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You Know Nothing Lyrics
And nothing is written in the book, reality is made by you
And every lie that you pursue, eventually turns true
And I was told that your eyes would shine, a light up into space
And infinity would then consume this ordinary place
You know nothing, you know nothing at all
How could you know, you'll never know anything at all
You'll never know, you'll never know anything at all
You know nothing, you know nothing at all
I saw you standing in the fire, beneath a crimson moon
The ocean whispered on the sore, and echoed in the ruins
Inside your body is a clear blue light, and time was made from this
Your shadows swallow everything it feels. You punish us with bliss
You know nothing, you know nothing at all
How could you know, you'll never know anything at all
You'll never know, you'll never know anything at all
You know nothing, you know nothing at all
And every lie that you pursue, eventually turns true
And I was told that your eyes would shine, a light up into space
And infinity would then consume this ordinary place
How could you know, you'll never know anything at all
You'll never know, you'll never know anything at all
You know nothing, you know nothing at all
The ocean whispered on the sore, and echoed in the ruins
Inside your body is a clear blue light, and time was made from this
Your shadows swallow everything it feels. You punish us with bliss
How could you know, you'll never know anything at all
You'll never know, you'll never know anything at all
You know nothing, you know nothing at all
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Possibly one of Swans' best songs. I don't know of any live recordings. Shame. "Amnesia", "Her" (specifically the scary instrumental jam part), and "Love of Life" shred live. This would, too. Anyway, this seems to be about a person who seeks enlighten ment and believes that they have risen over all, but... The amazing, declaritive chorus puts it best: "You know nothing, You knothing at all, How could you know, You'll never know anything at all." Best show of Michael Gira's lyrical work, up there with "Failure", "New York Girls", "Sex, God, Sex", "Real Love", and "New City in the Future".
The first line seems to sum it up. Gira seems to have come to the conclusion that it's impossible to truly know anything for sure. You can debate all about meaning and right and wrong and good and evil until you die, but there's no way to know anything for sure. Sure, you can say you know something like that gravity pulls you at a rate of 9.81 m/s^2, but both the meter and the second are completely arbitrary constructs of humans, so the statement really holds no truth whatsoever outside of what you choose to frame it in.
Every lie that you pursue eventually turns true. People are going to believe what they want to, and your beliefs form your reality. Everything is a projection. You can never see reality as it truly exists.