Looking at this, it's so well written I just have to make a stab at what it could mean.
I think it's about God and angels, and a human who's been allowed to see the heavens and come back to Earth. This might be a biblical reference as the bible says God has only revealed the heavens to one man, St John of Patmos, I'm pretty sure his name's called. God sends him back down to earth, telling him to help his friends to change the way they behave ("Tell, your, friends not, to live, like, they are).
I think there's a description of a figurative bridge made by angels, between Earth and heaven, and God tells his angels to hold up the bridge with rope. Very powerful figurative images to describe a way for a human to see heaven.
I think that the song is about oppression and hardship that each human has to go through. I think when Jonathan was writing this song, I think he was playing with the idea that God looks down from heaven increasing the "weights" or hardships and life difficulties we have when we get over them. You see he says "add the burden, up the weights / double the weights..."
In the first verse: (Blind by daybreak...) St John (notice the actual writer, Jonathan has the same name as St John. Interesting, maybe coincidental, maybe not.) is on earth, and it's raining, and he's back on Earth with hardships, and he knows God is "upping" the weights, it's a necessity, and he's frustrated. Why do you have to double my weights? Why do you make it harder for me? "Diamond matter will you / make me lucid" this phrase is very ambiguous, it could be directly talking to the rain, saying diamond matter (rain) make me invisible, so God won't be able to see me, and double my weights. It could also mean angels, clear my mind of all this hardship and pain. "Travel over nothing boy" sounds like what angels can do, a play on words perhaps it means fly. Ambiguity again, great writing.
Living alone? house burning down? living in poverty? lots of images of pain and hardship in the chorus and second verse, and God seems to be controlling it, and St John asks why? why are you doing this?
Now the bridge-sort-of section, that single sort of sudden angelic cherub-like sung line: "Friend, don't break the code, a tiny part, a tiny part remains." I think that's God telling him the reason why life is how it is, and he's not allowed to share this.
The song is ended with this overwhelming climax, as he finally understands how it ends, he knows how the world began, and he knows how it'll end. There's an ambiguity behind these last phrases: "I, know how it starts, and now I know, I know how it ends, I know how it all ends, I know how it ends" It symbolises knowing how to finish the song, which is hugely complicated, one of the reasons why it's a great climax to an album. But it also symbolises understanding the reasons why God has put him through so much pain, why the world is how it is, the meaning of life.
He's not able to finish what he's saying though, the song actually ends chanting gloriously "I know how it all..." symbolising finally being overwhelmed perhaps with elation, perhaps by the way the world ends. Brilliant.
Looking at this, it's so well written I just have to make a stab at what it could mean.
I think it's about God and angels, and a human who's been allowed to see the heavens and come back to Earth. This might be a biblical reference as the bible says God has only revealed the heavens to one man, St John of Patmos, I'm pretty sure his name's called. God sends him back down to earth, telling him to help his friends to change the way they behave ("Tell, your, friends not, to live, like, they are).
I think there's a description of a figurative bridge made by angels, between Earth and heaven, and God tells his angels to hold up the bridge with rope. Very powerful figurative images to describe a way for a human to see heaven.
I think that the song is about oppression and hardship that each human has to go through. I think when Jonathan was writing this song, I think he was playing with the idea that God looks down from heaven increasing the "weights" or hardships and life difficulties we have when we get over them. You see he says "add the burden, up the weights / double the weights..."
In the first verse: (Blind by daybreak...) St John (notice the actual writer, Jonathan has the same name as St John. Interesting, maybe coincidental, maybe not.) is on earth, and it's raining, and he's back on Earth with hardships, and he knows God is "upping" the weights, it's a necessity, and he's frustrated. Why do you have to double my weights? Why do you make it harder for me? "Diamond matter will you / make me lucid" this phrase is very ambiguous, it could be directly talking to the rain, saying diamond matter (rain) make me invisible, so God won't be able to see me, and double my weights. It could also mean angels, clear my mind of all this hardship and pain. "Travel over nothing boy" sounds like what angels can do, a play on words perhaps it means fly. Ambiguity again, great writing.
Living alone? house burning down? living in poverty? lots of images of pain and hardship in the chorus and second verse, and God seems to be controlling it, and St John asks why? why are you doing this?
Now the bridge-sort-of section, that single sort of sudden angelic cherub-like sung line: "Friend, don't break the code, a tiny part, a tiny part remains." I think that's God telling him the reason why life is how it is, and he's not allowed to share this.
The song is ended with this overwhelming climax, as he finally understands how it ends, he knows how the world began, and he knows how it'll end. There's an ambiguity behind these last phrases: "I, know how it starts, and now I know, I know how it ends, I know how it all ends, I know how it ends" It symbolises knowing how to finish the song, which is hugely complicated, one of the reasons why it's a great climax to an album. But it also symbolises understanding the reasons why God has put him through so much pain, why the world is how it is, the meaning of life.
He's not able to finish what he's saying though, the song actually ends chanting gloriously "I know how it all..." symbolising finally being overwhelmed perhaps with elation, perhaps by the way the world ends. Brilliant.
-SoftMint