So I see all these people saying the song is a metaphor, and honestly? I don't think so. This song is for one purpose, and it's horror. A horror film in musical form.
The entire song tells the story of a man, who wakes up sweating. He likely had some kind of nightmare, that woke him up. Also likely involveing somebody close to him. So why does he have this nightmare, that results in him wakeing so early?
"My skin was soaked,
I called your name 'til the fever broke."
So why does he have this nightmare, that results in him wakeing so early? Either this could be a known thing for the narrator, but I personally believe it was a loud, terrifying noise. What is it? Well, that I'll go over later.
"When I awoke,
The moon still hung"
He goes on about how he is still tired and worn out, but gets up anyway, likely because with a nightmare like that, he couldn't go back to sleep.
"I raised myself,
My legs were weak"
This is when the story kicks up. He hears a noise, from outside. A scream. What was the scream? That's in the next stanza.
"I heard a scream
In the woods somewhere."
He hears the noise and says it's the voice of a woman. In hopes of helping, he runs out to check. Most importantly, he does so unarmed.
"A woman's voice!
I quickly ran
Into the trees with empty hands."
So to those who don't know a ton about foxes, they have an absolutely insane vocal range. I believe he didn't hear a woman. He h eard a cry from this Fox, so high a pitch it could be mistaken for human. The scary part, is that it's shakeing, more then likely out of fear, or pain. Again, the next stanza.
"A fox it was,
He shook afraid"
The fox is wounded. Not only wounded, but it's literally dying, in an insane amount of pain, slowly. This, is one of the most grotesque lines I've ever heard in a song. (Not THE anyway, Radiohead holds most of the top five, but getting off topic...) The fox has literal bone exposed, with how painful the wound is. Totally didn't look this up just now, a 'hind' refers to the back of an animal, with 'lame' meaning very, very weak. It's basically putting in a lot of effort just to stand. He's so disgusted and upset by the image, that he puts it out of it's misery, with a nearby stone. (This line here gives me hardcore Poe vibes, by the way.)
"His bone exposed,
His hind was lame.
I raised a stone to end his pain"
He's now wondering what could have happened to this fox. Not only was it near death, but whatever attacked it, didn't kill it. That means it's killing for fun, and the torture of it is practically a game now. This gives you a good idea of how terrifying this monster is. He then acknowledges, that the beast that did this, is still here.
"What caused the wound?
How large the teeth?
I saw new eyes were watching me."
Now it finds a new prey, and one that approached it unarmed. The beast attacked our narrator, and he begins to run. 'save a life I didn't have' meaning that he doubts that he'll make it out of this alive. With how terrifying and fast this monster is, he's almost certain that running wont do anything.
"The creature lunged.
I turned and ran
To save a life I didn't have"
This whole stanza is literally him talking about how panicked he is, and ultimately realizing that he likely wont make it out of this.
"Dear, in the chase
There as I flew
Forgot all prayers of joining you."
The beast gets him. Just like the fox, he's dying, slowly.
"I clutched my life
And wished it kept.
My dearest love,
I'm not done yet"
This is my most iffy line in the song, and I think it's simply saying that he is upset by how many years of his life he'll no longer have to live. With ultimately saying, there's something out there.
"How many years
I know I'll bear.
I found something in the woods somewhere."
Opinions? I'm pretty confident this is what the song's about, and this is actually my first review here on this site, so hi there! If anyone's interested, i'll take requests! Show me a song, and i'll try and figure it out. I have a rather flexible taste in music, so I may end out enjoying it, too!
So I see all these people saying the song is a metaphor, and honestly? I don't think so. This song is for one purpose, and it's horror. A horror film in musical form.
The entire song tells the story of a man, who wakes up sweating. He likely had some kind of nightmare, that woke him up. Also likely involveing somebody close to him. So why does he have this nightmare, that results in him wakeing so early?
"My skin was soaked, I called your name 'til the fever broke."
So why does he have this nightmare, that results in him wakeing so early? Either this could be a known thing for the narrator, but I personally believe it was a loud, terrifying noise. What is it? Well, that I'll go over later.
"When I awoke, The moon still hung"
He goes on about how he is still tired and worn out, but gets up anyway, likely because with a nightmare like that, he couldn't go back to sleep.
"I raised myself, My legs were weak"
This is when the story kicks up. He hears a noise, from outside. A scream. What was the scream? That's in the next stanza.
"I heard a scream In the woods somewhere."
He hears the noise and says it's the voice of a woman. In hopes of helping, he runs out to check. Most importantly, he does so unarmed.
"A woman's voice! I quickly ran Into the trees with empty hands."
So to those who don't know a ton about foxes, they have an absolutely insane vocal range. I believe he didn't hear a woman. He h eard a cry from this Fox, so high a pitch it could be mistaken for human. The scary part, is that it's shakeing, more then likely out of fear, or pain. Again, the next stanza.
"A fox it was, He shook afraid"
The fox is wounded. Not only wounded, but it's literally dying, in an insane amount of pain, slowly. This, is one of the most grotesque lines I've ever heard in a song. (Not THE anyway, Radiohead holds most of the top five, but getting off topic...) The fox has literal bone exposed, with how painful the wound is. Totally didn't look this up just now, a 'hind' refers to the back of an animal, with 'lame' meaning very, very weak. It's basically putting in a lot of effort just to stand. He's so disgusted and upset by the image, that he puts it out of it's misery, with a nearby stone. (This line here gives me hardcore Poe vibes, by the way.)
"His bone exposed, His hind was lame. I raised a stone to end his pain"
He's now wondering what could have happened to this fox. Not only was it near death, but whatever attacked it, didn't kill it. That means it's killing for fun, and the torture of it is practically a game now. This gives you a good idea of how terrifying this monster is. He then acknowledges, that the beast that did this, is still here.
"What caused the wound? How large the teeth? I saw new eyes were watching me."
Now it finds a new prey, and one that approached it unarmed. The beast attacked our narrator, and he begins to run. 'save a life I didn't have' meaning that he doubts that he'll make it out of this alive. With how terrifying and fast this monster is, he's almost certain that running wont do anything.
"The creature lunged. I turned and ran To save a life I didn't have"
This whole stanza is literally him talking about how panicked he is, and ultimately realizing that he likely wont make it out of this.
"Dear, in the chase There as I flew Forgot all prayers of joining you."
The beast gets him. Just like the fox, he's dying, slowly.
"I clutched my life And wished it kept. My dearest love, I'm not done yet"
This is my most iffy line in the song, and I think it's simply saying that he is upset by how many years of his life he'll no longer have to live. With ultimately saying, there's something out there.
"How many years I know I'll bear. I found something in the woods somewhere."
Opinions? I'm pretty confident this is what the song's about, and this is actually my first review here on this site, so hi there! If anyone's interested, i'll take requests! Show me a song, and i'll try and figure it out. I have a rather flexible taste in music, so I may end out enjoying it, too!