The first four lines set the atmsophere of the song into place.
"And the light from a street lamp
Paints a pattern on my wall"
The light basically means enlightenment, and since it is placed on top of a street lamp the speaker is unable to reach it. The wall represents his mental barrier. Without being able to get to that light, the speaker will never have a true understanding was his life actually is. We can infer that is what the pattern is.
"Like the pieces of a puzzle
Or a child's uneven scrawl"
Without the proper mindset, a person could not figure both these things out.
"Up a narrow flight of stairs
In a narrow little room"
The stairs are how the speaker is progressing though life. The room is what the speaker's life will turn to be. Notice how he uses the word "narrow" to describe both of these. This describes how human beings will never be truely free.
"As I lie upon my bed
In the early evening gloom"
Still continuing through life without meaning/understanding. As for the second line, gloom is his mental state, because early evening is most certainly not supposed to be very dark, it is how he sees life.
"Impaled on my wall
My eyes can dimly see
The pattern of my life
And the puzzle that is me"
These lines represent the phase of which the human notices an actual pattern controlling his life. However, he does not know how to overcome it. In other words, he knows it's somewhere, but he cannot find the truth of himself anywhere.
"From the moment of my birth
To the instant of my death
There are patterns I must follow
Just as I must breathe each breath"
Throughout his whole existness, he has absolutely no choice but to follow these patterns. Aging is one major thing we can't control. We will forever keep getting older, still being forced to follow those patterns until we die.
"Like a rat in a maze
The path before me lies
And the pattern never alters
Until the rat dies"
There is basically no difference between a rat in a maze and a human's life. Life is a labyrinthic maze of which there is no escape only until death. Death is the only significant change that occurs in life.
"And the pattern still remains
On the wall where darkness fell
And it's fitting that it should
For in darkness I must dwell
Like the color of my skin
Or the day that I grow old
My life is made of patterns
That can scarcely be controlled"
The speaker is finally accepting no freedom, never able to unravel the truth about life and being forever controlled by a force which will never be seen.
The first four lines set the atmsophere of the song into place.
"And the light from a street lamp Paints a pattern on my wall" The light basically means enlightenment, and since it is placed on top of a street lamp the speaker is unable to reach it. The wall represents his mental barrier. Without being able to get to that light, the speaker will never have a true understanding was his life actually is. We can infer that is what the pattern is.
"Like the pieces of a puzzle Or a child's uneven scrawl" Without the proper mindset, a person could not figure both these things out.
"Up a narrow flight of stairs In a narrow little room" The stairs are how the speaker is progressing though life. The room is what the speaker's life will turn to be. Notice how he uses the word "narrow" to describe both of these. This describes how human beings will never be truely free.
"As I lie upon my bed In the early evening gloom" Still continuing through life without meaning/understanding. As for the second line, gloom is his mental state, because early evening is most certainly not supposed to be very dark, it is how he sees life.
"Impaled on my wall My eyes can dimly see The pattern of my life And the puzzle that is me" These lines represent the phase of which the human notices an actual pattern controlling his life. However, he does not know how to overcome it. In other words, he knows it's somewhere, but he cannot find the truth of himself anywhere.
"From the moment of my birth To the instant of my death There are patterns I must follow Just as I must breathe each breath" Throughout his whole existness, he has absolutely no choice but to follow these patterns. Aging is one major thing we can't control. We will forever keep getting older, still being forced to follow those patterns until we die.
"Like a rat in a maze The path before me lies And the pattern never alters Until the rat dies" There is basically no difference between a rat in a maze and a human's life. Life is a labyrinthic maze of which there is no escape only until death. Death is the only significant change that occurs in life.
"And the pattern still remains On the wall where darkness fell And it's fitting that it should For in darkness I must dwell Like the color of my skin Or the day that I grow old My life is made of patterns That can scarcely be controlled" The speaker is finally accepting no freedom, never able to unravel the truth about life and being forever controlled by a force which will never be seen.