How am I the first comment on this song? It's probably my favorite song from Full Circle, if not "On My Sleeve". Anyways, I see this song as a sequel to "My Own Prison", the song, not the entire album. Compare a few things:
My Own Prison:
The walls are cold and pale, the cage made of steel... Gabriel stands and confirms, I've created my own prison"
A Thousand Faces:
"I stand surrounded by the walls that once defined me..."
My Own Prison goes on to say "A Lion roars in the darkness, only he holds the key. A light to free me from my burden and grant me life eternally". A Thousand Faces builds off of that, with Stapp seeming to look back upon the mental prison he was in. He sympathizes with the thousands of others who are still stuck in similar situations. He has to "look behind" to see where he once was, and what he overcame. The line "Why can't you see the truth?" reflects his realization in My Own Prison, and he is asking you why you can't see the same thing and free yourself.
The line that says "Broken mirrors paint the floor" is kind of complicated. I think, the singer finally got fed up and tired of looking in the mirror and seeing a reflection that he didn't like (because he was still in his mental prison), so smashing the mirror is symbolic of breaking the chains and becoming free.
How am I the first comment on this song? It's probably my favorite song from Full Circle, if not "On My Sleeve". Anyways, I see this song as a sequel to "My Own Prison", the song, not the entire album. Compare a few things:
My Own Prison: The walls are cold and pale, the cage made of steel... Gabriel stands and confirms, I've created my own prison"
A Thousand Faces: "I stand surrounded by the walls that once defined me..."
My Own Prison goes on to say "A Lion roars in the darkness, only he holds the key. A light to free me from my burden and grant me life eternally". A Thousand Faces builds off of that, with Stapp seeming to look back upon the mental prison he was in. He sympathizes with the thousands of others who are still stuck in similar situations. He has to "look behind" to see where he once was, and what he overcame. The line "Why can't you see the truth?" reflects his realization in My Own Prison, and he is asking you why you can't see the same thing and free yourself.
The line that says "Broken mirrors paint the floor" is kind of complicated. I think, the singer finally got fed up and tired of looking in the mirror and seeing a reflection that he didn't like (because he was still in his mental prison), so smashing the mirror is symbolic of breaking the chains and becoming free.
My two cents.