AofSin has done an adequate job of describing what this song means to me, so I will not bother restating those points, as he has done a great job.
I would like to point out though, that there is no "right way" to listen to songs like this. When I was a teenager, this was my favorite maiden song - I of course had no clue what it meant, but somehow it was still capable of achieving an awakened state by simply letting the lyrics wash over me. There is no reason to think analytically about the meaning of a song and proclaim its one "true" meaning. The irony for me is that this song is about spiritual enlightenment, and the goal is achieved by simply listening to the words and feeling them in that moment.
another thing that attests to the brilliance of this song, is that the lyrics are two-fold, in terms of how they may be interpreted. With each verse, there is obvious imagery (which I saw when I was younger), and more significant imagery below the surface (which I see now). For example, "she came to me with a serpents kiss....and the seed is sown in a holy place...i waited for the dawn" this whole verse paints a picture of adam and eve sinning together (that is obvious), but the deeper meaning depicts the kundalini energy which remains coiled and dormant at the base of the spine, and the enlightened state achieved by its awakening ("the venom tears my spine" only confirms this). the verse "bind all of us together....no storm or heavy weather will rock the boat" again, there's what's obvious, and what's not so obvious. Bring all of us together, catalyzed by this enlightened state which has been achieved by the one whose boat does not rock in the storm/heavy weather.....whose mind is not clouded by the wind and rain and noise of this world. And finally, as somebody else has already said, this depiction of a king, or supremely enlightened being could be anyone. anyone is capable of achieving this state. Even you.
as I re-read my comments on this i once again have to giggle at how silly it is to offer a "definition" of what this song really means, and waste one's breath. the song is brilliant, and it is open to interpretation. we are using words to define other words, which were initially posed to evoke feelings...just listen to the song and let it do that.
AofSin has done an adequate job of describing what this song means to me, so I will not bother restating those points, as he has done a great job.
I would like to point out though, that there is no "right way" to listen to songs like this. When I was a teenager, this was my favorite maiden song - I of course had no clue what it meant, but somehow it was still capable of achieving an awakened state by simply letting the lyrics wash over me. There is no reason to think analytically about the meaning of a song and proclaim its one "true" meaning. The irony for me is that this song is about spiritual enlightenment, and the goal is achieved by simply listening to the words and feeling them in that moment.
another thing that attests to the brilliance of this song, is that the lyrics are two-fold, in terms of how they may be interpreted. With each verse, there is obvious imagery (which I saw when I was younger), and more significant imagery below the surface (which I see now). For example, "she came to me with a serpents kiss....and the seed is sown in a holy place...i waited for the dawn" this whole verse paints a picture of adam and eve sinning together (that is obvious), but the deeper meaning depicts the kundalini energy which remains coiled and dormant at the base of the spine, and the enlightened state achieved by its awakening ("the venom tears my spine" only confirms this). the verse "bind all of us together....no storm or heavy weather will rock the boat" again, there's what's obvious, and what's not so obvious. Bring all of us together, catalyzed by this enlightened state which has been achieved by the one whose boat does not rock in the storm/heavy weather.....whose mind is not clouded by the wind and rain and noise of this world. And finally, as somebody else has already said, this depiction of a king, or supremely enlightened being could be anyone. anyone is capable of achieving this state. Even you.
as I re-read my comments on this i once again have to giggle at how silly it is to offer a "definition" of what this song really means, and waste one's breath. the song is brilliant, and it is open to interpretation. we are using words to define other words, which were initially posed to evoke feelings...just listen to the song and let it do that.