Light has gone
I'll never see the sun again
My days will be as dark as my nights
A question burning in my mind:
What is left to do for the observer when he's blind?
The telescope was my obsession
I longed to see the wonders of the sky
Moon and sun and Jupiter's companions
The Milky Way in all its splendour, stars numbered high
[Bridge 1:]
I know the key to the book of creation
Wandering a dark maze are those who don't know
[Chorus:]
All those years in shame and in torture
Self denial has clouded my ways
Verity comes as time is passing
I'll fade away but my legacy stays
To illustrate all that surrounds us,
Unveil the glory of our Maker's plan
This I thought to be my only mission
A different picture of the world, a blessing for mankind
[Bridge 2:]
I tried to open their hearts and their eyes
A trial in Rome swept my good hopes away
[Chorus]
Sight is gone
I'll never see the world again
My days will be as dark as my nights
Still a question in my mind:
What is left to do for me now, old of age and blind?
[Bridge 2]
[Chorus]
I'll never see the sun again
My days will be as dark as my nights
A question burning in my mind:
What is left to do for the observer when he's blind?
I longed to see the wonders of the sky
Moon and sun and Jupiter's companions
The Milky Way in all its splendour, stars numbered high
I know the key to the book of creation
Wandering a dark maze are those who don't know
All those years in shame and in torture
Self denial has clouded my ways
Verity comes as time is passing
I'll fade away but my legacy stays
Unveil the glory of our Maker's plan
This I thought to be my only mission
A different picture of the world, a blessing for mankind
I tried to open their hearts and their eyes
A trial in Rome swept my good hopes away
I'll never see the world again
My days will be as dark as my nights
Still a question in my mind:
What is left to do for me now, old of age and blind?
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
This song is not intended to be interpreted as a metaphor or anecdote - rather, it's something of a riddle. Serenity have stated that each song in their album Death and Legacy was inspired by a historical figure, and with My Legacy, as with the other tracks, it's a matter of inferring which historical figure best matches the story told.
I've been considering this for some time, and while I am not entirely confident in my conclusion due to some passages which are difficult to interpret, I believe this song is about Galileo Galilei.
The song opens with a passage entirely about dealing with blindness, as Galileo did later in his life. Following that was the section that first tipped me off: 'The telescope was my obsession...' and so forth. Galileo wasn't just fascinated by astronomy, he's considered by many to be the father of modern astronomy, and pioneered heliocentrism.
As we enter the chorus, we start to run into some stumbling blocks. While Galileo was cast out of the Catholic Church and kept under house arrest for much of his later life, he was never subjected to torture. Threatened, yes, but never actually tortured, as the song would imply with 'All those years in shame and in torture...'. Beyond that, however, just about everything said can be connected with Galileo's life and beliefs.
As we enter the latter part of the song, we hit the second red flag, so to speak, with 'A trial in Rome swept my good hopes away!' Galileo was confronted by the Church about his defence of Copernicanism, and tried in Rome by the Inquisition. Following his refusal to admit he had supported Copernicanism, (self-denial has clouded my ways) he was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life.
Returning to the second bridge and chorus, the song once again addresses the blindness with which Galileo was stricken in his later life, and ends with the stirring line 'I'll fade away, but my legacy stays!'
As I said, while the song is littered with what I believe to be references to Galileo Galilei's life, an alternate interpretation could easily be applied, turning the song into someone else's story.
Does anyone have an idea of someone else this song could be about, or do you believe my interpretation is sound? I'd love to hear some responses; get some good discussion going.
But opinions and interpretations aside, this song is undeniably brilliant, and will always be one of my favourites.
Major eye roll, but with a smile. Just how many people know anything about Galileo Galilei? I love bright people; they tend to think the masses are able to think on their level. Is Galileo the one who dropped an apple to gauge...well, something? Dang, now I want an apple...
Major eye roll, but with a smile. Just how many people know anything about Galileo Galilei? I love bright people; they tend to think the masses are able to think on their level. Is Galileo the one who dropped an apple to gauge...well, something? Dang, now I want an apple...
I think Winged01 is completely right. An additional argument would be that on October 18, 1989, NASA launched a spacecraft to observer Jupiter and it's moons (companions), also named Galileo.
The part about torture is about Galileo's mental state of mind rather than physical torture. Living all his life in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, and spending hours and hours a day to study natural philosophy (the predecessor of the physical sciences), the prohibition of his greatest passion by the church must have tormented him.
I think the being blind part in the last verse is both a reference to his physical being blind, as well as a metaphor for him losing his passion, not being able to observe and study the night skies, due to the church's repercussions.