Hey guys. I always like to talk about my interpretation of this song. I know it's written with his amp in mind. I know it's obviously about terrible sorrow that makes someone not only strongly consider suicide, but probably go ahead and attempt it, with a suicide note and all. And those undertones influence my interpretation. However, i always look at it differently, and i hope i can at least get someone to say "wow, i never saw it like that, not bad," whether or not you particularly agree.
To me. this song is about someone who has gone through terrible, horrific pain and strife in their life, and has lost themselves and become someone, or someTHING else. I like to tell a very general, basic story, verse by verse, when i discuss this song. So please take the few minutes and come along on this ride..
Life, it seems, will fade away
Drifting further every day
Getting lost within myself
Nothing matters, no one else
--life as this person has known it, is fading away, and will soon be gone. Every day he wakes up, realizing that things have piled up, and he's one big tragedy away from completely losing himSELF, his MIND, EVERYTHING. All the crap that has been happening and piling on is causing a change, his mind races, and he's getting LOST within himself, his feelings, his thoughts. The last line speaks for itself--nothing matters anymore, no one matters anymore. Right about now, this is the straw the broke the camels back. There's no turning back
I have lost the will to live
Simply nothing more to give
There is nothing more for me
Need the end to set me free
--Perhaps his/her spouse left them. Perhaps a loved one is gone. Perhaps he lost everything in tragedy...whatever it is, he cannot go on anymore. He sees nothing but despair, it's hopeless. He cannot give anything anymore, for anyone. He needs to be free, but it all needs to end--the pain, the tragedy, perhaps even his own life; but it doesnt have to be suicide. Life as he KNOWS IT needs to end, so he can be free again.
Things not what they used to be
Missing one inside of me
Deathly lost, this can't be real
Cannot stand this hell I feel
--he's reminiscing now, seeing that life isn't what it was for him. The change is permanent. The one inside of him, who he WAS, who he THOUGHT he was, is gone. He's lost himself so much, it feels like death; the death of himself. It's surreal, in a bad way though of course. He cannot take it anymore; whatever tragedy has brought him to this point, is truly HELL.
Emptiness is filling me
To the point of agony
Growing darkness taking dawn
I was me, but now he's gone
---the void left by this final straw of pain has left him no longer himself, and completely empty. People throw the word "agony" around, but he realizes this final pain is COMPLETE, true agony. Now that he's lost himself, he's become this "someone/someTHING" else, he realizes this is becoming his new self. And it's dark. Notice how the last line in this verse switches to the 3rd person---"i WAS me, but now HE'S GONE"....the transformation is complete. The pain, the AGONY, the HELL that he's living in caused a complete breakdown, a new "being" is formed...he knows that the old him is DEAD. There is someone else inside. That man no longer exists. It's only this new one. Perhaps he pushed for this new person that grew inside of him, as an escape from the pain. In essence, he has killed his former self, i.e. the suicidal tones of the song at it's first layer.
No one but me can save myself, but it's too late
Now I can't think, think why I should even try
Yesterday seems as though it never existed
Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye
--he realizes that it's over. His former self, the man he was is gone, and although he MIGHT'VE been able to save himself, the pain was too much and this was his only escape. It's too late to go back. And why should he even try? Why go back to the pain. THe new person, the dark and probably EVIL person he's become has taken away the pain by eliminating his former self. All those vicious memories of pain are virtually gone, the pains of "yesterday" and beyond are just a thought. The new self has taken over. Who he was simply never existed.
People always talk about feeling "warm and tingly" or "a euphoric feeling of warmth comes over them" when they feel intense joy, even joy from drugs perhaps. So the DEATH of his former self has eliminated the pain, and it greets the new evil person, with warmth and subconscious joy.
He says goodbye forever to who he was....and if you are to know who this new person is, he will strike the fear of God in you. Something horribly violent is about to take place.
The pain of the old self's life has Faded away...dead...to black nothingness. This new self has taken over, said goodbye to the good person he was....what is about to transpire is that of pure anger and loathing, and those around him are about to witness the unleashing of this new self, in the form of maddening, horrific acts, committed completely unexpected, baffling those who KNEW the OLD HIM.
Sorry for the long way to get to my final thought, but i always saw this song as something no one else really saw it, and simply put in two words: HE'S SNAPPED.
A life of pain, anger, heartbreak, love lost, abuse, etc etc, has been killed. And in his mind, a new person exists. When someone "snaps," we all know what is about to happen next. That is what has Faded to Black; a life destroyed, slowly falling into the empty black void of evil, of DEATH. Whatever happens after this, will be the acts of a monster....
I hope people don't think im TOO crazy hahha..but we've all felt sometimes that we cannot take anymore, and that we're going to "snap." But for the individual in this story/song, it's actually happened...and the end result is frightening...
Hey guys. I always like to talk about my interpretation of this song. I know it's written with his amp in mind. I know it's obviously about terrible sorrow that makes someone not only strongly consider suicide, but probably go ahead and attempt it, with a suicide note and all. And those undertones influence my interpretation. However, i always look at it differently, and i hope i can at least get someone to say "wow, i never saw it like that, not bad," whether or not you particularly agree.
To me. this song is about someone who has gone through terrible, horrific pain and strife in their life, and has lost themselves and become someone, or someTHING else. I like to tell a very general, basic story, verse by verse, when i discuss this song. So please take the few minutes and come along on this ride.. Life, it seems, will fade away Drifting further every day Getting lost within myself Nothing matters, no one else --life as this person has known it, is fading away, and will soon be gone. Every day he wakes up, realizing that things have piled up, and he's one big tragedy away from completely losing himSELF, his MIND, EVERYTHING. All the crap that has been happening and piling on is causing a change, his mind races, and he's getting LOST within himself, his feelings, his thoughts. The last line speaks for itself--nothing matters anymore, no one matters anymore. Right about now, this is the straw the broke the camels back. There's no turning back
I have lost the will to live Simply nothing more to give There is nothing more for me Need the end to set me free --Perhaps his/her spouse left them. Perhaps a loved one is gone. Perhaps he lost everything in tragedy...whatever it is, he cannot go on anymore. He sees nothing but despair, it's hopeless. He cannot give anything anymore, for anyone. He needs to be free, but it all needs to end--the pain, the tragedy, perhaps even his own life; but it doesnt have to be suicide. Life as he KNOWS IT needs to end, so he can be free again.
Things not what they used to be Missing one inside of me Deathly lost, this can't be real Cannot stand this hell I feel --he's reminiscing now, seeing that life isn't what it was for him. The change is permanent. The one inside of him, who he WAS, who he THOUGHT he was, is gone. He's lost himself so much, it feels like death; the death of himself. It's surreal, in a bad way though of course. He cannot take it anymore; whatever tragedy has brought him to this point, is truly HELL.
Emptiness is filling me To the point of agony Growing darkness taking dawn I was me, but now he's gone ---the void left by this final straw of pain has left him no longer himself, and completely empty. People throw the word "agony" around, but he realizes this final pain is COMPLETE, true agony. Now that he's lost himself, he's become this "someone/someTHING" else, he realizes this is becoming his new self. And it's dark. Notice how the last line in this verse switches to the 3rd person---"i WAS me, but now HE'S GONE"....the transformation is complete. The pain, the AGONY, the HELL that he's living in caused a complete breakdown, a new "being" is formed...he knows that the old him is DEAD. There is someone else inside. That man no longer exists. It's only this new one. Perhaps he pushed for this new person that grew inside of him, as an escape from the pain. In essence, he has killed his former self, i.e. the suicidal tones of the song at it's first layer.
No one but me can save myself, but it's too late Now I can't think, think why I should even try Yesterday seems as though it never existed Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye --he realizes that it's over. His former self, the man he was is gone, and although he MIGHT'VE been able to save himself, the pain was too much and this was his only escape. It's too late to go back. And why should he even try? Why go back to the pain. THe new person, the dark and probably EVIL person he's become has taken away the pain by eliminating his former self. All those vicious memories of pain are virtually gone, the pains of "yesterday" and beyond are just a thought. The new self has taken over. Who he was simply never existed. People always talk about feeling "warm and tingly" or "a euphoric feeling of warmth comes over them" when they feel intense joy, even joy from drugs perhaps. So the DEATH of his former self has eliminated the pain, and it greets the new evil person, with warmth and subconscious joy. He says goodbye forever to who he was....and if you are to know who this new person is, he will strike the fear of God in you. Something horribly violent is about to take place. The pain of the old self's life has Faded away...dead...to black nothingness. This new self has taken over, said goodbye to the good person he was....what is about to transpire is that of pure anger and loathing, and those around him are about to witness the unleashing of this new self, in the form of maddening, horrific acts, committed completely unexpected, baffling those who KNEW the OLD HIM.
Sorry for the long way to get to my final thought, but i always saw this song as something no one else really saw it, and simply put in two words: HE'S SNAPPED. A life of pain, anger, heartbreak, love lost, abuse, etc etc, has been killed. And in his mind, a new person exists. When someone "snaps," we all know what is about to happen next. That is what has Faded to Black; a life destroyed, slowly falling into the empty black void of evil, of DEATH. Whatever happens after this, will be the acts of a monster....
I hope people don't think im TOO crazy hahha..but we've all felt sometimes that we cannot take anymore, and that we're going to "snap." But for the individual in this story/song, it's actually happened...and the end result is frightening...