I think that the title "Mercury" refers to the Roman deity (aka Hermes or Turms) in his role as a psychopomp (escort for recently deceased souls to the afterlife), although I think it's more of an allusion to the personification of death itself rather than a reference to the mythological entity.
To me, this song is all about trying to continue living after the death of a loved one. Death doesn't grieve the dead with you, it just "looks forward" to it's next victim and "leaves you to fill in" the gaps of confusion brought on by the fact that someone who was with you before is now absent forever. The "pile of damaged goods" refers to one's psychological and emotional state after such a loss.
The refrain of "it's my way" and the question "Do I still enjoy to watch it all go haywire?" refers to death's unchanging consistency: no one has ever escaped death's grasp. The question also addresses death's way of plunging someone's previously routine existence into utter chaos.
"Promise to move again so you can return to whatever it is that you did" kind of forms the thesis for the whole song: Death doesn't stick around, and you need to try to carry on living after death departs, despite the pain and hopelessness you might feel. Easily the most painful truth of the song: how are you possibly supposed to continue doing the menial things that previously seemed so important after you've lost someone close to you, especially with the realization of existential/cosmic horror that death could come again for someone else you love, or even you.
Death is "the way we all learn to divide" and "the only way out of the drought" of life (Needs little-to-no elaboration in my opinion). The most disturbing part of this all is that "you'll never know why" you have to experience such suffering and heartbreak.
"moving closer...towards our final goal" also needs little elaboration. "Disappear into blame" is a little confusing, but I'm guessing that it refers to death itself as our greatest nemesis. "Till we meet again" is a grim-but-telling farewell: death's always going to come back.
"thank heavens, you don't see it my way" refers again to death's adversarial role: Death, personified, would consider its role to be of massive importance, otherwise it wouldn't work so hard to accomplish it so unfailingly. But the living value life with a similar sense of importance: the majority of our efforts get spent on creating and sustaining life, so we don't share death's perspective.
This truth foreshadows the next few lines: in our efforts to sustain life, we've created machines and devices that can do that for us. But the irony is that, like us, those machines are subject to decay and can't escape their own inevitable demise, and they'll only prolong us as long as they don't "die" themselves.
Bleak interpretation perhaps, but it's a bleak song. My dog is slowly dying from cancer, so death was on my mind when I listened to this song, and that's when it all clicked.
I think that the title "Mercury" refers to the Roman deity (aka Hermes or Turms) in his role as a psychopomp (escort for recently deceased souls to the afterlife), although I think it's more of an allusion to the personification of death itself rather than a reference to the mythological entity.
To me, this song is all about trying to continue living after the death of a loved one. Death doesn't grieve the dead with you, it just "looks forward" to it's next victim and "leaves you to fill in" the gaps of confusion brought on by the fact that someone who was with you before is now absent forever. The "pile of damaged goods" refers to one's psychological and emotional state after such a loss.
The refrain of "it's my way" and the question "Do I still enjoy to watch it all go haywire?" refers to death's unchanging consistency: no one has ever escaped death's grasp. The question also addresses death's way of plunging someone's previously routine existence into utter chaos.
"Promise to move again so you can return to whatever it is that you did" kind of forms the thesis for the whole song: Death doesn't stick around, and you need to try to carry on living after death departs, despite the pain and hopelessness you might feel. Easily the most painful truth of the song: how are you possibly supposed to continue doing the menial things that previously seemed so important after you've lost someone close to you, especially with the realization of existential/cosmic horror that death could come again for someone else you love, or even you.
Death is "the way we all learn to divide" and "the only way out of the drought" of life (Needs little-to-no elaboration in my opinion). The most disturbing part of this all is that "you'll never know why" you have to experience such suffering and heartbreak.
"moving closer...towards our final goal" also needs little elaboration. "Disappear into blame" is a little confusing, but I'm guessing that it refers to death itself as our greatest nemesis. "Till we meet again" is a grim-but-telling farewell: death's always going to come back.
"thank heavens, you don't see it my way" refers again to death's adversarial role: Death, personified, would consider its role to be of massive importance, otherwise it wouldn't work so hard to accomplish it so unfailingly. But the living value life with a similar sense of importance: the majority of our efforts get spent on creating and sustaining life, so we don't share death's perspective.
This truth foreshadows the next few lines: in our efforts to sustain life, we've created machines and devices that can do that for us. But the irony is that, like us, those machines are subject to decay and can't escape their own inevitable demise, and they'll only prolong us as long as they don't "die" themselves.
Bleak interpretation perhaps, but it's a bleak song. My dog is slowly dying from cancer, so death was on my mind when I listened to this song, and that's when it all clicked.