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House on a Hill Lyrics
Call me a liar, a king, or a fool
But sing me a song of prosperity
Higher and higher, the farther we fall
Hard to remember
I will surrender, and I'll always wait
Wait, as in all of eternity
Hard to remember, and hard to forget
The shadow that hangs over me
Take me home
To a house on a hill in oblivion
And take away the shadow over me
Cry me a river, but once you run dry
Say there's a reason you do
Godless endeavors, smothered and broken
All that I wanted was you
Take me home
To a house on a hill in oblivion
Where souls never die
All alone
You're longing for love, not for sympathy
So take away the shadow over me
Under the starlight you shine in solitude
Rise on the ocean and far beyond, west of the moon
Take me home
To a house on a hill in oblivion
Where souls never die
All alone
You're longing for love, not for sympathy
Over the years
Home
To a house on a hill, to oblivion
Where souls never die
All alone
You're longing for love, not for sympathy
So take away the shadow over me
But sing me a song of prosperity
Higher and higher, the farther we fall
Hard to remember
Wait, as in all of eternity
Hard to remember, and hard to forget
The shadow that hangs over me
To a house on a hill in oblivion
And take away the shadow over me
Say there's a reason you do
Godless endeavors, smothered and broken
All that I wanted was you
To a house on a hill in oblivion
Where souls never die
All alone
You're longing for love, not for sympathy
So take away the shadow over me
Rise on the ocean and far beyond, west of the moon
To a house on a hill in oblivion
Where souls never die
All alone
You're longing for love, not for sympathy
Over the years
To a house on a hill, to oblivion
Where souls never die
All alone
You're longing for love, not for sympathy
So take away the shadow over me
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I think this song is about an old may praying for forgiveness and wishing to go to heaven. Lyrically, it's similar to "Abandoned" or "Like a Stone" by Audioslave.
His youth or happiness is "hard to remember," but the "shadow" of his "godless endeavors" is hard to forget, when "all that he wanted" was to be with God. He thinks god "longs for love, not for sympathy," so he asks God to "take away the shadow" over him; for forgiveness, and to be brought into "a house on a hill in oblivion" - to go to heaven.
I believe the song has two distinct meanings. The first meaning, which people usually "get" more easily relates to the man longing for a woman he admires. The first verse seems to be lamenting the fact that riches don't bring him the affection that he desires. Despite his acquiring of fame this only makes him feel the fall is greater should he fail. He also wants to be with this person who is also like him, who is alone and in a pitiful state and so attracts only sympathy from most onlookers. In his understanding of that state he looks beyond their plight to see them as who they are, hoping to offer them love and get it in return. In this interpretation, "house on a hill" could just mean a place of solitude, away from the world. It probably stands out against the atmosphere of life in a kind of jarring way
The second interpretation naturally relates to Khan's struggles with his religious outlook at the time. The entire chorus, namely "Take me home/ To a house on a hill in oblivion/ Where souls never die/ All alone" is Khan asking in a sense, to be taken to heaven. In this vein, "house on a hill" would relate to heaven. The second part of the chorus, namely "And take away away the shadow over me" could simply relate to him pleading to God for forgiveness. I also think it relates to Khan believing that restoring his faith would help to get rid of depression, or at least, the dark thoughts swimming around in his head.
In either case, the song is very well written, in the vein of Wander and The Pendulous Fall.
I love this song! Personally I love this album more than Ghost Opera. I know it can't be compared with Epica, Karma, The Black Halo or The 4th Legacy. But I really like it ^.^