Lyrics
To Another Abyss
Not long ago, and yet the image is so vague
I hesitate to label it a memory,
There was a show of local color and I felt astray
'Cuz I had nothing to offer but insufficiency.
And you know that it’s a bitch
When you learn to scratch that itch,
A blatant fallibility,
Sooner to some, but eventually...
All gets pointed in the same direction
While the human masses and their vague conceptions
Obliterate each other with impunity,
And you wonder "What’s in this for me?"
To another abyss - to no avail,
The search is bound to fail.
To another abyss - to no avail,
So long ago I set sail.
And it chills me to the bone
That I’m so far away from home.
To another abyss.
So what should I do now?
What should I celebrate
Given finite means and a penchant to depreciate?
How can I still avow and depend upon a state
That cares nothing for my happiness, welfare or fate?
And I know I can’t explain
The commotion in my brain,
Like a terrifying reality,
Deconstructed but inadequately...
All gets pointed in the same direction
While the human masses and their vain conceptions
Obliterate each other with impunity,
And release the weight of history.
To another abyss - to no avail,
The search is bound to fail.
To another abyss - to no avail,
So long ago I set sail.
And it chills me to the bone
That I’m so far away from home.
To another abyss.
So long ago, I set sail
And I’m struggling on the way
And I’m waiting for the day (To another abyss)
And I’m looking for the way back home. (To another abyss)
(To another abyss) So far away,
(To another abyss) So far away,
(To another abyss) So far away...
(To another abyss)
Versions & recordings
Grouped by recording
First released on The Empire Strikes First · 2004
Song Interpretations
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I see this one as cousin to Lost Pilgrim where after uncovering all the phonyness and deception in society, in pursuit of truth, a seeming nobel goal, choosing your own path, adhereing to truth, becomes increasingly alienating and lonely. What can one celebrate, and with who when your the only adherent? Yet another abyss, to no avail. In this song the effect of propaganda is strongly implied "all gets pointed in t…
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"Any organized system of thought is a Bad Religion"
Honestly, I think that the message of the song is quite simple. It's about all the young people who are looking for the ideas, for a leader that will guide them back home, but all they get are vague conceptions obliterated in impunity. We're struggling on the way back home, where we belong, but there isn't anybody to guide us. It's about every one of us, searching for thruth and peace, no matter where we are, what we…
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okay I'm against it is on the money. "Not long ago, and yet the image is so vague" relates to something that happened recently during that time TESF was made like the 9/11 and "I hesitate to label it a memory" he wants to get rid of his mind. but can't. "There was a show of local color and I felt astray" the local color means the community came together to help but he felt astrary 'cuz he had nothing to offer but…
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"Not long ago, and yet the image is so vague" relates to something that happened recently during that time TESF was made like the 9/11 and "I hesitate to label it a memory" he wants to get rid of his mind. but can't.
"There was a show of local color and I felt astray" the local color means the community came together to help but he felt astrary 'cuz he had nothing to offer but insufficiency" which means he was helpless and could not do much to help with the situation
and this is why it's more like indivudal minset that it is another abyss and feels there is no reparation for his well being, beuty and happiness and so far away from home. he'ls alienated from peace and joy
Umm, I think this song is very direct in its meaning. It's about a soldier being shipped off to fight a war in some shitty part of the world, specifically Iraq although I'm sure he used the term abyss to make it more general and keep it relevant even when the war in Iraq is over. I guess the other interpretations work, but I just think it is much more straightforward especially given the timeframe this was written in…
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As usual, it's about fear of death. He can't fully enjoy life because he knows that sooner or later everything will be gone (Sooner to some, but eventually all gets pointed in the same direction), and this is the only chance to solve the mysteries of life. And of course the "state" isn't the US Government, but [b]his emotional state[/b]. It ruins his life, so he keeps asking himself why he keeps asking himself the s…
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And of course the "state" isn't the US Government, but [b]his emotional state[/b]. It ruins his life, so he keeps asking himself why he keeps asking himself the same questions even though they create chaos in his brain.
When he thinks about his past, it chills him to the bone. So long ago he set sail and he's looking for a way back home, but he realises that he will keep falling into the the abyss and that there's nothing he can do about it.
To me it seems it's just about striving to find things you can look forward to or believe in. Especially the line "what should I do now / what should I celebrate?" is just about how perfect and constant consistence is nothing you could ever achieve, and hence you struggle along the way, in search of things that can give you something, only to find them all to be disappointing. So it is about losing illusions and fai…
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I view the Abyss as a culture, or or society, or religion, or some belief system that is supposed to give our lives meaning and greater context. When seeking the answer in these different spheres, the search is bound to fail, it is of no avail, and we find the abyss instead. Another abyss, that is. The song starts out at home, with a show of local color. Not feeling the patriotism or other group think, and not pointi…
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The song starts out at home, with a show of local color. Not feeling the patriotism or other group think, and not pointing in the same direction as the human masses (whose vague conceptions of tribe and religious righteousness have led to a legacy of war and slaughter), the protagonist goes searching for meaning, the answer, etc.
But as noted, each religion, society, culture has these same vague conceptions. So he ends up searching for meaning, but instead finding a new abyss, and getting farther from home.
At the end, the protagonist is struggling to get back to where he started, to get home. This is where we belong. It may be a meaningless abyss, but it is our abyss, the right abyss.