To me, this song is a direct reflection of how it feels to lose someone close (and young) to suicide. The most obvious evidence of this is the phrase "A century of your priceless time, to commit a victimless crime" - trading the priceless potential of a human life for a crime directed at no one else.
"They" can refer to both the thoughts and individuals who pushed the person to suicide. The first lines reflect the powerlessness of viewing your loved one from an outside perspective, hoping they can somehow manage to avoid "them" before maturing enough to resist.
"Vow to caress your rashes, vow to punish with lashes, you can hide inside my locket" perfectly summarizes the panicked and helpless transition between fear for the person's life and anger towards those responsible. The final line feels like a plea before the person begins their eternal rest in closely held memory.
The next paragraph is the instructions that never made it to the person - go along with the pain until you grow enough to move on. Do "they" chastise you for trying to save yourself? "They" cannot resign from their actions in the end - forced to look upon the sallow skin of the dead.
The following paragraph is more abstract, but resonates with me. Crying alone for an extremely long time in a forest, no other humans to be found. The voice of the song keeps repeating "and there's nothing that I can do", reinforcing this loneliness.
The ending of each paragraph is what actually happened, with the lines before showing the thoughts of the voice behind the song.
--
Having seen both sides of this, and death around me, this song has always stuck with me. Those who take their own lives view themselves to be entirely alone the entire time, and those who lose somebody in the end believe there was nothing they can do.
Both of these views were wrong in the end, and both people knew deep down they were wrong the entire time. Nothing can change now. I believe this song reflects this in a sad and beautiful way.
To me, this song is a direct reflection of how it feels to lose someone close (and young) to suicide. The most obvious evidence of this is the phrase "A century of your priceless time, to commit a victimless crime" - trading the priceless potential of a human life for a crime directed at no one else.
"They" can refer to both the thoughts and individuals who pushed the person to suicide. The first lines reflect the powerlessness of viewing your loved one from an outside perspective, hoping they can somehow manage to avoid "them" before maturing enough to resist.
"Vow to caress your rashes, vow to punish with lashes, you can hide inside my locket" perfectly summarizes the panicked and helpless transition between fear for the person's life and anger towards those responsible. The final line feels like a plea before the person begins their eternal rest in closely held memory.
The next paragraph is the instructions that never made it to the person - go along with the pain until you grow enough to move on. Do "they" chastise you for trying to save yourself? "They" cannot resign from their actions in the end - forced to look upon the sallow skin of the dead.
The following paragraph is more abstract, but resonates with me. Crying alone for an extremely long time in a forest, no other humans to be found. The voice of the song keeps repeating "and there's nothing that I can do", reinforcing this loneliness.
The ending of each paragraph is what actually happened, with the lines before showing the thoughts of the voice behind the song.
--
Having seen both sides of this, and death around me, this song has always stuck with me. Those who take their own lives view themselves to be entirely alone the entire time, and those who lose somebody in the end believe there was nothing they can do.
Both of these views were wrong in the end, and both people knew deep down they were wrong the entire time. Nothing can change now. I believe this song reflects this in a sad and beautiful way.