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Torches Lyrics
The soul of the nation slowly withers
(In the howl of the empty wind)
As the spring lays crushed beneath the hammer
(The invisible flame)
My vision sears the crowded square
(As the mouth of injustice grins)
This routed
(Fire runs through my veins)
I choose to expire
(As the steel in my nerve sets in)
You're all on the brink of compromise
(I carry the cries)
Mass concessions in defeated eyes
(In my end a new world begins)
A terrible kindness to break the thrall
(It's not me who dies)
I strike the match
And let it fall
Oppression, injustice, self-immolation
I am the inferno, I am legion.
Oppression, injustice, self-immolation
I am the inferno, I am legion.
I am... the inferno, I am... legion.
Some run screaming
Some sit silently
An agonizing gift of charred humanity
My footsteps
They will echo through eternity
A seismic scorching outcry of indignity
I write my blackened name, carved into the wind
I fill your hearts with rage
I leave you ash and legend.
(Fire runs through my veins...)
A terrible kindness to break the thrall
I strike the match
Fire runs through my veins
Oppression, injustice, self-immolation
I am the inferno, I am legion.
Oppression, injustice, self-immolation
I am the inferno, I am legion.
(In the howl of the empty wind)
As the spring lays crushed beneath the hammer
(The invisible flame)
My vision sears the crowded square
(As the mouth of injustice grins)
This routed
(Fire runs through my veins)
I choose to expire
You're all on the brink of compromise
(I carry the cries)
Mass concessions in defeated eyes
(In my end a new world begins)
A terrible kindness to break the thrall
(It's not me who dies)
I strike the match
And let it fall
I am the inferno, I am legion.
Oppression, injustice, self-immolation
I am the inferno, I am legion.
I am... the inferno, I am... legion.
Some sit silently
An agonizing gift of charred humanity
They will echo through eternity
A seismic scorching outcry of indignity
I write my blackened name, carved into the wind
I fill your hearts with rage
I leave you ash and legend.
A terrible kindness to break the thrall
I strike the match
Fire runs through my veins
I am the inferno, I am legion.
Oppression, injustice, self-immolation
I am the inferno, I am legion.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Randy said it was about a Czech man in the 60's who committed self immolation (the act of setting oneself on fire) to protest the Russian occupation. I also think a lot of it could be about the Buddhist monks in Vietnam who also did this in protest during the Vietnam War. Especially a man named Thic Quang Duc. He walked down the street followed by his fellow monks and other supporters and assumed a Lotus position. He said a quick prayer, was doused in gasoline, and set himself ablaze. The entire time he was burning, he made not a single sound. He only moved when his muscles were burned so badly that they could not longer support him. The scene was made famous in a photograph which is also featured on the cover of an album by Rage Against The Machine. He gave his life as a gift to his people, "an agonizing gift of charred humanity", so that the powers that be could see both literally and figuratively what was happening to the people. He would rather burn himself alive than live another day in his current situation. If you ask me, it sounds quite similar to the suffering of Jesus on the cross.
Anyway, that's just my interpretation. What do you guys think?