Eyes Burst At Dawn
Darkthrone Lyrics
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Fingers moving, twisting sickly, silence is broken
Air is dead in this cave, dead as murdered
Only 10 feet crawling to get outside, black night
Hysterical laughter is hammering the stone walls
Ears bleeding... depressed
Overcoming psychical nightmares, starts crawling
Fingers broken, don't fucking care, move on
Outside the air is clean, cold and still
Eyes are open now, to see this dead night
Attacked by sudden fear, unknown constellations
Are threatening from above
Shivering cold, damaged brain, bleeding the blood
Alas, Deathstar is rising, finally to see this place
It gets brighter, hurting my eyes, can I bear this pain?
As my Deathstar is rising above the hills, my eyes burst
Pain so strong, havocing my head, it's dark again
The lyrics of Darkthrone’s Eyes Burst At Dawn depict a struggle of a person who has been trapped for ages and can now see the dawn after years. The singer has struggled to come to consciousness but has been met with a merciless fate that makes it even harder for them to break free. They describe how the silence is eventually broken by the sound of their fingers moving and twisting sickly, indicating that they have been trapped for a long, long time. The air inside the cave is dead, and they are crawling merely ten feet to reach outside where the night is pitch black. However, an unknown horror awaits the singer outside. They are attacked by sudden fear, owing to the unfamiliar constellations that threaten them from above. The person is shivering due to the cold night and has a damaged brain, with blood bleeding as they overlook Deathstar rising. However, as Deathstar rises, their eyes burst in pain, and they are once again unable to see, and the darkness engulfs them.
This song explores the themes of anxiety, fear, and confusion. The character is searching for meaning and purpose within their existence, and their struggle portrays the lengths people will go through to gain a sense of freedom in the face of restriction.
Line by Line Meaning
Struggled to awake for eons, merciless fate
After a long struggle, fate has directed my awakening.
Fingers moving, twisting sickly, silence is broken
While moving, my fingers seem to have twisted to an unhealthy extent and the silence around me is shattered.
Air is dead in this cave, dead as murdered
Inside the cave, the air is heavy and stagnant, making it feel like it has been killed along with murder victim.
Only 10 feet crawling to get outside, black night
To get out, I have to crawl only a short distance of ten feet, though it's too dark and affords me no visibility.
Hysterical laughter is hammering the stone walls
My uncontrollable laughter is echoing and ringing loudly against the walls.
Ears bleeding... depressed
I'm feeling low and defeated, which has caused my ears to bleed.
Overcoming psychical nightmares, starts crawling
To conquer the physical nightmares affecting me, I crawl on despite the challenges I face.
Fingers broken, don't fucking care, move on
My broken fingers do not bother me at all as I persistently move forward.
Outside the air is clean, cold and still
When I make it outside, I'm greeted by fresh, chilly and motionless air.
Eyes are open now, to see this dead night
Now my eyes are open to observe this lifeless night.
Attacked by sudden fear, unknown constellations
My surroundings are not familiar to me and because of this, I'm suddenly overwhelmed with fear as I gawk at unknown constellation patterns in space.
Are threatening from above
These unfamiliar constellations above threaten me.
Shivering cold, damaged brain, bleeding the blood
Due to cold, my body shivers, while mentally I'm hurting, and this all causes me to bleed.
Alas, Deathstar is rising, finally to see this place
Finally, the brilliant star, Deathstar is rising for me to witness the scenery.
It gets brighter, hurting my eyes, can I bear this pain?
As the environment is illuminated, the light becomes too intense, and my eyes painfully struggle to adjust to the sudden shift in brightness.
As my Deathstar is rising above the hills, my eyes burst
My eyes could not endure the brightness of the Deathstar as it rose higher and eventually burst in my sockets.
Pain so strong, havocing my head, it's dark again
In intense pain, my head is filled with chaos, and I'm left in complete darkness once more.
Contributed by Jack H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.