For me this song has a religious meaning. As a child he was torn between good and bad because he was spoken to by angels and demons 'Some would sing and some would scream'.
Feel that the fire refers to your free will 'All you have is your fire' and that the 'place you need to reach' is heaven; and to get to heaven you must refuse temptation from the devil 'Don't you ever tame your demons,
But always keep them on a leash.'
'When I was a child I'd sit for hours,
Staring into open flame,
Something in it had a power,
Could barely tear my eyes away.' This verse refers to the temptation of the devil being hard to resist.
'When I was sixteen my senses fooled me,
Thought gasoline was on my clothes,
I knew that something would always rule me,
I knew the scent was mine alone.' This verse says that he gave into temptation and did something bad and that the thing he did will stay with him just like the smell of gasoline which is hard to get rid of.
'When I was a man I thought it ended
When I knew love's perfect ache,
But my peace has always depended
On all the ashes in my wake.' When he was grown up he thought he was past it and he found the love of The Lord 'when I knew loves perfect ache' but he can never truly move on and is worried that no matter what he does from there he will go to hell anyway because of what he's done in the past 'But my peace has always depended, On all the ashes in my wake.' He can never be at peace because he will never forget what be did.
I think this is a really powerful song about the choice between good and evil.
For me this song has a religious meaning. As a child he was torn between good and bad because he was spoken to by angels and demons 'Some would sing and some would scream'. Feel that the fire refers to your free will 'All you have is your fire' and that the 'place you need to reach' is heaven; and to get to heaven you must refuse temptation from the devil 'Don't you ever tame your demons, But always keep them on a leash.' 'When I was a child I'd sit for hours, Staring into open flame, Something in it had a power, Could barely tear my eyes away.' This verse refers to the temptation of the devil being hard to resist. 'When I was sixteen my senses fooled me, Thought gasoline was on my clothes, I knew that something would always rule me, I knew the scent was mine alone.' This verse says that he gave into temptation and did something bad and that the thing he did will stay with him just like the smell of gasoline which is hard to get rid of. 'When I was a man I thought it ended When I knew love's perfect ache, But my peace has always depended On all the ashes in my wake.' When he was grown up he thought he was past it and he found the love of The Lord 'when I knew loves perfect ache' but he can never truly move on and is worried that no matter what he does from there he will go to hell anyway because of what he's done in the past 'But my peace has always depended, On all the ashes in my wake.' He can never be at peace because he will never forget what be did. I think this is a really powerful song about the choice between good and evil.