The Old Man's Back Again
Air Lyrics

I seen a hand, I seen a vision
I witnessed a vision of a hand that appeared to be reaching down from the sky

It was reaching through the clouds
This hand seemed to be extending itself from above a cloudy, misty sky

To risk a dream, the shadow crossed the sky
However, this vision was fleeting and disappeared, as if crushed by some powerful force

And it crushed it to the ground, just like a beast
The power that crushed this dream and vision was relentless and overpowering

The old man's back again
This phrase suggests that an old power or entity has returned, possibly with malevolent intentions

I seen a woman, standing in the snow
The singer observes a woman outside in the snow

She was silent as she watched them take her man
Despite the traumatic event, this woman remained eerily silent as she watched her partner taken away from her

Teardrops burned her cheeks
The woman was crying, but there was a strong sense of detachment in how she was behaving

For she'd thought she'd heard the shadow had left this land
The woman appeared to have known about the old power or entity mentioned previously, and thought it had gone away or been subdued

The crowds just gathered, their faces turned away
The scene changes, and the artist now observes a group of people gathered in public

And they queue all day, like dragons of disgust
These people seem to be in a state of disgust or frustration, and are patiently waiting for some sort of event to take place

Older women whispering
The artist singles out a group of older women who appear to be exchanging hushed whispers

Wondering just what these young hot-heads want of us
The women seem to be wondering why the younger generation is causing such a commotion, or what they want from the older generation

And Andrei V. he cries, with eyes that ring like chimes
The focus shifts to a man named Andrei V., who is crying loudly, with his eyes appearing to be ringing in distress

His anti-worlds go spinning through his head
Andrei V. seems to be struggling with overwhelming or conflicting thoughts that are taking him on mental journeys

He burns them in his dreams
These thoughts or anti-worlds seem to haunt him even in his sleep

For half-awake, they may as well be dead
Even when he is only half-awake or dozing, these anti-worlds seem to take on a life of their own, rendering him useless or paralyzed

I see he's back again
The singer reiterates the return of the old power or entity, suggesting that it is very present and threatening

I see a soldier, he's standing in the rain
The scene shifts again to a soldier standing outside in the rain

For him there's no old man to walk behind
The soldier seems to be feeling a sense of abandonment or loneliness, with no one to guide or support him

Devoured by his pain
The soldier is clearly in agony, physical or emotional

Bewildered by the faces who pass him by
The passersby seem indifferent or uncaring, making the soldier feel even more isolated or powerless

He'd like another name, the one he's got's a curse
The soldier is intensely unhappy with his current situation, and would like to escape it somehow

These people cried
But despite how he was feeling, the soldier realizes that other people are also suffering in different ways

Why can't they understand?
However, there is a strong sense of frustration that others cannot or will not empathize with his plight

His mother called him Ivan, then she died
The soldier reveals a deep sense of grief over his mother's death, which might be an underlying factor to his pain

Da da da da da da da da
This is likely an instrumental interlude, and does not contain any discernible lyrics to interpret