IMHO, I don't think a spirit watching his own funeral would need a telescope or spyglass to see their own funeral. Nor would a spirit have need of water to quench their thirst after death. Lastly, somebody who's dead wouldn't feel the cold in their bones.
However, it almost certainly does describe the burial at sea of a king (fallen crown) and subsequent burning of the ship. The person who's watching it is scared of death and/or in fear of their own mortality.
BTW, it can't be Vikings since the Vikings didn't have telescopes -- that was invented by Galileo about 400 years after the Vikings, IIRC.
@janeaparis1 I know this is an old comment, but I'm just stumbling across it.
@janeaparis1 I know this is an old comment, but I'm just stumbling across it.
Okay. So, there is no mention in this song of a "telescope". It mentions the spirit's telescopic eye, meaning the spirit's vision is now unfettered by physical conventions & "zooms in" on the action, flying overhead and watching the funeral procession.
Okay. So, there is no mention in this song of a "telescope". It mentions the spirit's telescopic eye, meaning the spirit's vision is now unfettered by physical conventions & "zooms in" on the action, flying overhead and watching the funeral procession.
The lyrics very clearly say, "Ashes, bring me back to earth; water, quench my human thirst". In a way, the song describes the spirit reentering its body, maybe to symbolize rebirth. Your interpretation is way too literal. It's most...
The lyrics very clearly say, "Ashes, bring me back to earth; water, quench my human thirst". In a way, the song describes the spirit reentering its body, maybe to symbolize rebirth. Your interpretation is way too literal. It's most definitely the spirit of the dead king, not a spectator.
And again, "telescopic" is an adjective describing the narrator's visual acuity, not a noun indicating an actual object in the song.
IMHO, I don't think a spirit watching his own funeral would need a telescope or spyglass to see their own funeral. Nor would a spirit have need of water to quench their thirst after death. Lastly, somebody who's dead wouldn't feel the cold in their bones.
However, it almost certainly does describe the burial at sea of a king (fallen crown) and subsequent burning of the ship. The person who's watching it is scared of death and/or in fear of their own mortality.
BTW, it can't be Vikings since the Vikings didn't have telescopes -- that was invented by Galileo about 400 years after the Vikings, IIRC.
@janeaparis1 I know this is an old comment, but I'm just stumbling across it.
@janeaparis1 I know this is an old comment, but I'm just stumbling across it.
Okay. So, there is no mention in this song of a "telescope". It mentions the spirit's telescopic eye, meaning the spirit's vision is now unfettered by physical conventions & "zooms in" on the action, flying overhead and watching the funeral procession.
Okay. So, there is no mention in this song of a "telescope". It mentions the spirit's telescopic eye, meaning the spirit's vision is now unfettered by physical conventions & "zooms in" on the action, flying overhead and watching the funeral procession.
The lyrics very clearly say, "Ashes, bring me back to earth; water, quench my human thirst". In a way, the song describes the spirit reentering its body, maybe to symbolize rebirth. Your interpretation is way too literal. It's most...
The lyrics very clearly say, "Ashes, bring me back to earth; water, quench my human thirst". In a way, the song describes the spirit reentering its body, maybe to symbolize rebirth. Your interpretation is way too literal. It's most definitely the spirit of the dead king, not a spectator.
And again, "telescopic" is an adjective describing the narrator's visual acuity, not a noun indicating an actual object in the song.