One of the biggest themes this album deals with is the fact that humans are inherently evil, and with no punishment from God, they can do what they want, with no hope for heaven or fear of hell.
This song is one of several that deal with this theme. It describes the Nahariya attack back in 1979 to support this idea.
Nahariya is in Israel. In April of 1979, four Palestinian terrorists arrived by boat in the town of Nahariya, to carry out a mission given to them by their leaders. This mission was to kill an Israeli police officer, and to kidnap some Israelis and take them back to Lebanon. They killed the police officer first, then went to an apartment building to search for their next victims. They broke into an apartment containing Danny Haran, his wife, and their two daughters, one was four and the other (Yael) was one. The mother was able to crawl into the crawl space with Yael and a neighbor that went to them for help. In order to prevent Yael from crying and causing them to be found, the mother held her hand over Yael's mouth in fear. This resulted in Yael being suffocated. The terrorists (at this point one of the four had been killed by another resident of the building) then took Danny and his four year old daughter as hostages to secure their escape and went back to their boat. By the time they reached it, however, Israeli police had surrounded them and disabled the boat. In an act of desperation, the leader of the terrorists, Samir Kuntar (who was only 16 at the time) shot Danny in the back, then drowned him to ensure that he was dead. He then beat the four year old girl to death against the rocks on the beach with the butt of his rifle. One more terrorist was killed by the Israeli police, and Kuntar and the remaining one were captured. They have both been released since then.
Phew, sorry for that long explanation, now on to how it fits into the album.
There are two relevant sets of lines that are important to the overall meaning of the album. First, it reiterates that humans are capable of despicable things, and second, The lines such as "cut him slow til his soul takes flight," and "End him slow," again brings up the cruelty of this world where they believe God is dead. They relish and take pleasure in punishing others.
Also (on a personal note), as I think others have said, the bastard that led the group, Samir Kuntar, has been honored as a hero in Lebanon, and the idea that he lives free just sickens me.
One of the biggest themes this album deals with is the fact that humans are inherently evil, and with no punishment from God, they can do what they want, with no hope for heaven or fear of hell.
This song is one of several that deal with this theme. It describes the Nahariya attack back in 1979 to support this idea.
Nahariya is in Israel. In April of 1979, four Palestinian terrorists arrived by boat in the town of Nahariya, to carry out a mission given to them by their leaders. This mission was to kill an Israeli police officer, and to kidnap some Israelis and take them back to Lebanon. They killed the police officer first, then went to an apartment building to search for their next victims. They broke into an apartment containing Danny Haran, his wife, and their two daughters, one was four and the other (Yael) was one. The mother was able to crawl into the crawl space with Yael and a neighbor that went to them for help. In order to prevent Yael from crying and causing them to be found, the mother held her hand over Yael's mouth in fear. This resulted in Yael being suffocated. The terrorists (at this point one of the four had been killed by another resident of the building) then took Danny and his four year old daughter as hostages to secure their escape and went back to their boat. By the time they reached it, however, Israeli police had surrounded them and disabled the boat. In an act of desperation, the leader of the terrorists, Samir Kuntar (who was only 16 at the time) shot Danny in the back, then drowned him to ensure that he was dead. He then beat the four year old girl to death against the rocks on the beach with the butt of his rifle. One more terrorist was killed by the Israeli police, and Kuntar and the remaining one were captured. They have both been released since then.
Phew, sorry for that long explanation, now on to how it fits into the album.
There are two relevant sets of lines that are important to the overall meaning of the album. First, it reiterates that humans are capable of despicable things, and second, The lines such as "cut him slow til his soul takes flight," and "End him slow," again brings up the cruelty of this world where they believe God is dead. They relish and take pleasure in punishing others.
Also (on a personal note), as I think others have said, the bastard that led the group, Samir Kuntar, has been honored as a hero in Lebanon, and the idea that he lives free just sickens me.