None of us know what Courtney was thinking when she wrote this - maybe it is about Kurt as people suggest - but for me it has a different meaning. I was listening to this when I was coming off heroin after 17 years addiction and it totally spoke to me. I hear the lyrics like this:
The 'Northern Star' is heroin - 'the pitiful' and 'the angels ' are the addicts who are totally devoted to the Northern Star - they kneel at its feet and follow it (the actual northern star was historically used for navigation) although they know it won't lead them anywhere good.
'It's cold in here, there's no one left' - this describes how hollow life can be as an addict, how family and friends often disappear
'Its black in here block out the sun' - this is both literal and metaphoric: addicts do tend to hide away from the world in darkened rooms. Addicts also often block out the 'light' in their lives, drawing away from friends, family, giving up jobs, etc. Their devotion to the Northern Star supercedes everything else which used to mean something in their lives. Also life as an addict can be 'black' i.e. people lose their morality and do bad things - the hearts of the 'angels' (addicts) can become 'cold as ice'
'Praying to the wound that swallows all that's cold and cruel' - the 'wound that swallows' is the injection site. Heroin allows people not to care about their troubles - all that's 'cold and cruel' in the world melts away. Also it physically has a warming affect. The cold shivers of withdrawal are instantly 'swallowed' when one injects heroin
'Our misery runs wild and free' - addiction is miserable but once you're stuck in it that life you embrace it. The wild drug life can seem fun at the time, apart from when you run out of drugs (please note that I'm NOT encouraging or condoning it. It is NOT fun and it ruins lives). Once an addict gets deep into addiction and has given up on the responsibilities of family, work, etc, there is a sense of freedom despite the chaos of the lifestyle - all you need to worry about is scoring, nothing else matters
'I knew the fire and the ashes of his grace' - for me this refers to the difference feelings caused by heroin: when he graces you with his presence it's a lovely warm feeling (fire), but it takes you to a very low place (ashes), especially when you don't have any. Also there's not much left of a person deep in addiction, only the ashes remain of their former life
'And I want you
And blessed are the broken
And I beg you
No loneliness, no misery is worth you'
this shows the love/hate relationship with the drug: obviously I 'want' it, and I'm totally subservient to it ('I beg you') but at the same time I want to get out of this life - however much I love heroin, I know deep down the misery I go through isn't worth it, I'm getting nothing out of this relationship. For me, 'blessed are the broken' refers to the addicts, who are broken people, but were probably good people with a lot of potential before they got sucked into addiction
Finally, the various 'He's so cold, he will ruin/rule/win the world / raining on the world tonight' refers to the cruelness of the Northern Star (heroin) who preys on the world, causing misery, but sadly winning more followers every day
For me this song totally sums up that life, the total devotion to the drug, how it affects people and the emotions that come with it - the love/hate relationship. Who knows if that's how it was intended...
None of us know what Courtney was thinking when she wrote this - maybe it is about Kurt as people suggest - but for me it has a different meaning. I was listening to this when I was coming off heroin after 17 years addiction and it totally spoke to me. I hear the lyrics like this:
The 'Northern Star' is heroin - 'the pitiful' and 'the angels ' are the addicts who are totally devoted to the Northern Star - they kneel at its feet and follow it (the actual northern star was historically used for navigation) although they know it won't lead them anywhere good.
'It's cold in here, there's no one left' - this describes how hollow life can be as an addict, how family and friends often disappear
'Its black in here block out the sun' - this is both literal and metaphoric: addicts do tend to hide away from the world in darkened rooms. Addicts also often block out the 'light' in their lives, drawing away from friends, family, giving up jobs, etc. Their devotion to the Northern Star supercedes everything else which used to mean something in their lives. Also life as an addict can be 'black' i.e. people lose their morality and do bad things - the hearts of the 'angels' (addicts) can become 'cold as ice'
'Praying to the wound that swallows all that's cold and cruel' - the 'wound that swallows' is the injection site. Heroin allows people not to care about their troubles - all that's 'cold and cruel' in the world melts away. Also it physically has a warming affect. The cold shivers of withdrawal are instantly 'swallowed' when one injects heroin
'Our misery runs wild and free' - addiction is miserable but once you're stuck in it that life you embrace it. The wild drug life can seem fun at the time, apart from when you run out of drugs (please note that I'm NOT encouraging or condoning it. It is NOT fun and it ruins lives). Once an addict gets deep into addiction and has given up on the responsibilities of family, work, etc, there is a sense of freedom despite the chaos of the lifestyle - all you need to worry about is scoring, nothing else matters
'I knew the fire and the ashes of his grace' - for me this refers to the difference feelings caused by heroin: when he graces you with his presence it's a lovely warm feeling (fire), but it takes you to a very low place (ashes), especially when you don't have any. Also there's not much left of a person deep in addiction, only the ashes remain of their former life
'And I want you And blessed are the broken And I beg you No loneliness, no misery is worth you'
Finally, the various 'He's so cold, he will ruin/rule/win the world / raining on the world tonight' refers to the cruelness of the Northern Star (heroin) who preys on the world, causing misery, but sadly winning more followers every day
For me this song totally sums up that life, the total devotion to the drug, how it affects people and the emotions that come with it - the love/hate relationship. Who knows if that's how it was intended...