I'm fairly certain this song is about the affects a war will have on the young men who are forced to fight it. It may be specifically about world war two, when the majority of young men (from the nations heavily involved) were called upon by their leaders to risk their lives and commit horrible acts against their enemies (We knocked on doors of Hell's darker chambers
Pushed to the limits, we dragged ourselves in). Then, upon returning home these men, in most cases, lied about the truth of the horrors they had scene or remained silent about it ( Where have they been?). In many cases these soldiers could not adjust to civilian life because of traumas, or because they couldn't replace (the fear or the thrill of the chase). For these men, the possibilities in life that they had before the war were gone (These rituals showed up the door for our wanderings . Opened and shut, then slammed in our face). Though I don't think Ian is talking about the Vietnam war, The Deer Hunter is a great illustration of the kind of characters he is talking about.
He was really into ancient warlike civilizations like the Romans, so that probably is a source of influence for this song, but I feel like it's a use of parallelism between the effects of war and our existence in a society where most people's fates lie in the rat race.
He was really into ancient warlike civilizations like the Romans, so that probably is a source of influence for this song, but I feel like it's a use of parallelism between the effects of war and our existence in a society where most people's fates lie in the rat race.
I'm fairly certain this song is about the affects a war will have on the young men who are forced to fight it. It may be specifically about world war two, when the majority of young men (from the nations heavily involved) were called upon by their leaders to risk their lives and commit horrible acts against their enemies (We knocked on doors of Hell's darker chambers Pushed to the limits, we dragged ourselves in). Then, upon returning home these men, in most cases, lied about the truth of the horrors they had scene or remained silent about it ( Where have they been?). In many cases these soldiers could not adjust to civilian life because of traumas, or because they couldn't replace (the fear or the thrill of the chase). For these men, the possibilities in life that they had before the war were gone (These rituals showed up the door for our wanderings . Opened and shut, then slammed in our face). Though I don't think Ian is talking about the Vietnam war, The Deer Hunter is a great illustration of the kind of characters he is talking about.
He was really into ancient warlike civilizations like the Romans, so that probably is a source of influence for this song, but I feel like it's a use of parallelism between the effects of war and our existence in a society where most people's fates lie in the rat race.
He was really into ancient warlike civilizations like the Romans, so that probably is a source of influence for this song, but I feel like it's a use of parallelism between the effects of war and our existence in a society where most people's fates lie in the rat race.
@Kaguth this is brilliant, thank you!
@Kaguth this is brilliant, thank you!