No doubt the song has an eerie, sad meaning to it - at least that's the sense I gather from the music. I think there's also something to be said for a song having several meanings. However, the thing that sprung to my mind initially was the Emmanuel bit. There is clearly a reference to the Bible prophecies about Christ here. Emmanuel means "God with us" and the prophecy is given as a comfort in a situation where everything looks dark.
I see the tower as another Bible reference - that of the Tower of Babel. Yes, it's true that the Bible mentions that the tower was built in an attempt to raise mankind higher than God but I think that's exactly a point here. The combination of the tower and Emmanuel gives me the thought that the song means that we (mankind) has pursued God's love or comfort (hence: Emmanuel) but in the end it all went wrong (hence the view of fire and the end)
No doubt the song has an eerie, sad meaning to it - at least that's the sense I gather from the music. I think there's also something to be said for a song having several meanings. However, the thing that sprung to my mind initially was the Emmanuel bit. There is clearly a reference to the Bible prophecies about Christ here. Emmanuel means "God with us" and the prophecy is given as a comfort in a situation where everything looks dark. I see the tower as another Bible reference - that of the Tower of Babel. Yes, it's true that the Bible mentions that the tower was built in an attempt to raise mankind higher than God but I think that's exactly a point here. The combination of the tower and Emmanuel gives me the thought that the song means that we (mankind) has pursued God's love or comfort (hence: Emmanuel) but in the end it all went wrong (hence the view of fire and the end)