This is my favorite song. I've listened to it literally thousands of times and know it by hart and it still puzzles me.
It seems that the narrator has killed some female companion ("try to maybe make sense f the eveidence, It's over. She's gone for good. Why should I lie singing a killer's lullaby?"), and in the shock of the feeling he goes to a bar with Jerome and tells his story.
What puzzles me is how the "ghost" part ties in. I mean:
"I'm movin' round this old house for the last time
Scene of my past crimes, been her for lifetimes"
...
"Seven hundred years since I came her you appear
Same hair, same quizzical stare"
...
"the way she gently clutches his chest used to do that to me back in 1253"
So, it almost sounds like he (the narrator) is a ghost:
"I move quick I wanna try my trick one last time
you know it's possible to vaguely define my outline,
when dust move and the sun shine".
But is it that, or is it just a hallucination, an exagerated feeling of overwhelming guilt? It does say earlier "FEELS like I been cursed with seven centuries of bitter memories".
In the end Jerome drives him home and the song ends with "12:37" which sounds almost like an alarm clock or something. So, was this all just some dream or hallucination. Is the narrator just jealous and/or missing someone and this was all a vivid dream that felt like a "twilight zone"?
I love this song. I like your ghost interpretation phlojo, but if you take it a little farther as I have the all the 'ghost stuff' makes more sense.
I love this song. I like your ghost interpretation phlojo, but if you take it a little farther as I have the all the 'ghost stuff' makes more sense.
Maxi (the vocalist) frequently seems to tell stories with his lyrics, and they aren't necessarily his own stories or even true stories. One interesting thing to consider here is that Maxi is a Buddhist. In Buddhism stories are considered to be of great value, some traditions don't even distinguish the value of a 'true' story from a 'fictional' story as even a 'true' story is only as true as...
Maxi (the vocalist) frequently seems to tell stories with his lyrics, and they aren't necessarily his own stories or even true stories. One interesting thing to consider here is that Maxi is a Buddhist. In Buddhism stories are considered to be of great value, some traditions don't even distinguish the value of a 'true' story from a 'fictional' story as even a 'true' story is only as true as the storyteller's memories, perceptions, willingness to be honest and the number of people the story has been passed through. Buddhists also often believe that the truth is something humans are incapable of recognizing except (perhaps) at the utmost height of human enlightenment.
Considering this I believe that this particular story can be taken from two different yet ambiguous perspectives that both would be fitting to the lyrics.
I believe that the narrative character either is a vampire 'cursed' with a hellish eternal life, or is a psychotic delusional who believes he is a vampire. The delusional also fits because while the lyrics state that Jerome is tweaking, that doesn't mean it's tweak the narrator is "learning to be sober" from, it could be he went off his physically addictive medications. This comes to mind considering the absolute hell a good friend of mine has had when ever lowering the dosage of his Zyprexa (an atypical anti-psychotic for schizophrenics) which also frequently resulted in recccurance of his hallucinations until he accustomed himself to the new levels.
After a (real or imagined) 700 years the narrator has found his last true love (either herself being a vampire as well, or perhaps more likely her reincarnation, which seems more fitting to the line "I know I'll see you again, on that you can depend, I just dont know how or when.")
the narrator stalks the woman (either invisible as some fables say vampires are capable of and then just showing enough of himself to show a faint outline, or stalking her by more conventional means from a vantage imagining the scenario in a different way that is more fitting to his delusion.)
Eventually at some point the narrator kills the woman out of jealousy.
Now as he realizes what he's done and that he is going to be alone (romantically) for who knows how long he calls his friend and confesses the given story.
His friend is in disbelief about points of the story and drives him home. With the delusional interpretation home may well be an mental ward for all we know.
Anyways, take it or leave it, but that's the way I have always interpreted the song's story and I don't see anything too contradicting in the lyrics.
This is my favorite song. I've listened to it literally thousands of times and know it by hart and it still puzzles me.
It seems that the narrator has killed some female companion ("try to maybe make sense f the eveidence, It's over. She's gone for good. Why should I lie singing a killer's lullaby?"), and in the shock of the feeling he goes to a bar with Jerome and tells his story.
What puzzles me is how the "ghost" part ties in. I mean: "I'm movin' round this old house for the last time Scene of my past crimes, been her for lifetimes" ... "Seven hundred years since I came her you appear Same hair, same quizzical stare" ... "the way she gently clutches his chest used to do that to me back in 1253"
So, it almost sounds like he (the narrator) is a ghost: "I move quick I wanna try my trick one last time you know it's possible to vaguely define my outline, when dust move and the sun shine".
But is it that, or is it just a hallucination, an exagerated feeling of overwhelming guilt? It does say earlier "FEELS like I been cursed with seven centuries of bitter memories".
In the end Jerome drives him home and the song ends with "12:37" which sounds almost like an alarm clock or something. So, was this all just some dream or hallucination. Is the narrator just jealous and/or missing someone and this was all a vivid dream that felt like a "twilight zone"?
Thoughts?
I love this song. I like your ghost interpretation phlojo, but if you take it a little farther as I have the all the 'ghost stuff' makes more sense.
I love this song. I like your ghost interpretation phlojo, but if you take it a little farther as I have the all the 'ghost stuff' makes more sense.
Maxi (the vocalist) frequently seems to tell stories with his lyrics, and they aren't necessarily his own stories or even true stories. One interesting thing to consider here is that Maxi is a Buddhist. In Buddhism stories are considered to be of great value, some traditions don't even distinguish the value of a 'true' story from a 'fictional' story as even a 'true' story is only as true as...
Maxi (the vocalist) frequently seems to tell stories with his lyrics, and they aren't necessarily his own stories or even true stories. One interesting thing to consider here is that Maxi is a Buddhist. In Buddhism stories are considered to be of great value, some traditions don't even distinguish the value of a 'true' story from a 'fictional' story as even a 'true' story is only as true as the storyteller's memories, perceptions, willingness to be honest and the number of people the story has been passed through. Buddhists also often believe that the truth is something humans are incapable of recognizing except (perhaps) at the utmost height of human enlightenment.
Considering this I believe that this particular story can be taken from two different yet ambiguous perspectives that both would be fitting to the lyrics.
I believe that the narrative character either is a vampire 'cursed' with a hellish eternal life, or is a psychotic delusional who believes he is a vampire. The delusional also fits because while the lyrics state that Jerome is tweaking, that doesn't mean it's tweak the narrator is "learning to be sober" from, it could be he went off his physically addictive medications. This comes to mind considering the absolute hell a good friend of mine has had when ever lowering the dosage of his Zyprexa (an atypical anti-psychotic for schizophrenics) which also frequently resulted in recccurance of his hallucinations until he accustomed himself to the new levels.
After a (real or imagined) 700 years the narrator has found his last true love (either herself being a vampire as well, or perhaps more likely her reincarnation, which seems more fitting to the line "I know I'll see you again, on that you can depend, I just dont know how or when.")
the narrator stalks the woman (either invisible as some fables say vampires are capable of and then just showing enough of himself to show a faint outline, or stalking her by more conventional means from a vantage imagining the scenario in a different way that is more fitting to his delusion.)
Eventually at some point the narrator kills the woman out of jealousy.
Now as he realizes what he's done and that he is going to be alone (romantically) for who knows how long he calls his friend and confesses the given story.
His friend is in disbelief about points of the story and drives him home. With the delusional interpretation home may well be an mental ward for all we know.
Anyways, take it or leave it, but that's the way I have always interpreted the song's story and I don't see anything too contradicting in the lyrics.