The lyrics are a blend of many personal things and they mean a lot to me. Part of them is inspired by virtual trips into my past. This can be a very emotional experience as I allow myself to re-live all the details I remember. At the time when I wrote Floating, I felt that I had changed for the worse and I had the strong wish to go back.
Part of the lyrics are inspired by the Chinese Yue Lann Festival. For one long lunar month during the Hungry Ghost Festival, ghosts are said to roam the earth. I was fascinated by the idea that there might be a time when all members of the underworld are fully active in the world of the living. Chinese tradition categorizes these spirits: ancestors, who are usually benevolent, and ghosts, who are quite the opposite.
A third source for the lyrics to "Floating" was Stephen King's "IT" in which a malevolent clown lures children into the underworld. The line "We are (all) floating here" is from that book.
As Frank Spinath posted at seabound.de:
The lyrics are a blend of many personal things and they mean a lot to me. Part of them is inspired by virtual trips into my past. This can be a very emotional experience as I allow myself to re-live all the details I remember. At the time when I wrote Floating, I felt that I had changed for the worse and I had the strong wish to go back.
Part of the lyrics are inspired by the Chinese Yue Lann Festival. For one long lunar month during the Hungry Ghost Festival, ghosts are said to roam the earth. I was fascinated by the idea that there might be a time when all members of the underworld are fully active in the world of the living. Chinese tradition categorizes these spirits: ancestors, who are usually benevolent, and ghosts, who are quite the opposite.
A third source for the lyrics to "Floating" was Stephen King's "IT" in which a malevolent clown lures children into the underworld. The line "We are (all) floating here" is from that book.