AFI has released eleven studio albums, ten EPs, one live album and one DVD. The band first reached substantial commercial success with their fifth album, The Art of Drowning (2000), which peaked at number 174 on the Billboard 200. They then broke into the mainstream with their sixth, Sing the Sorrow (2003), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. The album was supported by popular singles "Girl's Not Grey" and "Silver and Cold", both of which peaked at number seven on America's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2003. "The Leaving Song Pt. II" was also released as a single, reaching number 16 on the chart. Sing the Sorrow was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2006 and is AFI's best-selling release, having sold over 1.26 million copies as of September 2009.
AFI's seventh album, Decemberunderground (2006), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and featured the hit single "Miss Murder", which topped the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Love Like Winter", reached number four on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2013.[6] Decemberunderground was followed three years later by Crash Love (2009), and then four years later by Burials (2013); both albums were also successful, peaking at number twelve and number nine, respectively, on the Billboard 200. The band's tenth and latest album, AFI (The Blood Album), was released in 2017, and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, making it their second-highest chart position.
Missing man
AFI Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wept high as the sky
And the sky
Beloved, weeping eye
Gazed high in the sky
And the sky cried back
There's a missing man
There's a missing man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
I've wanted orphan tears
Like mine, raise the tide
Raise the tide
Once-wishing, wistful eye
Sang high, raise the tide
'Til the sea's mouth dried
There's a missing man
Easy to find (Easy to)
There's a dying man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
Sickened by these sharks
Sickened by these crimes
Sickened by these eyes
Quite resembling mine
There's a missing man
Easy to find (Easy to)
There's a dying man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
The lyrics of AFI's song "The Missing Man" are cryptic and poetic, lending itself to different interpretations. One possible interpretation is about the search for meaning and purpose in life. The opening lines "Lights wanted, wailing we/ Wept high as the sky/ And the sky" can be viewed as a symbol for the search for something higher or greater than oneself, something that gives life its meaning. The following lines "Beloved weeping eye/ Gazed high in the sky/ And the sky cried back" can be interpreted as a revelation, whereby the realization dawns that there is something larger than oneself out there.
The chorus of the song brings in the second possible interpretation, where the missing man refers to someone who is struggling to find meaning in their lives, but is ultimately easy to find. The line "with eyes like mine" suggests that the singer identifies with this person, indicating that perhaps he himself has been in that situation before.
The second half of the song can be viewed as the singer's attempt to articulate his own grief and the overwhelming sense of hopelessness that comes with the feeling of being lost in life. The lines "Sickened by these sharks/ Sickened by these crimes/ Sickened by these eyes/ Quite resembling mine" can be a metaphor for the treacherous nature of society, where people are supposed to coexist but instead end up harming one another in various ways.
Overall, "The Missing Man" is a song that encompasses a wide range of themes like the search for meaning, grief, and hopelessness. It's a hauntingly beautiful song that will stay with you long after it's over.
Line by Line Meaning
Lights wanted, wailing we
We were searching for some kind of guiding lights, and our cries were so loud they seemed to echo
Wept high as the sky
Our tears were so abundant and powerful that they seemed to touch the sky
And the sky
The heavens above us
Beloved, weeping eye
Our hearts were filled with love and sadness
Gazed high in the sky
We were looking up towards the sky with hopeful eyes
And the sky cried back
It seemed as though the sky was responding to our tears with its own rain
There's a missing man
Someone is gone and we need to find them
Easy to find (Easy to)
It shouldn't be hard to locate them, but we haven't been successful yet
There's a missing man
Someone we are desperately searching for
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
It may be easier to find them if we look for someone who resembles me
I've wanted orphan tears
I have been hoping to experience the same level of intense emotion felt by those who have lost everything
Like mine, raise the tide
If we can cry together, we can raise the emotional intensity and create something powerful
Raise the tide
Amplify the strength of the emotional experience
Once-wishing, wistful eye
My hopefulness and longing were apparent in my eyes
Sang high, raise the tide
Our collective emotions were almost like a song, adding to the intensity of the experience
'Til the sea's mouth dried
Continuing to cry to the point where we can no longer produce tears
Sickened by these sharks
I am disgusted by those who take advantage of others
Sickened by these crimes
I am appalled by the actions of those who use and abuse
Sickened by these eyes
I am repulsed by those who look at me with eyes that show cruelty
Quite resembling mine
Those eyes reminded me of my own and the sorrow that I feel
There's a missing man
We are still searching for someone who has disappeared
Easy to find (Easy to)
We believe it shouldn't be hard to locate them
There's a dying man
Someone who may not have much time left
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
It is possible that this person could be identified by sharing physical traits similar to mine
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Adam A Carson, David Paden Marchand, Hunter Lawrence Burgan, Jade Errol Puget
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Blue Walker
Lights wanted, wailing we
Wept high as the sky
And the sky
Beloved, weeping eye
Gazed high in the sky
And the sky cried back
There's a missing man
Easy to find (Easy to)
There's a missing man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
I've wanted orphan tears
Like mine, raise the tide
Raise the tide
Once-wishing, wistful eye
Sang high, raise the tide
'Til the sea's mouth dried
There's a missing man
Easy to find (Easy to)
There's a dying man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
Sickened by these sharks
Sickened by these crimes
Sickened by these eyes
Quite resembling mine
There's a missing man
Easy to find (Easy to)
There's a dying man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
WOW!!
Kamran Khan
The Missing Man:
Once wanted, wailing we
Wept high as the sky
And the sky...
Beloved, weeping I
Gazed high and the sky..
And the sky... cried back
There's a missing man
Easy to find, easy to...
There's a missing man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
Unwanted, orphaned tears
Like mine, raised the tide
Raised the tide...
Once wishing, wistful, I
Sang high, raised the tide
'Til the sea's mouth dried
There's a missing man
Easy to find, easy to...
There's a dying man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
Something about his shouts
Something about his cries
Something about his eyes
Quite resemble mine
There's a missing man
Easy to find, easy to...
There's a dying man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
Source—https://www.reddit.com/r/AFireInside/comments/a9xzaf/the_missing_man_ep_official_lyrics/
SaintFaker
Lights wanted, wailing we
Wept high as the sky
And the sky
Beloved, weeping eye
Gazed high in the sky
And the sky cried back
There's a missing man
Easy to find (Easy to)
There's a missing man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
I've wanted orphan tears
Like mine, raise the tide
Raise the tide
Once-wishing, wistful eye
Sang high, raise the tide
'Til the sea's mouth dried
There's a missing man
Easy to find (Easy to)
There's a dying man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
Sickened by these sharks
Sickened by these crimes
Sickened by these eyes
Quite resembling mine
There's a missing man
Easy to find (Easy to)
There's a dying man
Easy to find, with eyes like mine
Kiciul
I love this song! It makes me feel the same emotions I felt listening to AFI's older records back in the day. It's so mellow, filled with sadness and full of poetry. I love the sound, love the lyrics. I finally feel like it's the band I fell in love with 15 years ago. This is the sound I've been waiting for for the last couple of years. Thank you AFI for creating this!🖤🖤🖤
James
I agree, I used to be in love with this band, saw them live many times in the very early 2000s but just kind of grew out of their music and that type of music in general. Last album I owned was Sing the Sorrow which was probably the album where their sound crystallised and they peaked, though it was rather over produced and where they started to make poppier music and their music started to decline. Though I never really listened to them much after that I have sporadically listened to their new songs over the years and this is the first time in close to 20 years (has it really been that long??) that feels like the old AFI. Obviously not as heavy as their old stuff but very reminiscent of sing the sorrow's slowler more melancholy songs. I definitely get a leaving song part 2 vibe as well as this time imperfect.
Claire Guillon
@Hannah Tariq exactly! With I Hope You Suffer those are the two songs I love so much in their last 10 years, that they could have been on older LP's. New sound I like Snow Cats (despite the terrible video)
. But even how Davey sings is a reminder of how he sounded in StS!
Steve K
I love you all
Hebi
Absolutely agree
Christy Clyde
<3
Emma Pullen
AFI ability to re invent themselves with every album is astonishing - true musical chameleons 🖤🖤🖤🖤 almost 15 years on and I still love them like the first day I heard them 🖤🖤🖤🖤
Proticity
Yes the mark of true artist's - don't repeat yourself keep creating anew
A92ndf9 558
This song is an absolute masterpiece, I am so grateful that this band exists and still continue to outdo themselves and re-invent their sound so eloquently upon each album. I love this band.
Tarik7775
Wow this song is a masterpiece! Can’t believe I haven’t listened to their latest EP yet! Now I’m hooked all over again 💙