Lines in the Sand

"Drawing Lines in the Sand" is an obvious reference to the passage in the bible where Jesus ("crown of thorns at my side") stops an angry mob from stoning a woman by telling them that "He who is sinless may cast the first stone". He proceeded to bend down and began writing in the sand. It doesn't say what he wrote (two common interpretations was that he was listing the sins of those in the mob, or that he was citing the passage in the Torah that proved the woman innocent of her crime), but the theme there, and I believe here, is "Judge not, lest ye shall be judged yourself."

"Sometimes a view from sinless eyes Centers our perspective And pacifies our cries"

IMO a song about how overtly religious people actually miss the message..of Peace & Love.

this is just a great song, i think it's about religion/lack of it the concious of person who turned unreligious due to some misfortune in his life.

i'm surprised only one person commented on this song.

This song is quite personal to me, as I feel I've experienced a lot of it... First, a couple of the guys are from a Catholic background, so "you can hear the virgin weeping for the savior of your will" is a reference to the Virgin Mary, ever interceding to the Savior on the behalf of mankind. She weeps because the message Jesus taught has been so disregarded by so many of us. "Tragic reflex, shattered calm/ Static progress, senses gone/ Numb awareness, final psalm..." When one is deeply cut or struck, the unfortunate reflex is to recoil. When that blow comes from a member of the church, or the organization as a whole, one's whole sense of stability and peace is shattered. Any "progress" that had been made in one's life is suddenly revealed as nothing more than useless static, providing no power or substance. After the initial reaction, a numbness sets in, partly from shock and partly from pain. A "swan song" is sung, in which a victim declares he's never going back. This can be supported by the title, "Drawing Lines In the Sand." They're demarkations of decision, though they're not necessarily permanent or indelible. "Living becomes so much easier once we admit we're dying" stresses a moment in time in people's lives where they understand the need of practical living rather than idyllic existence, much of which can be quite illusionary. Just my take, however. I'd love to get inside the heads of DT, particularly John Petrucci, when he penned this. I know this (1997) was a very dark time in his life, as well as forMike Portnoy, who had recently lost his mother when "A Change of Seasons" was written.

To me, this song has to do with the fact that people can be blinded by their own cause, whatever that may be; politics, ideals, religion, personal gain... And in that blind rage, people tend to forget what they really stand for, becoming in essence what they hate without realizing it, just to get out on top. "The outcome justifies the means", if you will. In particular in the part

"We fabricate our demons Invite them into our homes Have supper with the aliens And fight the war alone We conjure up our skeletons Enlist the den of theives Frightened from our closets Then sewn upon our sleeves"

We make up threats to our cause, fight amongst each other and we are willing to give up all we stand for just to se our (made up) enemies defeated. The title about "drawing lines in the sand", as twasthen put it, could symbolize these meaningless and easilly altered boundries that separate man from himself based on nothing but blind dogmatic faith - wheter in politics, religion, nationalism and so on - and the hypocrisy that comes with it. Man always comes up with reasons to hate each other. For instance, practically every language has a word for "barbarian". In other words, barbarians view other people as barbarians. This is especially clear in the part

"Sometimes, in the wreckage of our wake There's a bitterness we harbor And hate for hatred's sake"

Every cause ever concieved has the potential to turn out bad, once you forget what you really "fight" for. People start drawing lines in the sand, and those lines are constantly shifting, and people hate each other just because they "always have".

In essence, I think this song is about making us think about what we really live for - Is it to further a cause we don't even support? "Once we admit we're dying" we can start thinking about what really matters - we aren't going to live forever, so we should think carefully before fighting someone elses fight, just so they can get out on top.

This is about Christians who miss the point of their faith, get preoccupied with salvation and become filled with hate for those who don't conform as a result, which as any christian knows isn't the point of their belief at all. The verses and bridges explain this pretty well.

The chorus is an image of a holier than thou person. They are bogged down in becoming so religious and living perfectly that they forget jesus' suffering (crown of thorns at the side) and are drawing their own lines in the sand, not the ones jesus drew. The first line "Swept away with the tides" is a lament as to how widespread this is, especially in america with small fundamentalist churches all over the shop.

im thinking this song is about a man with no religion...and the chorus is like..jesus being on the cross "Through the holes in my hands, Crown of Thorns at my side"

Damn straight how are there so few calls about this song. One of the best DT songs written in my opinion. One of the first i heard that really made me realise how effective they were at making the listener feel what they wanted you to feel.

I've always also seen it as everything you do seems insignificant and its like all you do is not significant to make any change or progress.

a good starting exhibition of derek sherinians keyboard prowess (if you havent heard planet x, buy it now!)