The band existed for almost a decade before mainstream success. The members met and played in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School under the name Pezz and remained underground in Toronto's indie music scene until 2001. The band renamed itself Billy Talent after running into legal trouble with the old name. It was then that Kowalewicz's connection with an employee of Warner Music Canada's A&R department landed the band a record deal and launched them into mainstream success. Since then, Billy Talent has made three multi-platinum records in Canada and continues to expand their success overseas; this included touring for 20 months supporting their second album. They released their third album, Billy Talent III, in 2009, and their fourth album, Dead Silence, in 2012. Dead Silence was followed up by a full UK tour throughout October and November 2012. To commemorate the longevity since the release of their first studio album, the band has released a greatest hits album entitled Hits in 2014. In 2015, they began to prepare material for their fifth studio album. Just before entering the studio, drummer Aaron Solowoniuk decided to sit out the recording sessions while he continued his longstanding battle with multiple sclerosis. Fellow Canadian Jordan Hastings was quickly recruited to play as Solowoniuk's studio stand-in, and, in early 2016, the group completed work on Afraid of Heights, which was released in July of that year. The band's most recent album is Crisis of Faith, released in January 2022.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Talent
Studio albums
Billy Talent (2003)
Billy Talent II (2006)
Billy Talent III (2009)
Dead Silence (2012)
Afraid of Heights (2016)
Crisis of Faith (2022)
Devil In A Midnight Mess
Billy Talent Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He prayed behind stained glass
A memory of Sunday class
Resurrected from the past
Hold your breath and count to four
Pinky swears don't work no more
Footsteps down the hallway floor
I was alive but now I'm singing
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent knight at the edge of your knife
(Forgive me father)
Won't make it right
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent night at the edge of your knife
(You're guilty!)
A devil in a midnight mass
Killed the boy inside the man
The holy water in his hands
Can never wash away his sins
Hold your breath and count to four
Pinky swears don't work no more
Put my trust in god that day
Not the man that got his way
I was alive but now I'm singing
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent night at the edge of your knife
(Forgive me father!)
Won't make it right
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent knight at the edge of your knife
(You're guilty!)
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made and it's in the ground
The lyrics to Devil In Midnight Mass by Billy Talent tell the story of a boy who is assaulted by a priest during a midnight mass. The boy, now a man, is haunted by the traumatic experience and struggles to come to terms with it. The line "A devil in a midnight mass, he prayed behind stained glass" suggests that the priest, who should have been a pillar of the community, was, in fact, a predator hiding behind the guise of religion. The line "Hold your breath and count to four, pinky swears don't work no more" suggests that the boy was betrayed by someone who he should have been able to trust implicitly. The repetition of the line "Silent night for the rest of my life" reinforces the idea that the assault has left the man emotionally scarred and unable to find peace.
The song touches on issues of faith, trust, and the abuse of power. It highlights the damaging effects of sexual abuse and the struggle faced by survivors to move on from such experiences. The song is a powerful reminder of the importance of speaking out against abuse and holding those responsible accountable for their actions.
Line by Line Meaning
A devil in a midnight mass,
A malevolent entity present during a late-night religious service,
He prayed behind stained glass
The devil performed a religious ritual behind a window made of colored glass,
A memory of Sunday class
A recollection of a lesson learned during a religious class on a Sunday,
Resurrected from the past
Brought back to life from a previous time or era,
Hold your breath and count to four
Take a deep breath and silently count to four as a way to cope with a stressful situation,
Pinky swears don't work no more
Promises made by interlocking pinky fingers are no longer effective or trustworthy,
Footsteps down the hallway floor
The sound of someone walking along the corridor towards the singer's room,
Getting closer to my door
The person approaching is drawing nearer to the entrance of the singer's quarters,
I was alive but now I'm singing
The singer was once alive but now regrets their past actions and is expressing remorse,
Silent night for the rest of my life
An expression of grief and sorrow for having to live in silence for the rest of their days,
Silent knight at the edge of your knife
A reference to the hazardous and risky position the singer has found themselves in,
(Forgive me father)
Won't make it right
Asking for forgiveness from a religious leader will not correct the sin committed,
(You're guilty!)
An accusation that is directed towards the person who committed the offense in this case,
Killed the boy inside the man
A person who had lost their innocence and moral compass due to a traumatic or sinful event that happened to them,
The holy water in his hands
Water that is deemed sacred or blessed held in the palms of the person's hand,
Can never wash away his sins
No amount of religious rites or practices can absolve the person's wrongdoings completely,
Put my trust in god that day
The person trusted their faith as a way to navigate through their troubles,
Not the man that got his way
The person chose to rely on their faith rather than the man who had the authority or power,
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made and it's in the ground
A quiet warning that the consequences of the person's actions have caught up with them and that they will have to face them regardless.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: AARON SOLOWONIUK, BEN KOWALEWICZ, IAN D'SA, JON GALLANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@futureistimeless1545
Lyrics:
A devil in a midnight mass,
He prayed behind stained glass
A memory of Sunday class
Resurrected from the past
Hold your breath and count to four
Pinky swears don't work no more
Footsteps down the hallway floor
Getting closer to my door
I was alive but now I'm singing
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent knight at the edge of your knife
(Forgive me father)
Won't make it right
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent night at the edge of your knife
(You're guilty!)
A devil in a midnight mass
Killed the boy inside the man
The holy water in his hands
Can never wash away his sins
Hold your breath and count to four
Pinky swears don't work no more
Put my trust in god that day
Not the man that got his way
I was alive but now I'm singing
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent night at the edge of your knife
(Forgive me father!)
Won't make it right
Silent night for the rest of my life
Silent knight at the edge of your knife
(You're guilty!)
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made it's in the ground
Whisper, whisper don't make a sound
Your bed is made and it's in the ground
@user-jp1hf8qt9t
Back in the days when i was in Canada from South Korea, i was 13 who could barely speak English and had no friends. One day i listened to this song and was so shocked cuz it was the first time that I heard 'this kind of music'. Since then, I listen to rock music all the time. Anyway after I returned to Korea, I tried to find this song really hard and finally after several years, my dream came true. Billy talent ROCKS!!!
@Gigi_Ouija
This is so cute!!! 나는 한국에 사람이에요. I'm teaching myself to speak so I can talk to my family :)
@DutchBass
bro, i love u
@gamewhipess
Sungsoo park?
@user-jp1hf8qt9t
@Devin Parker yep that's my name
@dathunderman4
@Devin Parker sung-oo, not sung-su
@laurafragoso2165
This band is seriously one of the most underrated
@theequalizer2465
Yep they really are
@erik-ln1ht
But why are they not so popular?
@jimdavies9354
I agree. The choruses in Try Honesty and Devil In A Midnight Mass are awesome catchy riffs and drum scores. This Is How It Goes is still my favourite song by them though. Well take care.