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Punishment Divine Lyrics

It's warm and tender but very soon it will turn cold
Shadows stare down from the walls
Out of the mist it's coming closer now
It never rains -- it pours on me
So let the saints
Set up the courtyard, the unpleasant cage
The obvious point is I'm insane

Was I aware whom I has slain, I fear I was:
The faceless
The nameless
The bush set on fire
No one ever dared to speak
"Shame on me, I don't believe
The here and now Is all we're living for"

Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return

Witness my last breath
I do not regret
A word I've said
The strong will survive
The weak must die

And out of the mist
It's coming closer now
Sinner and saints --
The grateful slaves

Nature's law instead of God in heaven

From far beyond
I can hear them sing
I hear angels sing
Songs of innocence
I hear the angel sing

Despite the facts are clear
It cannot be, what we can't see
I must admit, it sounds so sweet

Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return

Angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
(Can hear them sing)
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing
I hear angels sing

Far beyond I hear them sing
("It's true) it's true
We don't exist"
From far beyond I hear them sing
("It's true) it's true
We don't exist"

Well we all know there's no other side
It's good and evil
I know right between, there's no borderline
This is the punishment divine

Surrounded by night, I've been offered insight
There is none but the sin of pride
Am I wrong am I right? Am I losing my sight?
Abandoning the superior mind

Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
By one false move it's blown away
Joyful it seems but
Then suddenly
Their voices cease it's gone away
Vanished to the point of no return
Vanished to the point of no return

(Right away)
Through the valleys grey
(I will be gone)
Through the shapeless land I walk alone
(I will be gone)
I'm left alone
(I will be gone)
Through the deepest void, a blackened paradise
(I will be gone)
I walk alone, I'm left alone
12 Meanings

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Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

Yep, Nietsche. Insanity. 'Was I aware whom I had slain' (Got ist Tot) 'The strong will survive, the weak must die' (will to power) 'Natures law instead of God's' (one of Nietzsche's primary concerns was to knock down Christian morality, because of it's false basis) 'It's good and evil, I know right between there's no borderline' (Nietzsche realised that all contemporary concepts of morality were false, and he seemed to suffer from that realisation) Darwin may have been tortured by his discoveries, but he didn't visualise their consequences are darkly as Nietzsche.

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

This song is about the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who for his whole life was a devout atheist, until around the time of his death when he began to talk to angels. It's about his struggle to keep his sanity and stick to what he's believed for his whole life.

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

"Survival of the Fittest" of also Nietzsche's opinion, but you are right, it's also possible that it refers to Darwin

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

It definitely about Nietzsche. The line

  "Was I aware whom I has slain, I fear I was"

does not leave any doubt to me.

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

It definitely about Nietzsche. The line

  "Was I aware whom I has slain, I fear I was"

does not leave any doubt to me.

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

I say Charles Darwin.

And Btw. Something's wrong here.

Was I aware whom I has slain, I fear I was: The faceless The nameless The bush set on fire No one ever dared to speak "Shame on me, I don't believe The here and now Is all we're living for"

It should be

Was I aware whom I haD slain, I fear I was: The faceless The nameless The bush sAt on fire No one ever dared to speak "Shame on me, I don't believe The here and now Is all we're living for"

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

It's defenitly Nietzsche. The last years of his life he turned insane and was taken to a mental hospital

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

It does seem to match Nietsche much better than Darwin. I tried to read Will to Power. I almost went insane as well... XP

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

Definitely about Nietzsche. Darwin wasn't an atheist, even calling him an agnostic would be pushing it a bit. Nor did Darwin think his work had any bearing on religion in terms of the existence of god. 'Survival of the fittest' in Darwin's view definitely did not equate to 'only the strong survive', it's a fairly meaningless phrase without context in the sense of Darwin's usage. He was using it to express adaptability in terms of speciation. Darwin also never recanted his theories or hypotheses as described in the song, he was a serious scientist to his death.

'Well we all know there's no other side It's good and evil I know right between, there's no borderline This is the punishment divine'

Nietzsche described 'good and evil' as simple human abstractions which were fundamentally irrelevant in his view of the world and fairly frequently described god as a useless concept to modern man.

There's also the simple fact that Nietzsche died in extremely poor mental health after suffering several strokes, Darwin died fairly peacefully and completely sane.

Cover art for Punishment Divine lyrics by Blind Guardian

Nietzsche it is, there's no doubt. While some parts might fit Darwin or others, the whole picture is clearly showing us the old walrus-moustached German.

And it is a rather superficial interpretation of his thoughts, and certainly a Christian one; the survival of fittest / natural law, God killing, the intriguing thought about God/Heaven, sweetly singing angels etc...these don't really tell what Nietzsche's about, if you go deeper into his thinking. But then again, I guess the song's meant to be more about his mental breakdown than his core philosophy.

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