Like others have said, I also believe this song to be about Satan. Also, I think he is referring to a lost loved one, for whom he is driven in desperation to seek out Satan. This is my stanza by stanza interpretation.
In the name of desperation
I call your name
A lamentation I sigh
Again and again
This is pretty clear if you assume he is communicating with Satan. It's also just about the coolest way to introduce such a song.
Spiritual eclipse
The gateways are closed for me to seek
I believe here he is traveling to a separate plane on which mortals and godly beings can communicate in different form...this change he refers to as "spiritual eclipse". Upon arrival, the gateway, through which he arrived has closed off, making him unable to leave
The night...
A veil of stars, watching
My shadow is born from light
The light of the eye, in darkness
Here he describes the new setting to which he has arrived. It is very dark, the only illumination coming from distant stars overhead, but he still is producing a shadow which would ordinarily be impossible to discern. A common ability which dark and evil creatures possess in fantasy is often night vision. In his current state, I think he's able to see clearly even with so little light, which explains the "light of the eye".
Over troubled waters memories soar
Endlessly, searching night and day
The moonlight caresses a lonely hill
With the calmness of a whisper
Here he further elaborates on the environment...creating atmosphere before Satan reveals himself.
I wear a naked soul
A blank face in the streaming water
It is cold in here
Frost scar my coat with dust
As others have said, he describes his soul as being naked because he has opened it up for Satan, and now holds no secrets from him. A blank face in streaming water might suggest that he no longer inhabits his ordinary body, but rather is more of a spirit or face, perhaps similar to the soaring memories in the preceding stanza. It also might just mean he's standing in water.
Eyes attach to your mute portrait
We spoke only through thoughts
Together we gazed, awaited
Hours brought thirst and the rising sun
This is where Satan reveals himself, and their communion is described. Who else speaks in thoughts? The end of the verse describes the process of waiting with Satan...I believe the point of this is to show that before the writer is able to leave Satan's realm, daylight must first come...while it is dark, it is impossible to leave.
The contents of the omitted conversation with the devil, I believe, include terms by which the writer can once again see his beloved who has past away in a separate realm, which is then described...
Sunbirds leave their dark recesses
Shadows glide through archways
Brightness is described here, indicating the change of location and presence of people. The archways through which shadows glide are also gateways to other planes of existence, I think. The shadows moving through them might be suggestive as to the types of places which they lead (such as the place which the writer came from). The shadows gliding through might be a hint to the reader that the archways are indeed gateways, and relates back to the place where the writer met Satan, the first description of which predominantly described shadows.
Do not turn your face towards me
Confronting me with my loneliness
You are in a forest unknown
The secret orchard
And your voice is vast and achromatic
But still so precious
This is the description of his first encounter with his dead loved one. He is clearly ashamed of the extents to which he has gone to see her again, and ashamed of his weakness causing him to be unable to be without her. She avoids him for it, and treats him distantly, though not unkindly. The "secret orchard" once again implies a hidden, unearthly, even celestial, realm. Her voice being vast (resonating throughout the forest/orchard) shows that she is perhaps a spirit, or at least not entirely still human. Her voice being achromatic once again shows that she treats him indifferently, perhaps being shocked and extremely displeased that he would commune with the devil, but still being understanding that he did it for her.
Here the description of their encounter ends, and instead the reader is provided with the necessary back-story.
Lullaby of the crescent moon took you
Mesmerized, its kaleidoscopic face
Granted you a hollow stare
Another soul within the divine herd
Lullabies put people to sleep. Using the term mesmerized further alludes to this. The moon is a celestial body. The first two lines imply an eternal sleep, or death, and the last two cinch the deal. The last two lines, however, sound somewhat bitter and even contemptuous. Whether this is perhaps Satan's influence or the remaining effects of Satan's taint on his soul is unclear. It could also simply be a poetic way of describing her physical body and then her rejoicing spirit after death.
I have kept it
The amaranth symbol
Hidden inside the golden shrine
Until we rejoice in the meadow
Of the end
When we both walk the shadows
It will set ablaze and vanish
Black rose immortal
At this point the subject is back to his normal life, but with a parting gift (it could be from his lover were it not a black rose) from Satan. An amaranth, according to dictionary.com, is a mystical, undying flower (The black, immortal rose). Exactly what this symbol does is not entirely clear, however, its purpose will presumably be fulfilled after death, when it will be destroyed. The line, "When we both walk to the shadows" greatly contrasts with their initial meeting place. Of course when he originally went to see Satan, his intent was to somehow be reunited with his lover, but Satan's terms were perhaps somewhat unfair.
It is getting dark again
Dusk shuffle across the fields
The evening trees moan as if they knew
At night I always dream of you
Alright...these lines could possibly be referring to night time, but it is more likely that they are speaking of death. If indeed they are speaking of death, then he will probably soon be reunited eternally with the woman he loved, though perhaps they will spend eternity in a less joyous place than she originally was in. If it is death, it would seem probable that the writer asked for an unnatural and untimely death to be reunited sooner.
Another interpretation could be that it is simply referring to night-time, where each night he can briefly meet with the departed on the shadowy fringes somewhere in between life and death, or another unfortunate realm, like where he met Satan. This might be done by forcing her to meet him against her will so he can see her. (Mikael's lyrics don't tend to be all that happy.)
Another interpretation might be that Satan was simply lying the entire time, and rather than being united with his woman, he instead is simply sent to Hell (or whatever equivalent was created for the sake of the song). Stuff like that tends to happen when you sell your soul to the devil. :P Lastly, the final lines are somewhat ambiguous. I would just assume who he dreams of is his dead beloved, but perhaps others would argue that the trees moan because his sleep is tainted by visits with Satan.
Alright, I'm sure a lot of you disagree, my interpretation's just sort of a shot in the dark, but regardless, it's a fantastic song, which unfortunately seems very reminiscent to me of Wuthering Heights. But yea, this album's practically the pinnacle of all music IMO.
Like others have said, I also believe this song to be about Satan. Also, I think he is referring to a lost loved one, for whom he is driven in desperation to seek out Satan. This is my stanza by stanza interpretation.
In the name of desperation I call your name A lamentation I sigh Again and again
This is pretty clear if you assume he is communicating with Satan. It's also just about the coolest way to introduce such a song.
Spiritual eclipse The gateways are closed for me to seek
I believe here he is traveling to a separate plane on which mortals and godly beings can communicate in different form...this change he refers to as "spiritual eclipse". Upon arrival, the gateway, through which he arrived has closed off, making him unable to leave
The night... A veil of stars, watching My shadow is born from light The light of the eye, in darkness
Here he describes the new setting to which he has arrived. It is very dark, the only illumination coming from distant stars overhead, but he still is producing a shadow which would ordinarily be impossible to discern. A common ability which dark and evil creatures possess in fantasy is often night vision. In his current state, I think he's able to see clearly even with so little light, which explains the "light of the eye".
Over troubled waters memories soar Endlessly, searching night and day The moonlight caresses a lonely hill With the calmness of a whisper
Here he further elaborates on the environment...creating atmosphere before Satan reveals himself.
I wear a naked soul A blank face in the streaming water It is cold in here Frost scar my coat with dust
As others have said, he describes his soul as being naked because he has opened it up for Satan, and now holds no secrets from him. A blank face in streaming water might suggest that he no longer inhabits his ordinary body, but rather is more of a spirit or face, perhaps similar to the soaring memories in the preceding stanza. It also might just mean he's standing in water.
Eyes attach to your mute portrait We spoke only through thoughts Together we gazed, awaited Hours brought thirst and the rising sun
This is where Satan reveals himself, and their communion is described. Who else speaks in thoughts? The end of the verse describes the process of waiting with Satan...I believe the point of this is to show that before the writer is able to leave Satan's realm, daylight must first come...while it is dark, it is impossible to leave.
The contents of the omitted conversation with the devil, I believe, include terms by which the writer can once again see his beloved who has past away in a separate realm, which is then described...
Sunbirds leave their dark recesses Shadows glide through archways
Brightness is described here, indicating the change of location and presence of people. The archways through which shadows glide are also gateways to other planes of existence, I think. The shadows moving through them might be suggestive as to the types of places which they lead (such as the place which the writer came from). The shadows gliding through might be a hint to the reader that the archways are indeed gateways, and relates back to the place where the writer met Satan, the first description of which predominantly described shadows.
Do not turn your face towards me Confronting me with my loneliness You are in a forest unknown The secret orchard And your voice is vast and achromatic But still so precious
This is the description of his first encounter with his dead loved one. He is clearly ashamed of the extents to which he has gone to see her again, and ashamed of his weakness causing him to be unable to be without her. She avoids him for it, and treats him distantly, though not unkindly. The "secret orchard" once again implies a hidden, unearthly, even celestial, realm. Her voice being vast (resonating throughout the forest/orchard) shows that she is perhaps a spirit, or at least not entirely still human. Her voice being achromatic once again shows that she treats him indifferently, perhaps being shocked and extremely displeased that he would commune with the devil, but still being understanding that he did it for her.
Here the description of their encounter ends, and instead the reader is provided with the necessary back-story.
Lullaby of the crescent moon took you Mesmerized, its kaleidoscopic face Granted you a hollow stare Another soul within the divine herd
Lullabies put people to sleep. Using the term mesmerized further alludes to this. The moon is a celestial body. The first two lines imply an eternal sleep, or death, and the last two cinch the deal. The last two lines, however, sound somewhat bitter and even contemptuous. Whether this is perhaps Satan's influence or the remaining effects of Satan's taint on his soul is unclear. It could also simply be a poetic way of describing her physical body and then her rejoicing spirit after death.
I have kept it The amaranth symbol Hidden inside the golden shrine Until we rejoice in the meadow Of the end When we both walk the shadows It will set ablaze and vanish Black rose immortal
At this point the subject is back to his normal life, but with a parting gift (it could be from his lover were it not a black rose) from Satan. An amaranth, according to dictionary.com, is a mystical, undying flower (The black, immortal rose). Exactly what this symbol does is not entirely clear, however, its purpose will presumably be fulfilled after death, when it will be destroyed. The line, "When we both walk to the shadows" greatly contrasts with their initial meeting place. Of course when he originally went to see Satan, his intent was to somehow be reunited with his lover, but Satan's terms were perhaps somewhat unfair.
It is getting dark again Dusk shuffle across the fields The evening trees moan as if they knew At night I always dream of you
Alright...these lines could possibly be referring to night time, but it is more likely that they are speaking of death. If indeed they are speaking of death, then he will probably soon be reunited eternally with the woman he loved, though perhaps they will spend eternity in a less joyous place than she originally was in. If it is death, it would seem probable that the writer asked for an unnatural and untimely death to be reunited sooner.
Another interpretation could be that it is simply referring to night-time, where each night he can briefly meet with the departed on the shadowy fringes somewhere in between life and death, or another unfortunate realm, like where he met Satan. This might be done by forcing her to meet him against her will so he can see her. (Mikael's lyrics don't tend to be all that happy.)
Another interpretation might be that Satan was simply lying the entire time, and rather than being united with his woman, he instead is simply sent to Hell (or whatever equivalent was created for the sake of the song). Stuff like that tends to happen when you sell your soul to the devil. :P Lastly, the final lines are somewhat ambiguous. I would just assume who he dreams of is his dead beloved, but perhaps others would argue that the trees moan because his sleep is tainted by visits with Satan.
Alright, I'm sure a lot of you disagree, my interpretation's just sort of a shot in the dark, but regardless, it's a fantastic song, which unfortunately seems very reminiscent to me of Wuthering Heights. But yea, this album's practically the pinnacle of all music IMO.