wolfgang, you can also see from, "Killer in the hallway." maybe the bad guy's still there?
Or maybe Duwom is on the right track, but more of, She's freaking out because she's dying or something, and doesn't want him to see her or something so she kills herself--or! she's very paranoid that someone's coming to kill her, and it turns out to be the guy in the hallway, that loves her or something :) shrugs
Or maybe Duwom is on the right track, but more of, She's freaking out because she's dying or something, and doesn't want him to see her or something so she kills herself--or! she's very paranoid that someone's coming to kill her, and it turns out to be the guy in the hallway, that loves her or something :) shrugs
I watched the clip to this song and loved it! I really enjoyed trying to disect the meaning of the song in conjunction with the clip... I may be faarrrr off. But it's my abstract interpretation that I'm putting out there ready for criticism ;) (also English is my second-language so please be kind :P hehe)
I think this song is as much about the process of falling in love as the creation of those feelings inside you physically. You have to watch the clip to get what I'm going on about below :P
It's in your eyes, a color fade out Looks like, a new transition
In the clip, the girl seems like she's in another world, below water, like her subconcious. As the beat of the music intensifies, you see her waking up, every cell, every microscopic detail of her biology/existance - it pulsates through her whole body to her spirit, soul, heart until she opens her eyes to love... "it's in your eyes, a color fade out" it's in all of our souls, buried... also her innocence is symbolised in her wearing white in the clip, though you soon see black clothlike streams shooting towards her as the song progresses as she inevitably falls in love (all I believe symbolise the death of her as she falls in love and it's beyond her control or resistance/her new transition (new self when she comes out of it all is in the final scene))... she is about to be fully consumed and it'll be a "new transition" falling in love.
It's starting up, and shaking your ground Turning your head to see a new day calling
"It's starting up, and shaking your ground" Love is risky and it can ruin and mess with your emotions, but everything in your life as it stands at that instance, point of time will soon be shaken out of place... yet you can't resist it. You want to face it, you want to see the possibilities... you want it to ruin everything because something in you hopes that if it's true (if it's love), if that word even exists in this world, then it can't ruin you forever but make you stronger, transform you (and the beat intensifies in the clip like adrenaline puslsing through a persons vain - curiosity).
Does it feel like a head to lean on? A snapshot from where you were born I'm looking for your hand in the rough You're caught in the wire Well I'll lift you up
The second paragraph, starting with "does it feel like a head to lean on? A snapshot from where you were born" I think of how many women fall in love for the temporary sense of peace it brings. As for the "snapshot from where you were born" deep down you subconciously want or bring/take from the relationship what your parents had... maybe you also want to idolize the other person like all that you grew up believing was love, or love is supposed to be like (and not believe in some chemical reaction happening in your brain). But I really think in this instance it's just refering to struggles of her past. Leading to the 'I'm looking for your hand in the rough. You're caught in the rough... I'll lift you up" To me all this is just sounding like the guy's knight-in-shining armour disguise (notice I say 'disguise' because as the song progresses you come to realise the selfish motives that ends it al( with the perfect excuse of feeling trapped by it all. '"we" gotta get out...')
Bleeding on reaction Caught on a cell phone's rays Pleading on the sofa, staring at the wayside
The whole of the third paragraph is really the lovey-dovey phase where you're looking into every detail of that person, dying for their reactions, 'caught on a cell phone's rays' (pretty sel-explanatory = all the sms's and texting and waiting on calls). Now "he's coming and she knows it" She's all excited by his pursuit of her... by his sudden interest, by her constant longing and wanting to believe this is true love (when it's just the intense euphoria of love) where her heart is really trying to win against her head... the sad part of love, the realisation that as much as you want the person to love you and pursue youuuu, you don't want to face the truth that he's only after one thing... and we all know what that becomes at the very passionate stages...
He's coming and she knows it, even if she knows why (*sad reality) Footsteps in the hallway, girl, you haven't got time
But it's too late "footsteps in the hallway" means he's already set foot in the empty halls of her heart and nowwww she finally realises that she has to run, that it's not really love - it's attraction (but it's almost too late - she thinks she's in love...)! Wake up!?! "girl, you haven't got time" He's out to get her and it's not for love. Thus the chorus.Reminds me of that feeling where you want to break free from all that's been created and just run away... to save whatever part of you that's left (apart from the relationship)... the innocence, your childhood dreams of love, your immaturity... where you're not ready... ready for love and sex.
You gotta get out Go far away You gotta get out Come far away
Darkness in the bedroom Maybe she's resting up, maybe she was out late Just came back from the club, I can't hear her breathing Something doesn't seem right, killer in the hallway We're leaving on the same time
On to the last paragraph... "Darkness in the bedroom" I think these are the final stages of this fatal attraction where it's finally a little about the guys feelings. Where the guy begins to suspect their relationship from her signs of reluctance physically, "maybe she's resting up, maybe she was out late" Then he thinks of what she's been doing, where she's been? "Just came back from the club, I can't hear her breathing" He starting to worry because he's only now beginning to have feelings of attachment for her (after the physical side of their relationship). In his state of adrenaline and panic (in the music as well), he too begins to find some answers "Something doesn't seem right, killer in the hallway" Through his suspicions, I bet he either finds her unfaithful with the whole "killer in the hallway" meaning there's another guy... or it could be worst, that he's actually discovered he's fallen in love with her, remember "footsteps in the hallway" previously when the girl first fell in love, and now it could be his turn and he can't handle it "killer in the hallway symbolising, having the other person in your heart... and at the same time being so totally attracted to them that you're willing to do anything for them... you know they have total control over you... they have your life as long as they are in your heart... they become the "killer in the hallway" the assissin of your heart/life literally. Naturally you start thinking...
We gotta get out Go far away We gotta get out Come far away
So finally - it becomes a mutual agreement to leave/part ways... as they are both affraid of this love/attraction. "We're leaving on the same time" They somehow know their attraction and this kind of love is impossible and come to a mutal agreement to depart (together at the same time).
so it ends with "we gotta get out... go far away" and in the clip you notice... the girl is no longer (dressed in) white (pure) and in a deep unconcious state... innocence, purity and dreams of love... this relationship he sings and urges forward... changes her... all the shattered pieces are fixed in her and together again (as she gains a greater sense of reality)... but she's no longer the same... she's fixed, she's black (mysterious) and no longer the damsel in distress type... and with that there's no longer the reason he pursued her in the first place - no sign of vulnerability (with that great black wall built behind her - her walls are up - she'll gaurd her heart next time). As for him, he was the killer all along, he was never going to stay but he couldn't kill her heart/life... he made her better (or at least a part of her (before they parted)).
Dramatic? Yes I think so too... :P hehehe
I so need some sleep right now.........
@anonymous2010
Amen
@anonymous2010
Amen
The first interpretation showing more than blatant reading of words. Nothing should/could be added/removed to/from it. Very original and fitting.
The first interpretation showing more than blatant reading of words. Nothing should/could be added/removed to/from it. Very original and fitting.
You Sir earned the my 3S : Sophisticated Subtle Sentence.
You Sir earned the my 3S : Sophisticated Subtle Sentence.
@anonymous2010 either you're exceptionally perceptive or you're Rob Swire in disguise lol ;) Yours is the most fitting interpretation so far, by miles. Makes everything clear, and explains the video and title too. Love is itself bewitching, and when in love you are said to be under a spell. Love transforms you, whether for good or bad, but it's witchcraft in all but name ^^
@anonymous2010 either you're exceptionally perceptive or you're Rob Swire in disguise lol ;) Yours is the most fitting interpretation so far, by miles. Makes everything clear, and explains the video and title too. Love is itself bewitching, and when in love you are said to be under a spell. Love transforms you, whether for good or bad, but it's witchcraft in all but name ^^
@anonymous2010 It's a nice theory. But, in the actual video clip, what you see pulsing is the black rocks on the ground that end up forming that black rectangle. The only reason the woman looks inhuman is because the name of the song is "Witchcraft". I personally talked to the lead singer and asked him what the song was about. He told me that he knows a lot of people who are a victim of women violence, and that's why he wrote it. Sort of like another Pendulum song "Blood Sugar". The title is catchy and has almost 0 meaning...
@anonymous2010 It's a nice theory. But, in the actual video clip, what you see pulsing is the black rocks on the ground that end up forming that black rectangle. The only reason the woman looks inhuman is because the name of the song is "Witchcraft". I personally talked to the lead singer and asked him what the song was about. He told me that he knows a lot of people who are a victim of women violence, and that's why he wrote it. Sort of like another Pendulum song "Blood Sugar". The title is catchy and has almost 0 meaning to the song.
Points for effort though :P
This song has the potential to be huge, from what the lyrics say, in my view this song is about violence against women, but this song is very dark for Pendulum, but it's in a similar vein to Propane Nightmares with a very catchy main riff.
To me, this song speaks more of one of two things.
The first possibility is that this woman's in an abusive relationship and she's finally realised that if she doesn't leave her partner she will end up dead, and the singer is obviously someone close to this woman and is trying to her her escape/find her help: I.E Women's Aid.
The second; That this woman is in an affair with the singer, and that they're trying to get away.
The second, seems less likely to me...
But, that's just my interpretation.
This song's a lot better than "Watercolour", which is what you need for a second single. :) One of my favourites from "Immersion" 'cause I love Swire's vocals here.
I think this song is about being the witness to a murder somehow, or knowing someone who you know will get killed, hence the "you gotta get out". Maybe he didn't know her that well and saw her life through a window or across an apartment hallway (Maybe she's resting up, maybe she was out late, just came back from the club) <-- that being his theory for why she went home late the night before her murder or something. And the "footsteps in the hallway" and "Something doesn't seem right, killer in the hallway, we're leaving at the same time" make sense with the apartment hallway theory, in my opinion. I don't know, I'm just throwing my theories out there. I hope I made sense. :3
I think it could be about a close friend or relative of this girl who has died, and she tries to drown her sorrows in alcohol and drugs (the club reference). But her drink was spiked one time, and she gets home then passes out on the couch. The friend's spirit sees all this going on, and tries to save her from the bastard who has followed her home to rape her even though the friend is really helpless because he's only a spirit and can't do anything.
u all got it wrong! :L this song is about a girl who has made a mistake in her life. and there is more than one person arfter her and one of the people is saying go before it all kicks of but another person kills her. so they all do 1 :)
It seems to me that its about a woman sitting in her house and she hears someone in the house that doesn't belong there and cant move (petrified) even though she knows it isn't going to be good. Its uncertain if she is bleeding due to being attacked or she evaded the person. She is stuck on the cell phone and whomever she is calling seems to have a busy signal? The last half of the song evades me so far. Seems there is more than one point of view involved in this song.