If you've seen the music video (which is awesome), it becomes clear that this song is about seeing the good in a bad situation, about finding hope in even the worst problems. In the video, there is an angel who seems to have lost her eyes-- inferred from the blood dripping out of them-- and a teenage boy saves her and takes her back to his village. When he gets there, though, an older man (possibly his father) drags him away and burns the hut in which the angel is sitting. In the end, her soul flies away.
To me, this says that the father is a lot wiser than his son: he knows that the way to get the angel back to heaven is to burn the hut. But the boy is more compassionate, because he wants to help her and treat her like a human being. This is apparent in the first verse--he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Also, in the second verse, the 'war between him and the day' symbolizes the conflict between him and his father, and 'little he can do alone' means that without his father, the angel would not have gotten back-- but there is still some conflict.
As for the pre-chorus and chorus:
You believe but what you see: This shows that the boy chooses to see the angel as just a girl, and so doesn't believe his father is right about hurting her. But since the father sees her as an angel, he is able to help her.
You recieve but what you give: Standard old adage, seeming to promise hope for the boy because he was so nice to the angel.
Caress the one, the Never-Fading
Rain in your heart - the tears of snow-white sorrow
Caress the one, the hiding amaranth
In a land of the daybreak
The never-fading rain refers to the boy's unhappiness, and is symbolized by the angel's predicament. But the 'hiding amaranth' represents hidden hope-- the way to save the angel is to kill her. Think about that for a minute.
And by putting them in parallel construction, the song shows that beauty and pain can coexist, but in the end, hope wins out. You just have to find the amaranth.
If you've seen the music video (which is awesome), it becomes clear that this song is about seeing the good in a bad situation, about finding hope in even the worst problems. In the video, there is an angel who seems to have lost her eyes-- inferred from the blood dripping out of them-- and a teenage boy saves her and takes her back to his village. When he gets there, though, an older man (possibly his father) drags him away and burns the hut in which the angel is sitting. In the end, her soul flies away.
To me, this says that the father is a lot wiser than his son: he knows that the way to get the angel back to heaven is to burn the hut. But the boy is more compassionate, because he wants to help her and treat her like a human being. This is apparent in the first verse--he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Also, in the second verse, the 'war between him and the day' symbolizes the conflict between him and his father, and 'little he can do alone' means that without his father, the angel would not have gotten back-- but there is still some conflict.
As for the pre-chorus and chorus: You believe but what you see: This shows that the boy chooses to see the angel as just a girl, and so doesn't believe his father is right about hurting her. But since the father sees her as an angel, he is able to help her. You recieve but what you give: Standard old adage, seeming to promise hope for the boy because he was so nice to the angel.
Caress the one, the Never-Fading Rain in your heart - the tears of snow-white sorrow Caress the one, the hiding amaranth In a land of the daybreak The never-fading rain refers to the boy's unhappiness, and is symbolized by the angel's predicament. But the 'hiding amaranth' represents hidden hope-- the way to save the angel is to kill her. Think about that for a minute. And by putting them in parallel construction, the song shows that beauty and pain can coexist, but in the end, hope wins out. You just have to find the amaranth.