Overall this has a feel of vision or prophecy, lots of half-seen images, religious allusions and contrasting opposites. It seems to be a reflection on the dual nature of good and evil and how these are passed on from generation to generation.
The song introduces itself as a reflection on history, like a postcard that "tells you where we've been". This starts out with an image of "dirty dreams of pious men" showing that even those considered most pure and moral are susceptible to sin and lust. These men "wake in fear but sleep again" -- despite the feelings of conscience, the animal need for sleep wins out in the end. This also could be depicting the way that people find justifications for what they've done so that they can preserve their sense of self and continue living.
The next stanza describes a prophetic vision, depicting humans at both extremes of low ("our serpent bellies on the ground") and high ("all the ladies singing loud / alleluia"). This could be pointing to the hypocrisy of some religious practices, or could just be presenting a picture of two sides of religious existence, sin and piety.
The chorus depicts an image of "meadow birds" finding "the bones of righteous men" and finally settling on them and eating them. The bones are presented in two different lights, as worthless junk ("like ragged clothes") and priceless treasure ("like precious stones") and their former owners as both "evil" and "righteous"/"perfect" men. I think the bones represent the writings and traditions of one's ancestors and past religious leaders, while the birds symbolize a new generation that discovers the past anew and incorporates it into the mindset of the times.
In the next stanza Beam seems to be using the word "knuckle" in its archaic sense meaning "kneel", so the overall meaning of the first two lines is that some people turn to faith after being "broken" by life's hardships, whereas for others hardships pull them away from religion. The "callous whisper" of "patience, boy" could be the awareness that everyone dies in the end.
The next stanza is reflecting on the concept of inheritance and the relationships of fathers and sons. The children have received their surname from their father's father, and likewise have inherited both his good and bad characteristics ("his evil and his love remain / inside you boy"). The "flame" represents passions which can warm but also cause harm if uncontrolled -- the subject tries to protect his children from getting burned but knows that they might succumb to the same temptations and weaknesses that he has.
After another repetition of the chorus, the last two stanzas seem to present a vision of the afterlife, looking back over life and measuring up the "time for love" that was lost or wasted. In the end a feeling of universal love remains for all humans, saint and sinner alike, despite their flaws.
Overall this has a feel of vision or prophecy, lots of half-seen images, religious allusions and contrasting opposites. It seems to be a reflection on the dual nature of good and evil and how these are passed on from generation to generation.
The song introduces itself as a reflection on history, like a postcard that "tells you where we've been". This starts out with an image of "dirty dreams of pious men" showing that even those considered most pure and moral are susceptible to sin and lust. These men "wake in fear but sleep again" -- despite the feelings of conscience, the animal need for sleep wins out in the end. This also could be depicting the way that people find justifications for what they've done so that they can preserve their sense of self and continue living.
The next stanza describes a prophetic vision, depicting humans at both extremes of low ("our serpent bellies on the ground") and high ("all the ladies singing loud / alleluia"). This could be pointing to the hypocrisy of some religious practices, or could just be presenting a picture of two sides of religious existence, sin and piety.
The chorus depicts an image of "meadow birds" finding "the bones of righteous men" and finally settling on them and eating them. The bones are presented in two different lights, as worthless junk ("like ragged clothes") and priceless treasure ("like precious stones") and their former owners as both "evil" and "righteous"/"perfect" men. I think the bones represent the writings and traditions of one's ancestors and past religious leaders, while the birds symbolize a new generation that discovers the past anew and incorporates it into the mindset of the times.
In the next stanza Beam seems to be using the word "knuckle" in its archaic sense meaning "kneel", so the overall meaning of the first two lines is that some people turn to faith after being "broken" by life's hardships, whereas for others hardships pull them away from religion. The "callous whisper" of "patience, boy" could be the awareness that everyone dies in the end.
The next stanza is reflecting on the concept of inheritance and the relationships of fathers and sons. The children have received their surname from their father's father, and likewise have inherited both his good and bad characteristics ("his evil and his love remain / inside you boy"). The "flame" represents passions which can warm but also cause harm if uncontrolled -- the subject tries to protect his children from getting burned but knows that they might succumb to the same temptations and weaknesses that he has.
After another repetition of the chorus, the last two stanzas seem to present a vision of the afterlife, looking back over life and measuring up the "time for love" that was lost or wasted. In the end a feeling of universal love remains for all humans, saint and sinner alike, despite their flaws.