After owning the album for 14 years, today was the first time I listened to the opening track with headphones on, and was very surprised to hear the voices in the background!
Anyway, something I've noticed (while letting my CD loop) that's interesting -- "Signs of Life" at the very beginning of the album acts as a continuation of "Sorrow" at the very end. "Sorrow" features a man sitting alongside a river, talking to it about his despair, and the water offering him an invitation as it rushes into an oily sea; the lyrics seem to suggest he commits suicide. But if you let the album loop, what you hear next is the sound of water quietly lapping against something, quiet voices like dreams/memories during semi-consciousness, and then the music suggesting some kind of momentous mystical discovery.
I like to interpret the continuation as suggesting that he survived the depression -- "Signs Of Life" could refer to the early moments where it becomes clear that he's still alive after leaping into the river (if he did) and being washed out to sea, or to him seeing the first little signs that his depression has cleared enough that his positive emotions are coming back to life.
After owning the album for 14 years, today was the first time I listened to the opening track with headphones on, and was very surprised to hear the voices in the background!
Anyway, something I've noticed (while letting my CD loop) that's interesting -- "Signs of Life" at the very beginning of the album acts as a continuation of "Sorrow" at the very end. "Sorrow" features a man sitting alongside a river, talking to it about his despair, and the water offering him an invitation as it rushes into an oily sea; the lyrics seem to suggest he commits suicide. But if you let the album loop, what you hear next is the sound of water quietly lapping against something, quiet voices like dreams/memories during semi-consciousness, and then the music suggesting some kind of momentous mystical discovery.
I like to interpret the continuation as suggesting that he survived the depression -- "Signs Of Life" could refer to the early moments where it becomes clear that he's still alive after leaping into the river (if he did) and being washed out to sea, or to him seeing the first little signs that his depression has cleared enough that his positive emotions are coming back to life.