Abney Park began around 1997, but their popularity exploded with the onset of internet music, with much success through MP3.com in the early 2000’s. The band was a regular chart topper, often holding the number 1 – 5 positions in Goth and Darkwave, and Industrial Dance music charts. In 2005 the band morphed from a more Darkwave/Industrial inspired act to a Steampunk inspired act.
Abney Park's music has been featured on a number of movie soundtracks, including "Insomnis Amour", "Goth", and "Lord of the Vampires". The band's music has also been featured in many compilation CD’s, including Cleopatra Records “The Unquiet Grave” vol. III, "Annihilation and Seduction", "Eighteen" and many more.
Abney Park has performed all over the North America, appearing in Portland, Chicago, Las Vegas, Reno, Hollywood, and countless shows in their home base of Seattle. Their fans form a near-cult following, and have been known to travel from as far as New Zealand and Mexico City just to see them perform.
Holy War
Abney Park Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nights cold, slipping through the cracks,
Breaking through the cracks of crumbling plaster.
Hunger gnaws, I can feel its claws but the pain of a bullet would burn much hotter in the spot Light, mounted on the cannon of the tank the prowls.
Holy war, deliver me, rest my fear, I can not see.
Nameless, but I know the faces of the kids I sleep in Jezebel's lair with.
Some times I can find some rations that a solider let fall when the wind or life left him.
Some times I can find a gun or a pistol or a knife to use.
Holy war, deliver me, rest my fear, I can not see.
My eyes are blind, my bodies lame, my families gone, in my god's name, Holy Wars.
Nameless, faceless, but a tear or a dollar won't buy my justice.
Fearless, clothed less then a war torn child should sleep or focus.
Once I watched as a cannon slot fell through the stained glass window of a church on my street.
Once I sat on a steeple now laying in the church yards playground.
Holy war, deliver me, rest my fear, I can not see.
My eyes are blind, my bodies lame, my families gone, in my god's name, Holy Wars.
The lyrics to Abney Park's song "Holy War" describe the chaos and devastation of war, from the perspective of a victim trapped in its midst. The opening lines paint a vivid picture of death and destruction in the streets, as mortar fire rains down and children are lost. The singer is constantly beset by hunger and the threat of violence, but sees the pain of a bullet as preferable to the slow agony of starvation.
The chorus of "Holy War" takes on a religious tone, as the singer calls out to a higher power - perhaps God, or some other deity - to deliver them from their suffering. They acknowledge that their eyes are blind, their body is lame, and their family is gone, but they have faith that the holy war they are fighting is somehow just.
The song continues with haunting images of nameless and faceless victims, who are powerless to buy justice with their tears or their money. The singer is adorned in rags and forced to sleep in dangerous, war-torn areas without shelter. Yet even amid the wreckage, they can still find small glimmerings of hope, such as rations or weapons left behind by fallen soldiers.
In total, "Holy War" is a poignant and powerful exploration of the human cost of war, and the desperate faith that those caught up in it cling to in order to survive.
Line by Line Meaning
Death hue falling on the faces of the streets lost children as the mortar fire broken in.
The faces of children in the streets are turning pale due to the death and destruction caused by mortar fire.
Nights cold, slipping through the cracks, Breaking through the cracks of crumbling plaster.
The cold and dark nights are permeating through the cracks of the crumbling buildings.
Hunger gnaws, I can feel its claws but the pain of a bullet would burn much hotter in the spot Light, mounted on the cannon of the tank the prowls.
Even though hunger is causing pain, the thought of being hit by a bullet from a tank-mounted machine gun is much more frightening.
Holy war, deliver me, rest my fear, I can not see.
The singer is asking for deliverance from the holy war and seeking peace.
Nameless, but I know the faces of the kids I sleep in Jezebel's lair with.
The singer is living with nameless children and despite not knowing their names, recognizing their faces.
Thoughtless breaking my bread tween the mine fields flowers and gullies with daises.
The singer is carelessly breaking bread in between minefields, amidst the flowers and gullies with daisies.
Some times I can find some rations that a solider let fall when the wind or life left him.
At times the singer can find some rations that soldiers dropped during moments of distress.
Some times I can find a gun or a pistol or a knife to use.
The singer sometimes finds weapons that can be used for self-defense.
My eyes are blind, my bodies lame, my families gone, in my god's name, Holy Wars.
The singer feels helpless and alone as their family is gone and they are caught in the midst of a religious war.
Nameless, faceless, but a tear or a dollar won't buy my justice.
The singer's identity is unknown, and despite their anonymity, they cannot be bought off with tears or money.
Fearless, clothed less then a war torn child should sleep or focus.
The singer is brave despite being underdressed in the midst of a war with no proper place to sleep or focus.
Once I watched as a cannon slot fell through the stained glass window of a church on my street.
The singer witnessed a cannon slot tearing through a stained glass window of a nearby church.
Once I sat on a steeple now laying in the church yards playground.
The singer once sat on a steeple of the same church, which is now lying in the church yard's playground.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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