the two interpretations i see are a broken relationship or a death of someone close. the indirectness of the song also reflects the pain and sadness he's in.
"It's a funny thing
when you lose your faith
in a grand design."
the words grand design imply god's design and his intent. suppose this is commonly done after some kind of act-of-god event but people question a greater design after all kinds of tragedies.
"Like a flickering
on a back-lit screen
shadowed thoughts arrive."
his view/viewpoint on what's left is now skewed/damaged and "shadowed".
"Starlight in the dead of night
takes a tower down
sure sign that the plan devised
came from nothing known."
i believe starlight to be another symbol of god or the heavens although there's a few interpretations i think. maybe lack of a moon - a typically female symbol. bright spots in the night - possibly sex. taking a tower down also could mean a few things. it's could be from the tower tarot card implying tragedy. also possibly the death or destruction of a human equivalent of a tower. i guess it could even have a literal meaning (9/11?) but probably not. lines 3 and 4 again question that grand design or at least can't understand the why.
"These nights
fall through the glass
Her eyes make amends.(?)"
glass has the double meaning in how painful the nights are and also in how he looks through this window to the tragedy. likely nightmares.
"Trees lean
over empty streets
as the power goes."
that hole inside him wants to be filled and the arching over of that empty street is the best his body/mind can do. "...as the power goes" - the emptiness debilitates him. normally he's powerful/capable but now crippled.
"No sign of a pearl inside
deals a crushin blow."
some of the strongest words in here in some ways. and for those that relate or identify in some way with the depression here, you're not alone.
"You realize
that the sunny side
made the shadows cold."
taking for granted the warmth of that lost person. that without that person, the world is a much colder place.
"Petals fall
waitin for the rise
of another sky."
the slow death of the flowers is another symbol of his sadness and fits both the death and relationship interpretations. he's waiting for warmth to return again in time. "another" though... probably isn't, but possibly the wish for someone else to fill that space. more likely it's a desire for a "brighter day".
"I said I won't look back"
paradoxically, this whole song is a look back on what happened. i believe he wants to avoid the pain of looking back - probably repeated for emphasis because of the conflicting desires in his head. the one that wills the pain away and the other that unconsciously desires that reflection.
"Eyes wide in the dead of night"
looking for answers.
"These eyes too will pass"
i believe he's talking about his own death and likely reflecting on his life going forward. in the case of a relationship, i believe he's reassuring himself that things will get better and the darkness he's under will fade.
my take...
the two interpretations i see are a broken relationship or a death of someone close. the indirectness of the song also reflects the pain and sadness he's in.
"It's a funny thing when you lose your faith in a grand design."
the words grand design imply god's design and his intent. suppose this is commonly done after some kind of act-of-god event but people question a greater design after all kinds of tragedies.
"Like a flickering on a back-lit screen shadowed thoughts arrive."
his view/viewpoint on what's left is now skewed/damaged and "shadowed".
"Starlight in the dead of night takes a tower down sure sign that the plan devised came from nothing known."
i believe starlight to be another symbol of god or the heavens although there's a few interpretations i think. maybe lack of a moon - a typically female symbol. bright spots in the night - possibly sex. taking a tower down also could mean a few things. it's could be from the tower tarot card implying tragedy. also possibly the death or destruction of a human equivalent of a tower. i guess it could even have a literal meaning (9/11?) but probably not. lines 3 and 4 again question that grand design or at least can't understand the why.
"These nights fall through the glass Her eyes make amends.(?)"
glass has the double meaning in how painful the nights are and also in how he looks through this window to the tragedy. likely nightmares.
"Trees lean over empty streets as the power goes."
that hole inside him wants to be filled and the arching over of that empty street is the best his body/mind can do. "...as the power goes" - the emptiness debilitates him. normally he's powerful/capable but now crippled.
"No sign of a pearl inside deals a crushin blow."
some of the strongest words in here in some ways. and for those that relate or identify in some way with the depression here, you're not alone.
"You realize that the sunny side made the shadows cold."
taking for granted the warmth of that lost person. that without that person, the world is a much colder place.
"Petals fall waitin for the rise of another sky."
the slow death of the flowers is another symbol of his sadness and fits both the death and relationship interpretations. he's waiting for warmth to return again in time. "another" though... probably isn't, but possibly the wish for someone else to fill that space. more likely it's a desire for a "brighter day".
"I said I won't look back"
paradoxically, this whole song is a look back on what happened. i believe he wants to avoid the pain of looking back - probably repeated for emphasis because of the conflicting desires in his head. the one that wills the pain away and the other that unconsciously desires that reflection.
"Eyes wide in the dead of night"
looking for answers.
"These eyes too will pass"
i believe he's talking about his own death and likely reflecting on his life going forward. in the case of a relationship, i believe he's reassuring himself that things will get better and the darkness he's under will fade.