Alchemy

Alchemy was a medieval practice and the rudimentary precursor to chemistry. The ultimate goal in alchemy was to learn how to turn metal into gold. The song is essentially about the volatile and unpredictable nature of relationships. The metaphor fits nicely, as the lyrics suggests the heartbroken woman feels she was a failed/precursor experiment. Lamenting that "she's the golden one"

"Alchemy is the art of liberating parts of the Cosmos from temporal existence and achieving perfection which, for metals is gold, and for man, longevity, then immortality and, finally, redemption". from Wikipedia..

It was alchemy to sing to me your freedom song To make love where there was none Alchemy, now it's all gone She is the golden one

So what are you saying, we've got to dismantle it all Rip off the paper, smash up the walls, how can it be that you love her? Take all of the things we so carefully made Take all of the life that you've betrayed How can it be that you love her

The first impression that I got it is that is someone that kinda refuses to accept that her loved one doesnt love her anymore, love someone else "how can it be that you love her".

Still trying to figure it out what exactly is alchemy. maybe the thing that brought then together in the first place and now is the thing that make him love someone else?

All these words you speak to me Are from a foreign land You're telling me that birds don't fly How can it be that you love her?

He is breaking up with the singer. She is in disbelief; she almost cannot understand the words he is saying.

You don't have to raise your voice I still don't understand There's me and you, and you and me So how can it be that you love her?

When he breaks up with her, the singer expresses her disbelief to him, which causes him to raise his voice. She explains that she heard him the first time, but further emphasizes that she can't believe this is happening.

It was alchemy To sing to me your freedom song To make love where there was none Alchemy, now it's all gone And she is the golden one

This stanza is particularly clever, simultaneously playing with the definition of alchemy as well as "make love". Alchemy is the mystical art of converting cheap metal into gold. In reality, alchemy doesn't actually work, but more on that later. The singer is saying that the antagonist metaphorically used alchemy to "make love where there was none." She is implying that he had sex with someone that he did not love, and now he thinks that he loves her. So there is an implied affair here.

Further, his actions caused their relationship to dissolve, and she completes the alchemy metaphor by saying "she is the golden one." In other words, his actions caused their relationship to disappear, and it is now replaced with the new love affair being the golden one. Now, some alchemists in history claimed that they could convert metal to gold, but it was a sham. In effect they only put a very thin layer of gold over normal metal to trick everybody. So in these lyrics there is an implication that although the new love affair is the golden one, it might not be pure gold as the antagonist is claiming. In other words, he's saying he loves her, but he's either lying or fooling himself. Either way, the singer's relationship with him is gone.

So what are you saying? We've got to dismantle it all Rip off the paper, smash up the walls How can it be that you love her?

The singer further agonizes over the antagonist's actions. They've put a lot into the relationship, and now it's all for nothing.

Calebus does an excellent job explaining this interesting track. Kudos.