Lyrics I do not understand....

Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
Can someone shed some light?

RVM

"It wasn't my surface. Most defiled."
"Fool to your crown"
"Enmity gauged. United by fear."


When I can think of more lyrics I'll add to this thread.
Feel free to add lyrics you don't get.
Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
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  • Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
    Anyone?
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • Fool to your crown implies that he is subservient to a higher power...i.e. a parent

    The song in and of itself is about getting out of a bad situation. I am sure those other lines have something to do with that as well.
    Is it so wrong to think that love can keep us safe?
  • Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
    Thank you for your input :)
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • "It wasn't my surface. Most defiled." like oil and water dont mix..so her surface and his didnt mix.most defiled meaning hes staying with her even though he knows he should not.


    "Fool to your crown" a fool to her for the above reason

    "Enmity gauged. United by fear." running on empty hatred for the way hes lifing i guess .united by fear the fear of being alone so they stay together..

    saw things clearer...once you were in my rearview mirror..when they do split it all becomes clear why they should of along time ago..


    but i might be wrong.. :lol:
  • Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
    Is it about a relationship?
    I always thought the lyrics to be of getting away from physical abuse (Ed's stepdad).
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • "It wasn't my surface. Most defiled." like oil and water dont mix..so her surface and his didnt mix.most defiled meaning hes staying with her even though he knows he should not.


    "Fool to your crown" a fool to her for the above reason

    "Enmity gauged. United by fear." running on empty hatred for the way hes lifing i guess .united by fear the fear of being alone so they stay together..

    saw things clearer...once you were in my rearview mirror..when they do split it all becomes clear why they should of along time ago..


    but i might be wrong.. :lol:

    Actually I always thought similarly to this....although I tend to think that in a lot of PJ lyrics there is an underlying element of the idea of /need to get rid of depression.... Saw things so much clearer, once you..were in my...rearview mirror...to me...that sounds like someone who has been down and depressed about someone, and then once they exit that destructive relationship, he manages to see much clearer the reasons they shouldn't be together.
  • nigelnigel Posts: 267
    Anyone know what the "..auctioned forearm and whiskers in the sink" line means from Immortality?
  • DeLukinDeLukin Posts: 2,757
    "It wasn't my surface. Most defiled.".
    I always took this to mean that in the abusive relationship being described the worst damage done wasn't to the person's physical body, but to their mind - their emotional/mental well being. Like he's saying "it's not the damage done to me physically that's the worst part of this..." Very powerful stuff.
    I smile, but who am I kidding...
  • Can someone shed some light?

    RVM

    "It wasn't my surface. Most defiled."
    "Fool to your crown"
    "Enmity gauged. United by fear."

    Here's my interpretation:

    1. The bruises and scars on his skin are minor. The damage to his heart and mind is major.
    2. He was an idiot for letting someone have authority over him.
    3. "Enmity gauged:" Hatred/resentment of both parties for each other compares.
    "United by fear:" They are afraid of each other. Enmity and fear unite them (but love and healthy respect do not.)

    Way back when it was new, I remember learning that this song was about an abusive parent. But I can't think of any sources to cite. RVM wasn't one of those songs where every listener had a different idea- It was about child abuse. However, all of the publicity for the new song took place 15-16 years ago. Many fans are too young or too new to PJ to have memories from that era.

    "Fist on my plate, swallowed it down" is a very apt reference to an overbearing stepfather.
    "May you live in interesting times."
  • Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
    Thank you to all for your input.
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • Can someone shed some light?

    RVM

    "It wasn't my surface. Most defiled."
    "Fool to your crown"
    "Enmity gauged. United by fear."


    When I can think of more lyrics I'll add to this thread.
    Feel free to add lyrics you don't get.


    The song is about the abuse taken from his father, he's said that many times in the past. When you take a look at the lines in context, you tend to see the bigger picture/theme of the song.

    "I seem to look away
    Wounds in the mirror waved
    It wasn't my surface most defiled"

    He was looking away from his past, but his past was waving back at him in his reviewmirror. His surface wasn't stained by the past (His persona (so to speak) wasn't brought down by the wounds of his past)

    "Head at your feet, fool to your crown"

    That "fool to your crown" line doesn't make a lot of sense unless you put that "Head at your feet" line in front of it. This line implies that Eddie's father made him bow down to him. And he didn't worship him, he never viewed him as his king (as you bow down to a king) So his father was a fool to think that he was bowing to his crown.

    "Fist on my plate, swallowed it down
    Enmity gaged, united by fear
    Tried to endure what I could not forgive"

    His father beat him, and he hated him for it (that's what enmity gaged means) He held him self together through his fear, it united him so to speak. He tried to overcome actions by his father that he could never forgive.
  • CJMST3KCJMST3K Posts: 9,722
    Can someone shed some light?

    RVM

    "It wasn't my surface. Most defiled."
    "Fool to your crown"
    "Enmity gauged. United by fear."


    When I can think of more lyrics I'll add to this thread.
    Feel free to add lyrics you don't get.


    -wasnt my surface, most defiled = looking in mirror and his face has been injured (face was defiled)

    -fool to your crown = he was the fool following his stepdad (who was the head of the household/king)
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  • I know he calls it getting out of a bad relationship. An abusive one. I always saw it as a much broader song than his father. (Though he plays his part in the influencing of it) It works very well for a battered woman's thinking after she has finally gotten out.
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  • Can someone shed some light?

    RVM

    "It wasn't my surface. Most defiled."
    "Fool to your crown"
    "Enmity gauged. United by fear."


    When I can think of more lyrics I'll add to this thread.
    Feel free to add lyrics you don't get.

    I think that "it wasn't my surface most defiled" means that like there was a fight and it wasn't like with fists but just words so I don't have a black eye or a cut lip, but emotionally, on the inside, under the inside, i'm hurt.

    "Fool to your crown" to me means that so often you just listen to people (an authority figure, for example-- parent, etc.-- just because of who they are and their position and you don't see who they really are because you are to busy following their orders.

    enmity is like a feeling of ill will or animosity..... so I think it means that he is deciding how this person pisses him off and figuring out that they really don't like each other and united by fear means, to me, that for instance, there are many people who just don't want to be alone... they would rather be with a person they hate than alone.... so united by fear means that these two people were only together for a fear of being alone...

    All of these interpretations are just what the songs mean to me..... I think everybody should get what they feel out of the lyrics and apply it to their lives, experiences, etc.
  • anus ankle soupanus ankle soup massachusetts Posts: 124
    Travis the Sky...you are on the money, my friend.
    How I choose to feel is how I am.
  • This is only an opinion, but as this has been a favorite of mine since the first time I heard it I've given it quite a bit of thought. So here goes:

    "I seem to look away. The wounds in the mirror wave. It wasn't my surface most defiled."

    He's been abused for years, but though there is evidence of the physical abuse on the outside, its the mental and emotional abuse he feels inside that is the hardest to bear.

    "Head at your feet. Fool to your crown."

    An image of a cruel and sadistic king here, court jester(fool) kneeling at his feet, being forced to humiliate himself for the kings amusement.

    "Enmity gauged. United by fear."

    This is pretty deep. Enmity is defined as "deep seated often mutual hatred". Gauged has several definitions that could apply, the obvious would seem to be "measured". So, "a deep seated mutual hatred carefully measured" might be an interperetation. It is interesting to note that another definition of "gauging" is to chip or rub stones or blocks to shape, as for use in the building of a wall. A wall has obviously been built between these two people. Gauge is also the measure of the barrel of a shotgun and though the use of a gun is never mentioned in the song, it IS a song about suicide and being set free. Although the original lyric is "united by fear" Eddie always sings "divided by fear" now. I think he feels now that fear is something that could only divide and not unite.

    Hope that helps. I'm interested to hear what other people might think. Rock on PJ!
    Can someone shed some light?

    RVM

    "It wasn't my surface. Most defiled."
    "Fool to your crown"
    "Enmity gauged. United by fear."


    When I can think of more lyrics I'll add to this thread.
    Feel free to add lyrics you don't get.
    Had my eyes peeled, both wide open...
  • P31175P31175 Posts: 8
    For some reason, recently I hear Empty Gaze. United by fear. Like the kind of look you would get If you couldn't  believe he or she just had my head pinned to the ground by the face and I could not breath in 1st chorus. And Empty gauge. united by fear 2nd chorus Like running on empty in this relationship. Could be wrong but after many many years I started hearing something different.
  • it wasn’t my surface most defiled means the damage or abuse was emotional or psychological in nature 
  • mrussel1mrussel1 Posts: 29,795
    MB247532 said:
    it wasn’t my surface most defiled means the damage or abuse was emotional or psychological in nature 
    Yes agreed.  The surface (exterior) wasn't most defiled (battered and bruised), it was internal (emotions, heart, etc.)
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