First of all, may I say that this is an amazing song, and it sucks that the lyrics have been removed. Definitely one of my favourites by SA and overall, probably one of their best displays of musicianship. The lyrics, vocals and music itself are all superb. I somewhat disagree with WhitePearl's comment, I think this song is relatively easy to interpret, though there are some very cryptic and metaphorical lines which are difficult, and it is a VERY complex song, so this comment is going to be a long one. As always this is my own personal view on it and some others may have a different perception of what it means.
The backing story is clearly that a relationship has ended sourly, and the narrator still holds feelings for the person he left. I believe the song shows the narrators inner struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. The first few opening lines are quite cryptic and hard to read into, but I believe they provide a good description about the man. He is his own worst enemy, and has a tendency to destroy everything close to his heart. His mistreatment of his partner hurts her, and in turn that comes back to hurt him too. While acknowledging this, he still has a strong sense of self importance ("where's my applause?").
After this comes a pivotal point in the story which cements the theme of suicide, and it's repeated a couple of times throughout the song. ("I see no reason to live in Hell, how can life make me feel so incomplete?"). That one is fairly self explanatory, but basically he feels that there's no point in continuing life when it's a living Hell for him, everything that happens to him seems to make him feel more alone, more incomplete and isolated.
The beginning of the pre-chorus is especially difficult to read into, but my best perception of it is that it's describing the narrators inability to let go of his feelings and move on in his life ("my tears won't reach the ground"). The line "burn my new wound" sounds like a reference to the technique of cauterization, which is burning a wound in order to seal it, preventing blood loss or exposure. Metaphorically, it can be seen as hurting yourself to cure something of much greater severity. Again I believe this is a reference to suicide, it's a horrible thing but he feels it's his only escape. The next few lines seem to repeat the same themes of the previous ones, so I won't go into too much detail.
("I know I cannot feel regret for anything")
He's still not sorry for what he's done and why his relationship ended.
("If I was numb I'd end this once and for all")
If he did feel some sense of regret and empathy, he would likely be able to move on.
("I feel the burn still")
There's too much fire in his heart, he can't let go of it. This is a reference back to "burn my new wound".
("I cannot face this day my guards are down")
He'll end up hurting himself if he keeps thinking like this.
{"I cannot love myself, weak, sad clown")
A reaffirmation that he has no self-respect and hates himself.
("I see myself in fading colours")
Everything good about himself is disappearing.
("I see no hope there where I always used to")
No hope, he thinks he's reached the end.
("I fear your words, the things they mirror. Maybe that is all I am, just a reflection")
He's come to the realisation that he is what his ex-partner had once described him as.
Then the "I see no reason to live in Hell" line is repeated, and we come to one of my favourite parts in the entire song. It's an absolute outburst of anger and rage, that is in stark contrast to the sorrowful reflection displayed in the previous words. He's so full of anger that it has consumed his love, it is no longer about passion. He realises that love manifests itself in both pleasure and pain, and that it alone has caused his problems. With this in mind he sets out to end it for all by hanging himself ("if love's the neck that kept us together and apart, now it's broken"). And he'll make sure that his love knows it is her fault, and speaks to her again after a long period just to make this known ("you think I killed this silence to make things right? The words are loaded").
("There is no cast, no salvation, when it is broken it will stay that way")
A reference to both suicide and love. Once he is dead it will be irreversible, as is the damage to his relationship and the love that once flourished.
("Believe me when I say this, I would not if I did not care")
He wants her to know that everything he's saying comes straight from the heart, it's the truth and very real, not delusion.
("Tears don't mean anything if we don't know when we're sorry. No one can win today, we can't play this game this way")
There's no point in crying over something you aren't truly apologetic for. He feels she isn't truly sorry for the mess he feels she's made of him. And crying won't make him believe that she is.
("We cannot soar and still stay on the ground")
You can't pretend everything is fine when it's not.
The rest of the song really repeats these core meanings until the final chorus is a slightly altered version of the first, where he kills himself. The final verse is interesting and compliments the song well, basically it's sharing his belief that relationships only cause hurt, pain and suffering, and that they're not worth the time or emotional stress. No one needs each other, and in the end it feels like a competition to see who is the strongest individual, who can let go of the feelings first ("peel off the dead skin").
Sorry about the length of the comment, there is much more I could elaborate on since this is a very complex and deep song. It's meaning is quite sinister and creepy, but I really think it's one of Tony's masterpiece songs and definitely showcases his creative writing ability. Hope that helps shed some light on it's meaning for you all. :)
First of all, may I say that this is an amazing song, and it sucks that the lyrics have been removed. Definitely one of my favourites by SA and overall, probably one of their best displays of musicianship. The lyrics, vocals and music itself are all superb. I somewhat disagree with WhitePearl's comment, I think this song is relatively easy to interpret, though there are some very cryptic and metaphorical lines which are difficult, and it is a VERY complex song, so this comment is going to be a long one. As always this is my own personal view on it and some others may have a different perception of what it means.
The backing story is clearly that a relationship has ended sourly, and the narrator still holds feelings for the person he left. I believe the song shows the narrators inner struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. The first few opening lines are quite cryptic and hard to read into, but I believe they provide a good description about the man. He is his own worst enemy, and has a tendency to destroy everything close to his heart. His mistreatment of his partner hurts her, and in turn that comes back to hurt him too. While acknowledging this, he still has a strong sense of self importance ("where's my applause?").
After this comes a pivotal point in the story which cements the theme of suicide, and it's repeated a couple of times throughout the song. ("I see no reason to live in Hell, how can life make me feel so incomplete?"). That one is fairly self explanatory, but basically he feels that there's no point in continuing life when it's a living Hell for him, everything that happens to him seems to make him feel more alone, more incomplete and isolated.
The beginning of the pre-chorus is especially difficult to read into, but my best perception of it is that it's describing the narrators inability to let go of his feelings and move on in his life ("my tears won't reach the ground"). The line "burn my new wound" sounds like a reference to the technique of cauterization, which is burning a wound in order to seal it, preventing blood loss or exposure. Metaphorically, it can be seen as hurting yourself to cure something of much greater severity. Again I believe this is a reference to suicide, it's a horrible thing but he feels it's his only escape. The next few lines seem to repeat the same themes of the previous ones, so I won't go into too much detail.
("I know I cannot feel regret for anything") He's still not sorry for what he's done and why his relationship ended.
("If I was numb I'd end this once and for all") If he did feel some sense of regret and empathy, he would likely be able to move on.
("I feel the burn still") There's too much fire in his heart, he can't let go of it. This is a reference back to "burn my new wound".
("I cannot face this day my guards are down") He'll end up hurting himself if he keeps thinking like this.
{"I cannot love myself, weak, sad clown") A reaffirmation that he has no self-respect and hates himself.
("I see myself in fading colours") Everything good about himself is disappearing.
("I see no hope there where I always used to") No hope, he thinks he's reached the end.
("I fear your words, the things they mirror. Maybe that is all I am, just a reflection") He's come to the realisation that he is what his ex-partner had once described him as.
Then the "I see no reason to live in Hell" line is repeated, and we come to one of my favourite parts in the entire song. It's an absolute outburst of anger and rage, that is in stark contrast to the sorrowful reflection displayed in the previous words. He's so full of anger that it has consumed his love, it is no longer about passion. He realises that love manifests itself in both pleasure and pain, and that it alone has caused his problems. With this in mind he sets out to end it for all by hanging himself ("if love's the neck that kept us together and apart, now it's broken"). And he'll make sure that his love knows it is her fault, and speaks to her again after a long period just to make this known ("you think I killed this silence to make things right? The words are loaded").
("There is no cast, no salvation, when it is broken it will stay that way") A reference to both suicide and love. Once he is dead it will be irreversible, as is the damage to his relationship and the love that once flourished.
("Believe me when I say this, I would not if I did not care") He wants her to know that everything he's saying comes straight from the heart, it's the truth and very real, not delusion.
("Tears don't mean anything if we don't know when we're sorry. No one can win today, we can't play this game this way") There's no point in crying over something you aren't truly apologetic for. He feels she isn't truly sorry for the mess he feels she's made of him. And crying won't make him believe that she is.
("We cannot soar and still stay on the ground") You can't pretend everything is fine when it's not.
The rest of the song really repeats these core meanings until the final chorus is a slightly altered version of the first, where he kills himself. The final verse is interesting and compliments the song well, basically it's sharing his belief that relationships only cause hurt, pain and suffering, and that they're not worth the time or emotional stress. No one needs each other, and in the end it feels like a competition to see who is the strongest individual, who can let go of the feelings first ("peel off the dead skin").
Sorry about the length of the comment, there is much more I could elaborate on since this is a very complex and deep song. It's meaning is quite sinister and creepy, but I really think it's one of Tony's masterpiece songs and definitely showcases his creative writing ability. Hope that helps shed some light on it's meaning for you all. :)