Deliberation Lyrics

Lyric discussion by MaidOMetal 

Cover art for Deliberation lyrics by Katatonia

This song is about someone approaching the end of their life

//Visions come //Visions come //In a sickroom bed //There's something left to learn //Pass them on //Let it show //Let the rich meet death //Confront our own concern

In Western societies, death is sanitized and shoved out of sight, out of mind. By removing ourselves from the spectre of death, we don't have to think about our own dying.

The narrator is dying, and comes upon some revelations regarding the meaning and value of life. The societal veil of death is also lifted; unlike most healthy people, death is something that he can no longer shrug his shoulders an avoid. These verses are him lashing out at people who would prefer to look past his dying and pretend it's not happening, because to accept the death of a loved one means to contemplate one's own death. He is trying to intentionally remove their comfort zone and make them confront it.

//See us sleep behind the glass //Unaware of crime //Wake us up before it is time This is the narrator's way of stating that we know about death, but we don't know it, nor do we want to. We are like dreamers, sleeping behind a transparent barrier, purposely ignorant of death. We don't want to confront it until it's time for us to go.

//The red circle holds the only light //Break down my perspective He sees death coming and is losing consciousness

//And notify everyone when the time is right This is what happens when a person finally dies; friends and relatives are notified.

//My mouth remains inactive This goes with the first stanza. Initially, he wants to lash and scream and break their comfort zone, to tell those around him about death and the meaning of life, but as he slips further into death something in the afterlife transfixes him.

//I am ice //I am clear //Let the world be cold The narrator has finally died and is beyond the cares of the mortal world, but a part of him still remains. the part that remains doesn't view life as previously, being dead, everything is more clear, less complicated, less emotional.

//Our deliberation //Pass them on, let it show //Let the words come slow //Your constant decondition In the wake of the narrator's death, his loved ones are forced to examine death and their own inevitable demise. Because it is an uncomfortable topic, the "words come slow". the process of accepting the loss of a loved one and finally facing the reality of one's own death deconditions a person from the societal constructed ignorance of death discussed in the first stanza.

Song Meaning

@MaidOMetal really cool interpretation