1: Wales-based… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least five artists called "Detritus."
1: Wales-based Dave Dando-Moore's dark ambient/triphop/breakbeat/breakcore project, which has produced four full length albums on Ad noiseam .
2: Christian thrash metal band from the United Kingdom. Released two albums, Perpetual Defiance in 1990 and If But For One in 1993. Had a minor hit on college radio with their song "Sailor's Farewell," a pirate-themed allegory about accepting Jesus.
3: An experimental industrial group associated with Mexican label Genital Records.
4: A bay area based dark-wave, post-punk solo project by drummer of The New Flesh.
5: A US based doom metal band that released an album called Erosion in 2013.
Playing With Fire
Detritus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Singing of death, singing of hate
Singing of demons and ghosts
Twisting their minds, taking their souls
Digging their graves with your boasts
Just for an image, just for the rhyme
Words that you don't even mean
Singing of things you don't understand
You're doing the devil a favour
Your payment is waiting in hell
Instead of a friend an enslaver
You don't have to believe to fall under the spell
Using your words for destruction
But its harder to build than destroy
Unknowingly used for seduction
No power is yours, your just used as a toy
Why do you look down to the grave
You know there's more power elswhere
Don't have to be cruel, don't have to be evil
'cause' of the length of your hair
You look to the witches, you look to the devil
Why don't you look higher?
D'you wanna be slave' D'you wanna be burned?
So why d'you play with fire?
You sing the words but you don't mean what you say
You play his game but he'll take you one day
You use a force that is real
One day you'll pay the price
Please understand, he'll trick you, he'll fool you
You'll do his work 'cause you're his slave
You can change the path that you're taking
But there's only one way&
He will betray you taking your soul
Torture and enslave you, who's in control? (Not you)
Have you the guts not to conform
Join us against him, no longer mourn&
Detritus's song Playing With Fire is a cautionary tale about the dangers of dabbling in dark forces, and the consequences that come with playing with things beyond one's understanding. The lyrics speak of the temptation to sing about death, hate, demons, and ghosts just for the sake of creating an image or rhyme, even though the singer does not truly understand the power of the words they are using. The song warns that when one is dealing with forces beyond their comprehension, they are essentially doing the devil a favor, and will ultimately pay the price with their souls. The devil is portrayed as a cunning trickster, who will fool and betray those who play with his powers. The song urges listeners not to conform but to resist the allure of the dark forces and join forces against them.
Throughout the song, the lyrics emphasize the power of words and how they can be used for destruction or seduction. The imagery of digging graves with boasts paints a picture of the singer using their words like a shovel to bury themselves deeper and deeper in hell. The lyrics also speak of the futility of trying to build with words once they have been used for destruction. The line "one day you'll pay the price" warns of the inevitability of punishment for playing with dark forces, even if it does not happen immediately.
Line by Line Meaning
Singing of death, singing of hate
Singing about negative things like death and hate.
Singing of demons and ghosts
Singing about supernatural entities like demons and ghosts.
Twisting their minds, taking their souls
Misleading people and leading them towards spiritual peril.
Digging their graves with your boasts
Making things worse for those who follow.
Just for an image, just for the rhyme
Doing it only for the sake of creating an image or rhyme.
Words that you don't even mean
Saying things which are not really meant and lack conviction.
Singing of things you don't understand
Talking about things that the singer himself doesn't really comprehend.
Making your life so unclean
Ruining one's own life and making it impure.
You're doing the devil a favour
Playing into the hands of the devil indirectly.
Your payment is waiting in hell
Being caught up later in life and punished in hell.
Instead of a friend an enslaver
The devil isn't a friend but someone who will enslave and trap you.
You don't have to believe to fall under the spell
One doesn't even have to believe in something to be influenced by it.
Using your words for destruction
Using one's expression for causing harm and destruction.
But its harder to build than destroy
Building something is tougher than simply destroying it.
Unknowingly used for seduction
Unwittingly being used for luring and seducing people.
No power is yours, your just used as a toy
Having no real power and being pulled by others' strings like a toy.
Why do you look down to the grave
Why focus on something as morbid as death?
You know there's more power elsewhere
There's more power and positivity elsewhere to focus on.
Don't have to be cruel, don't have to be evil
No need to be intentionally cruel or evil.
'cause' of the length of your hair
Just because of how one happens to look.
You look to the witches, you look to the devil
Being influenced from a place of darkness.
Why don't you look higher?
Why not focus on higher and brighter things instead?
D'you wanna be slave' D'you wanna be burned?
Do you want to be entrapped and punished or not?
So why d'you play with fire?
Why invite danger and destruction by playing with fire?
You sing the words but you don't mean what you say
Saying things without really believing in them.
You play his game but he'll take you one day
Following the devil's tricks but ultimately being caught up by him.
You use a force that is real
Using an actual force beyond ourselves.
One day you'll pay the price
Someday having to face the consequences of one's actions.
Please understand, he'll trick you, he'll fool you
Urging to understand the dangerous influence of the devil.
You'll do his work 'cause you're his slave
Being a puppet and doing the devil's bidding.
You can change the path that you're taking
One can still change the direction of their life.
But there's only one way&
Only one way to avoid the danger spelled by the devil.
He will betray you taking your soul
Being backstabbed and losing one's soul to the devil.
Torture and enslave you, who's in control? (Not you)
Getting tortured and enslaved and being unable to control the situation.
Have you the guts not to conform
Being brave enough to not conform to darkness.
Join us against him, no longer mourn&
Join forces and fight against the dangerous influence.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind