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Karma Lyrics

And as they say, grief is only able to possess.
The rotting body clad in ancient clothes
is left behind with a wave of the hand.
I have gone away. The bed is cold and empty.
Trees bend their boughs toward the earth.
And nighttime birds float as black faces.
It was the hand reaching out through the mirror.
Unknown and scarred by life...
the luring eyes, you had never seen.
You have nothing more to find.
You have nothing more to loose.
The cold season drifts over the land.
They huddle in the brown corners.
Some would settle for less.
The castles were all empty, asleep.
Long awaiting their king.
Beckoning round the bend.
Amidst the forest one would hear that I had been there.
Draped within a fate I could not change,
and always welcoming Winter's EPILOGUE.
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9 Meanings

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Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

You need to buy My Arms Your Hearse, and read the lyrics. It's a concept album, so you can't judge what one song is about without hearing all the others. It's all one big story.

But you're not far off... in this song, the ghost is describing how easy it was to leave the body in his coffin and return to haunt the house where he lived. However, he has now accepted that there is nothing here for him to gain or to lose. Finally he returns to the forest, the only place where he can be alone in his fate, and becomes a figure of local legend.

@6th_sadistic_sniper I agree that it's good to go through the album and look up the story and lyrics and intently listen, but I always thought of the songs as allegorical (especially April Ethereal, that's probably my favorite) so even before I knew the story I had gotten my own meaning out of that song. Idk really just whatever you're into.

Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

This might be my favorite song off of "My Arms; Your Hearse" Simply by virtue of the lyrical content, the verses paint a stark and beautiful picture of isolation, as if you can see yourself walking through a dark forest in the grip of Winter. It's almost as if the narrorator has stayed behind for so long that he witnesses his homeland being abandoned and turning into ruins over the centuries.

@Tindalos I love that concept of total isolation, and I can relate to my own allegorical meaning of this song. Musically my favorite part of the song is that long vocal harmony near the beginning. I have to say I probably like April Ethereal a bit more though.

@Tindalos winter tends to be a metaphor for death in poetry too!

Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

well i guess its a little more positive. this is the turning point for the ghost, he realises that this is no longer his place, look at the songs before karma, do you notice how many times the word you is in it? in this song there is not a single you. meaning he has left the female person in the story, he is no longer around her anymore " i have gone a away, the bed is cold and empty"

this is the song in wich the ghost finds comfort in his death and can go on into the afterlife , wich happens in the last song epilogue

Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

Im always listening to old Opeth,and im seeing that back when their first 3 albums where released their songs always had to do with Forests and mist. This sounds like a corpse awaking and walking through the forest.

Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

The final riffing is so violent and frantic.. Deadly stuff

Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

the luring eyes, you had never seen. You have nothing more to find. You have nothing more to loose.

He says you in this song

Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

haha ok ok you are right there

but thats not about the you of the album, the girl. its about himself , like talking to himself you have nothing more to find, you have nothing more to lose.

so those you's are about himself

Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

In the last minute or so of the song, I seem to hear whispers in the background. Does anyone else hear them or is it just me?

Cover art for Karma lyrics by Opeth

Well, this is taking place in late autumn. Though I do agree with what sadistic sniper says, I think he not only haunts the forest but the villages too along with the castles that are scattered around it.