First of all, great song. These were the initial thoughts I had on the song after listening to it more than a few times. It's probably hilariously incorrect but it's just my interpretation.
The lyrics seem to be Jesse commenting on the current state of society, specifically the ennui felt by the youth of today. There's also some religious iconography in there.
"How does everything start and end?
Come gather now, and lay this beast to rest
I kept hearing the trumpets, got my hearing checked
My father spoke a prophecy
To think that I believed is self-centered of me.
There was something I was trying to say,
but then I choked on it and now it's gettin' kinda late"
Lines like "How does everything start and end?" (evolution vs creationism, whether there's an afterlife), "My father spoke a prophecy" (god , ten commandments, etc) suggest that the subject in the song is debating his stance on religion and whether he's spiritual or not. However the first verse ends with -
"There was something I was trying to say,
but then I choked on it and now it's gettin' kinda late"
Which seems to imply that the subject is questioning the whole aspect of organized religion, and was ready to proclaim his adversity to it but didn't, perhaps chickened out and now feels the time has gone. The line "Come gather now, and lay this beast to rest" earlier also sounds like he's sick of religious fanatics, and wants to finally put the whole debate to rest. What this then leads into is -
"We walked to the edge but we never leapt
What sings to you when you disconnect?"
which moves towards discussing the numbness and disillusionment haunting the youth of today. Blame it on the internet, or cell phones, whatever, but the song implies that the youth today are smarter than ever due to the ability to access more information easier, but have never capitalized on their opportunities. They have the knowledge to pick apart religion ("we walked to the edge") but through laziness, listlessness, they haven't acted on it ("we never leapt") and are now just brainless zombies staring at screens instead of making real connections ("What sings to you when you disconnect?") This is driven home less subtly during the chorus -
"Written on the wall, letters plain and tall
And this is my own fault, we don't feel anything
We don't feel anything, we don't feel anything
We don't feel anything"
Due at least in part to technology, everyone's been numbed. We don't feel anything, and thus we lose any chance to truly change the state of society.
The second verse gets a little more ambiguous:
"I still cower in eternal wrath, though
Don't want my fear to become my shadow
I wanna evade my thoughts, I wanna down a Kyoto."
The first line again comes back to the religious discussion, perhaps the subject (who is pretty much a representation of society today) still once in a while thinks that there is a god, and is worried about it, but doesn't "want my fear to become my shadow" and thus shuts himself away from confrontation ("I wanna evade my thoughts"). I'm not sure what the kyoto reference is, if anyone has any knowledge feel free to share it.
The ocean never sleeps or dreams,
and never stops to ponder what it sees
Committed to it's satellite,
no one can move you, man, and no one's ever going to try.
All the tides are married to the moon.
All I want is for my heart to be as true.
The first portion of this verse seems to be comparing the ocean to society. An ocean has no conscience, it "never sleeps or dreams and never stops to ponder what it sees", which is pretty much where the song implies society is heading, to a state of nothingness, without consciousness and to a point where people won't stop and admire the world for what it is. The "all I want is for my heart to be as true" line seems to add a little hope that the subject is lamenting the state of society today, and wants to get back to actually living lives to the full and having a "true" heart.
The chorus then repeats, but includes the line "Not gone but fading fast", which is almost a warning - don't forget that we are in fact humans, with a brain, a conscience and emotions. Don't become a mindless zombie, don't get to a point where "we don't feel anything."
Very interesting song, very intrigued to hear what the rest of the album sounds like.
First of all, great song. These were the initial thoughts I had on the song after listening to it more than a few times. It's probably hilariously incorrect but it's just my interpretation.
The lyrics seem to be Jesse commenting on the current state of society, specifically the ennui felt by the youth of today. There's also some religious iconography in there.
"How does everything start and end? Come gather now, and lay this beast to rest I kept hearing the trumpets, got my hearing checked
My father spoke a prophecy To think that I believed is self-centered of me. There was something I was trying to say, but then I choked on it and now it's gettin' kinda late"
Lines like "How does everything start and end?" (evolution vs creationism, whether there's an afterlife), "My father spoke a prophecy" (god , ten commandments, etc) suggest that the subject in the song is debating his stance on religion and whether he's spiritual or not. However the first verse ends with -
"There was something I was trying to say, but then I choked on it and now it's gettin' kinda late"
Which seems to imply that the subject is questioning the whole aspect of organized religion, and was ready to proclaim his adversity to it but didn't, perhaps chickened out and now feels the time has gone. The line "Come gather now, and lay this beast to rest" earlier also sounds like he's sick of religious fanatics, and wants to finally put the whole debate to rest. What this then leads into is -
"We walked to the edge but we never leapt What sings to you when you disconnect?"
which moves towards discussing the numbness and disillusionment haunting the youth of today. Blame it on the internet, or cell phones, whatever, but the song implies that the youth today are smarter than ever due to the ability to access more information easier, but have never capitalized on their opportunities. They have the knowledge to pick apart religion ("we walked to the edge") but through laziness, listlessness, they haven't acted on it ("we never leapt") and are now just brainless zombies staring at screens instead of making real connections ("What sings to you when you disconnect?") This is driven home less subtly during the chorus -
"Written on the wall, letters plain and tall And this is my own fault, we don't feel anything We don't feel anything, we don't feel anything We don't feel anything"
Due at least in part to technology, everyone's been numbed. We don't feel anything, and thus we lose any chance to truly change the state of society.
The second verse gets a little more ambiguous:
"I still cower in eternal wrath, though Don't want my fear to become my shadow I wanna evade my thoughts, I wanna down a Kyoto."
The first line again comes back to the religious discussion, perhaps the subject (who is pretty much a representation of society today) still once in a while thinks that there is a god, and is worried about it, but doesn't "want my fear to become my shadow" and thus shuts himself away from confrontation ("I wanna evade my thoughts"). I'm not sure what the kyoto reference is, if anyone has any knowledge feel free to share it.
The ocean never sleeps or dreams, and never stops to ponder what it sees Committed to it's satellite, no one can move you, man, and no one's ever going to try.
All the tides are married to the moon. All I want is for my heart to be as true.
The first portion of this verse seems to be comparing the ocean to society. An ocean has no conscience, it "never sleeps or dreams and never stops to ponder what it sees", which is pretty much where the song implies society is heading, to a state of nothingness, without consciousness and to a point where people won't stop and admire the world for what it is. The "all I want is for my heart to be as true" line seems to add a little hope that the subject is lamenting the state of society today, and wants to get back to actually living lives to the full and having a "true" heart.
The chorus then repeats, but includes the line "Not gone but fading fast", which is almost a warning - don't forget that we are in fact humans, with a brain, a conscience and emotions. Don't become a mindless zombie, don't get to a point where "we don't feel anything."
Very interesting song, very intrigued to hear what the rest of the album sounds like.