From the weeping womb to the tomb
Towering fuming smokestacks loomed
Aloft the emancipated industrial
mercantile maroon

Your heirs will be deprived this fate
A penitentiary as consumer villeins
Never to enter through
the grim rusting factory gates

Six, zero, two, six
Nine, six, one

Torn apart in the soul destroying...

Six, zero, two, six
Nine, six, one

The granulating dark satanic mills...

Subsisting shackled drudgers & drones
Disassembly line of skin & bone
Collieries not beaches
lie beneath the paving stones

When chattel black turned to white
Rigid binding chains were hidden from sight
The unborn will quench
the thirstful smouldering kiln's fires

Six, zero, two, six
Nine, six, one

Torn apart in the soul destroying...

Six, zero, two, six
Nine, six, one

Sweat & no redemption in the dark satanic mills

An existence, subservient, binded you'll see
"A working class hero is something to be"
An existence, subservient, blinded you'll seed
A working class hero is something to bleed


Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by Farc

The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills Lyrics as written by Jeff Walker Daniel Wilding

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

9 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    No idea what the numbers mean (I've been googling like crazy) but the song seems to be (again) about industry, production, dehumanization

    chestbusteron October 13, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "And did those feet in ancient time" is a short poem by William Blake. I think It is the premise for the song. The Dark Satanic Mills refer to the Industrial revolution in England.

    teethgrinderon November 21, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Gene ID: 6026961

    extracellular solute-binding protein

    ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/6026961

    teethgrinderon November 21, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Concentration Camps. The number is the number that got tattooed on the victims arm. At the show they showed images of Auschwitz and various nazi, christian and jewish symbols during the song. Just my opinion but that what I go with.

    OpiatedTOOLon March 29, 2016   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning

    Anyone knows what 6026961 stands for?

    Farcon September 23, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    Take out the number of the beast and your left with 0291. Type that number into google and OSHA will have your answer.

    tomb123on January 10, 2014   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning

    Much in the same vein as "Arbeit Macht Fleisch", this song describes the dehumanizing effects of industry.

    GhostRiderHon April 10, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "dark satanic mills" is the name given to factories during the industrial revolution in Great Britain in the 18th Century.

    I think the number is a reference to 6 million jews killed in the Holocaust , the vile Nazi regime was the culmination of the what industrialisation had become by the 20th Century, the concentration camps were factories for human slaughter on a horrendous scale. Mechanization and industrialisation, 200 years of progress and that's all what humankind had achieved, wholesale slaughter of its own kind.

    Fuzzypigon July 20, 2019   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    When i heard the number in the chorus, first thing that came to mind was that it could have been a phone number which is typically 7 digits excluding the area code which was omitted and probably for good reason too. Of course i could be wrong though

    stefan1144on August 01, 2021   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.