Delirium of Disorder

Article details

Category
Songs
Last updated
June 3, 2012

Song meaning

Brett: "It's kinda a prosey, poetic song. It kinda describes a feeling than anything else. That song doesn't mean anything. It's supposed to elicit a feeling, the feeling of a order rising out of chaos, order dissolving into chaos I should say and chaos changing into order."[1]

Sound effect

The effects at the beginning of the song were acquired by slowing the tape down.[2]

References

Parts of the song come from 'Tropic of Cancer', a novel written by Henry Miller and first published in 1934. Set in France (primarily Paris) during the 1930s, it is the tale of Miller's life as a struggling writer. There are many passages explicitly describing the narrator's sexual encounters, but the book does not solely focus on this subject. The novel is widely regarded as an important masterpiece of 20th century literature.

Tropic of Cancer Delirium Of Disorder
You are the sieve through which my anarchy strains, resolves itself
into words.
Life is the sieve through which my anarchy strains, resolving itself into works
When into the womb of time everything is again withdrawn chaos
will be restored and chaos is the score upon which reality is written.
Chaos is the score upon which reality is written
Time shortly after the earth had taken its gyroscopic lean - when
the Gulf Stream was parting ways with the Japanese current.
A timeless, swirling, gyroscopic horde
The red bedroom and the trunk always open; her gowns lying about in a delirium of disorder. Delirium of disorder

 

References

  1. Roger Vulture interview with Brett (1996) ↩
  2. The Bad Religion Page forum (2009) ↩