The Stranger Lyrics
To me the song is about a man who has been cheated on before or has been betrayed 'I can't trust anyone or anything these days'. As a result of this the man feels like he can't trust anything or anyone around him, maybe even his closest friends. When he says 'Your voice it sounds familiar but you are not what you seem' I think he is referring to the fact that he has met a new lover and that she sounds similar to his previous girl, causing him to have doubt as to whether she will remain faithful. 'All words of comfort can not take away my doubt, I've decided if it kills me I'll find out what you're about' with this lyric I think the artist is implying that no matter how many times she says she will not betray him, he cannot stop wondering whether she will or will not, so as a result he intends to find out. Then after investigating 'I've kept close watch upon you' the man becomes even more paranoid about her cheating and starts to fabricate thoughts that she has cheated 'and I don't like what I see'. I personally believe that the girl hasn't cheated, just the man's paranoia has corrupted his logical thought process. So he breaks up with her claiming that he still cannot trust anyone. Then at the end of the song which could be some time after the break up, I think that the man realises that he was wrong and as a result, he is haunted about the mistake he made by breaking up with the girl. He therefore thinks of this mistake and the girl every time he hears or sees her name written 'Now that I've seen your face I'm haunted by the letters of your name'.
I don't know why no one has commented... this song is amazing and this band is stellar!
I will comment and agree with you. This song is amazing. One of my favs!
While I understand the band already said the song is about an encounter with death (grim reaper kind of death,) I believe the song becomes more poignant when assessing it as a dialogue between the memory of a man (presumably innocent) meeting his future self, who's become wicked or monstrous.
the song opens with our protagonist asking the mysterious person to show his face. He states that he cannot trust anyone or anything these days. Perhaps this cynical mindset and mistrust of others is what led him down the path to become the stranger.
our protagonist continues to convey his desire to know the true identity of our masked man. with lines such as "All words of comfort cannot take away my doubt I've decided if it kills me, I'll find out what you're about" to support this.
Another line that sticks out to me, "But I know what you want and why.... I'm not afraid to die." What does the stranger want with our protagonist? and why does the protagonist instinctively say he is not afraid to die? maybe the stranger wants our protagonist to die, and the protagonist knows this and taunts him by revealing his knowledge. Following the actual meaning of the song (The mystery person being death incarnate.) This makes sense. It also makes sense to believe the stranger, who is still the future version of our protagonist who has become wicked, to want to kill the remaining shreds of innocence and compassion in him, thus completing his journey into sadism or any other Machiavellian traits the stranger possesses.
Our protagonist continues to repeat the same lines discussed earlier, still trying to find out who our stranger is. Near the end of the song, we see that the protagonist has reached a breaking point. He continuously says, "You are not the one you say you are." perhaps meaning he reached a confrontation with the stranger. this culminates into the stranger revealing his identity. And our protagonist only has one thing to say.
Now that I've seen your face I'm haunted by the letters of your name.
He now sees that the stranger is himself, corrupted and beyond recognition. He is anguished by the truth. He sees what he has become, and is haunted by the letters of his name, which now represent things he never would have envisioned being.
Is this the tragic ending to our kind protagonist? Maybe not. One could analyze this scenario as the future man looking inwards, to his past self, to see how far he has fallen, and maybe the strangers want to absolve himself of his sins, and to do so he must become like he was in the past. it's wonderful to think that the ending can be torturous or optimistic, depending on how you view the stranger's goals.
I think for my interpretation is he is having a connection with someone. It's like a strong, or destined connection wherein the line he says "Came out of the ocean like you came out of a dream". But because of his past maybe his guard is up that's why he doesn't trust this stranger. In this line "All words of comfort can not take away my doubt, I've decided if it kills me I'll find out what you're about" and "Can't escape the feeling that you'll get me in the night"
This "stranger" is haunting him perhaps a soulmate. He wants to get to know this person despite the red flags and feelings or fears of the unknown, he knows if he gets to know this stranger it might actually kill him, but he's going to risk it.