Though none of you have mentioned it, alot of people just see in this song the idea that there is no God, due to the phrases "is my soul not mine", "am I not man", "I choose my way", "not Heaven or Hell", and "no Lord no God".
I see alot of VNV songs as arguments for both sides of whether or not to believe in God, which is what adds the strong impression of spirituality to their music.
If this is indeed what the song pertains to, I think everything beyond the "there is no God" message is totally ignored.
You will notice, most of those above ideas (from the beginning of the song) are in the form of a question, not a statement. That means the narrator is unsure of them. He then goes on to question them with the chorus.
Both the questions, "when is my work done?" and
Why do I feel... that I carry a sword through a battlefield?" seem to represent to me, that if there truly is no higher power and it's just him, here on earth, then WHY does he feel this sense of higher purpose? If he truly believes that the path that he chooses is all that matters because this life is all there is, then WHY does he feel a need to fight for something else, something bigger--the metaphorical battlefield? And also... a person in pain only has reason to hate. So what creates the love that he feels even when he's hurting?
I also think the same general idea could apply without concerning God. That rather than questioning whether there is a God, the song may just be about where the depth of the human soul and capacity for love comes from.
Just about all VNV songs can have a myriad of interpretations, because of their level of spirituality... this is just the one that I have adopted as a result of the opinions of it that I have seen.
Though none of you have mentioned it, alot of people just see in this song the idea that there is no God, due to the phrases "is my soul not mine", "am I not man", "I choose my way", "not Heaven or Hell", and "no Lord no God".
I see alot of VNV songs as arguments for both sides of whether or not to believe in God, which is what adds the strong impression of spirituality to their music.
If this is indeed what the song pertains to, I think everything beyond the "there is no God" message is totally ignored.
You will notice, most of those above ideas (from the beginning of the song) are in the form of a question, not a statement. That means the narrator is unsure of them. He then goes on to question them with the chorus.
Both the questions, "when is my work done?" and Why do I feel... that I carry a sword through a battlefield?" seem to represent to me, that if there truly is no higher power and it's just him, here on earth, then WHY does he feel this sense of higher purpose? If he truly believes that the path that he chooses is all that matters because this life is all there is, then WHY does he feel a need to fight for something else, something bigger--the metaphorical battlefield? And also... a person in pain only has reason to hate. So what creates the love that he feels even when he's hurting?
I also think the same general idea could apply without concerning God. That rather than questioning whether there is a God, the song may just be about where the depth of the human soul and capacity for love comes from.
Just about all VNV songs can have a myriad of interpretations, because of their level of spirituality... this is just the one that I have adopted as a result of the opinions of it that I have seen.
Ayverie