Lyric discussion by kantieb0 

Cover art for Luciforms lyrics by Mars Volta, The

This album is supposedly a soundtrack to a kidnapping. Luciforms pretty well captures that feeling in both lyrics and tone. I hear this as a lamentation from the perspective of the parent/friend/relative/whoever of a kidnapped person. It goes through alot of the stages of thought that a loved one might go through. "How much do you make in that death factory? severance owed in the chamber of revolvers" Hating the kidnappers. "Empty jails fall from my scalp, shake the globe and let me out if still I can remember the day that they took you from me." Empty jails, as in they haven't been caught. shake the globe, as in shake my head, wake me up from this nightmare.

The chorus is essentially about how this event becomes a central part of their life against their will. they're haunted by it until they die, no matter how hard they try to escape it. If heaven is real (breathes) they don't want to go there,(trade places) because they're consumed with a violent urge for revenge.(don't want to tear feathers instead of rags, don't fight angels instead of demons)

the second verse is about remembrance as time goes on. They are still obsessed with the lost loved one while everyone else moves on and comforts you with menial things. (comfort of doubt still it keeps you thin. "maybe she survived?" "you look well")

The last verse is a lashing out at the kidnappers, as it was alluded to in the chorus. (if your heart does cease to speak, my fingernail choir will make your chalk board sing. fingernails on a chalkboard = torturous sound. if you die, I'll see you in hell, and make your afterlife miserable.)

My Interpretation

Nice work kantieb. I'm going to build off of your post, if I may.

A "Gordian Knot" was a part of Mediterranean(?) folklore concerning Alexander the Great... In the story, it was said that whoever could untie the knot would rule all of the known world. Alexander the Great, however, couldn't (or lacked the patience to) untie it, and cut it in two. If you guys are familiar with the history concerning Alexander the Great, I'm sure you can figure out the rest (Hint: he got fucked up).

So, when Cedric writes about "Gordian knots in the powerlines",...