Isaac

Long comment, I was thinking about this song and had time to kill, haha.

I think this song references the Biblical story of Isaac and Abraham. In the Bible, Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and Abraham followed God's command. Abraham took his son up into the mountains, built a sacrificial altar, tied his son to the stone and was preparing to plunge the knife into Isaac when an angel appeared and basically told Abraham, "You passed the test, God knows you obey him so you don't actually have to follow through and kill your son."
This song focuses on Isaac's experience during this story, "Isaac I have never seen you look so afraid / With your head pressed so hard against the stone / You look so alone." He knows his father's about to kill him, he's feeling the fear of imminent death and the pain of knowing that his father is willing to do that to him, and probably wondering if his father ever really loved him at all. "..your life just fell apart."
The verse that says, "a father's love / Must be earned / While your mother need not learn / How to love you," seems to be referencing Abraham's actions to earn his "father's" (God's) love that parallels the fact that Isaac probably felt he didn't have his own father's love when he was about to be sacrificed by him. Also the line about his mother not needing to learn how to love him makes me think that if Isaac was nothing more than a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered, she shouldn't get attached to him as a son to be loved.
Here is where my interpretation gets more speculative and is just my personal spin on it, I think the song is sung from the point of view of the angel, who loves Isaac (either romantically or like you would love a child, who knows what angels are thinking). I think it's the angel because of lines like, "I watched it from afar / Yes I watched as the clouds began to part" (may be watching from above the clouds) and "Isaac can you see me now" (an angel wouldn't be seen by humans normally, the only time Isaac would have seen this angel was when it came down to stop his father from killing him). Also, Abraham and Isaac were alone on the mountain aside from the angel watching them, and at one point the narrator describes watching Isaac lying on the stone and seeing the look on his face. I think the angel loves Isaac for the obvious reasons of lines like, "I've known you all my life / I worshipped the ground you walk upon," and, "I'm gonna give all my love to you," and because the speaker in this song is so deeply sympathetic to Isaac, being familiar what he's feeling, kind of lamenting the fact that he was put in this horrible situation and basically saying, "I can't understand why your father didn't love you more."
I always thought Isaac's story was a sad one. Imagine Abraham untying him and them walking down the mountain together and Isaac living the rest of his life knowing his father was going to kill him. I think this song is acknowledging the tragedy of this situation for Isaac.

I believe this song has something to do with an abusive father. I think the artist is Issac's brother.

I found this review EP which believes it is the bible story of Abraham nearly sacrificing his son, Isaac, at God's command.

http://softconcretemag.com/2013/03/07/ep-review-agape-by-bears-den/

I agree with the whole review's idea's to be honest, the guy has clearly done a bit of research.

I think the song is about abuse - especially when you place it in the context of the EP. The whole thing is VERY obviously a commentary from a child of abuse whose father abused him, his brother and his mother. I think the bible references serve as a metaphor to the situation it is surrounding. Abraham was going to sacrifice his son, and the son knew it. He had to live the rest of his life knowing that his father valued god more than him, feeling that he has to earn his fathers love.

Other than the name isaac and the minor allusion to that story the song pretty clearly details the relationship of a younger brother who has seen his older brother abused and is now seeing what happens later in life. He is saying that he worships him. They relate together in feeling that a fathers love must be earned while a mothers does not, when obviously that should not be true. The brother is saying that he is going to give him all of his love, because he is alone and without love.

I also wonder if it's what happens after their mother is dead - Isaac's head pressed against the (tomb)stone.

This song touches me. It moves something deep within me and I wish I could put my finger on it. Does anyone have any idea what this is about or some sort of interpretation?

This is definitely the story of Abraham and Isaac from the Bible.

Isaac are you listening I watched it from afar I watched as the clouds began to part

[ The lyric "I watched it from afar" tells us that it is neither Isaac, nor his father who is singing, but rather someone witnessing from afar]

Issac can you see my now I've known you all my life And I worship the ground you walk upon

[ The lyric "I've known you all my life" tells us that the singer is either the same age as Isaac, or younger. It could be a younger sibling, or a friend/admirer ]

Isaac will you never learn That a father's love must be earned Or your mother need not learn How to love you

[ He is telling Isaac that he has to do this to earn his father's love, but his mother never needs to "learn" how to love him, she just does. ]

I think the song is from the perspective of Isaac's younger brother. He obviously looks up to Isaac "I worship the group you walk upon." . It seems that Isaac, being the older one, had a harder time getting his father's approval because he was being raised to be the man of the house and the protector of his mother and younger brother "I could never learn why a father's love must be earned or your mother need not learn." The stone his head is against must be his father's headstone, he's scared he won't live up to his expectations and sad that he never had his father's approval, which is why he looks afraid and alone. It seems the younger brother and storyteller must have left the family to get an education "watched you from afar" while Isaac's responsibilities kept him with his family. He comes home because of his father's death with his achievements "Isaac can you see me now?" proud and hopeful that his brother and role model will be happy for him and more than willing to support his brother in his time of need.

THIS SONG IS A MISREADING OF THE HISTORY OF ISAAC AND ABRAHAM. IF YOU ANALYSE THE CONTEXT OF THAT TIME, Abraham was a God's servant, but the people around him worshiped other gods through rituals such as human sacrifice. They sacrificed their children to a god they named Moloch. GOD HAD A PLAN; HE DIDN'T, ALL OF A SUDDEN, CHANGE HIS MIND - He knew all the way He was going to tell Abraham to stop. GOD'S PLAN WAS TO DRAW AN IMAGE. 1) To clearly show people the difference between Him and the gods people worshiped. Unlike them, He didn't want Abraham to sacrifice his child's life for Him. 2) WHAT HE DID NOT DEMAND FROM ABRAHAM - OR - WHAT HE DID NOT DEMAND FROM YOU - He himself did for you. He didn't demand your sacrifice - He sacrificed Jesus, his precious son, for you. - "Well, He didn't need to. I didn't ask Him to. He could have done it any other way, isn't He God?" The point is: you are not a victim. You are the offensor. God gave you the freedom to do good or bad, you had a choice. You chose to do bad, I DID TOO AND SO DID ALL HUMANITY. It is easier to blame God, but it is freeing to take responsibility for our actions. The song says "DON'T YOU KNOW A FATHER'S LOVE MUST BE EARNED?". Saying "I wronged" is not the same as to become deserving. We are not legitimate children of God, only his creatures - We must be adopted. He says: Will you let me be your father? and we say "I KNOW BETTER THAN YOU - I'M TOO GOOD FOR YOU". WE WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN, BUT WE DON'T WANT GOD TO BE THERE. The problem is: saying "God is good" is not to atribute an adjective to Him. He is the definition, He is it. HELL IS THE ABSENSE OF GOD. We know good because He's showing himself to us. It makes us scared and angry hearing that it will come a time when he will stop doing that to whom repeatedly said "no" to Him. He will respect people's choice. He will retreat from the presence of people who did not want Him there. GOD IS NOT PUTTING YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE STONE, HE PUT HIS HEAD AGAINST THE STONE FOR YOU, and he went through with it. HE IS NOT ASKING YOU TO EARN HIS LOVE. BUT YOU CAN'T FEEL SOMEONE'S LOVE IF YOU'RE KEEPING YOURSELF AWAY BY PRIDE. The bible's histories are to be read as if you're the victorious part, the benefited. That is who God is inviting you to be, not the other way around.

[Edit: too long]