Retribution
Dissection Lyrics


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Morning oh dreadful dawn, spread your pale dim light
Reign for your last time over lands once so bright
But your energy shall be weak, and soon to die
So die in pain my dear, expire, goodbye
Ages has past since your eyes enlightened the earth
from a source of light that gave all godness birth
But your energy is weak and soon to die
The ground is sour from the evil that here lie

I have come to challenge your ways
Light's bane
The last of your days
Oh broken wings
My darkness enslaves
Allow me to erase your feeble race

Morning, so feeble dawn, spread no pale dim light
You've been breeding for your last time, a source without might
An epitaph oh lost worthlessness
Still echoes your last cries
The earth is pure of the evil that here thrives

I have come to challenge your ways
Light's bane
The last of your days
Oh broken wings
My darkness enslaves
Allow me to erase your feeble race

What marks the death of "god" is the twilight for a dark age
His creation being plagued with the venomous blood of ours
The sky suffocates eclipsed by a black mist of hatred
Where goodness cannot reach the fire burns in dark flames

I have come to challenge your ways
Light's bane
The last of your days
Oh broken wings




My darkness enslaves
Will you allow me to erase your feeble race?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Dissection's "Retribution" represent a powerful, apocalyptic vision of the end of an era, and the extinction of the "old order" of light and goodness. The song conveys a sense of profound darkness and despair, with the singer directly addressing "Morning" -- personified as a pale, dim light -- and celebrating its imminent death. The singer sees this as a necessary step towards a complete overthrow of the previous, corrupt regime, and believes that only by embracing darkness and evil can true transformation be achieved.


The lyrics are filled with bloody, violent imagery, with references to the "venomous blood" and "black mist of hatred" that have overtaken the world. The singer takes on the role of an avenging angel, seeking to cleanse the earth of its previous sins and usher in a new era of darkness that will end with the literal "erasure" of the old ways. At the same time, there is a sense of regret and loss in the singer's voice, as they acknowledge the passing of a time that was once "so bright," and mourn the death of a god who is no longer powerful enough to save his own creation.


Overall, the lyrics to "Retribution" are a haunting, deeply felt meditation on the nature of morality, power, and the human condition. They speak to the enduring appeal of themes of death, decay, and rebirth in heavy metal music, and attest to Dissection's lasting legacy as one of the most innovative and forward-thinking bands to emerge from the black metal scene of the 1990s.


Line by Line Meaning

Morning oh dreadful dawn, spread your pale dim light
Addressing the morning as feeble and gloomy despite being an emblem of light, highlighting its dwindling energy.


Reign for your last time over lands once so bright
The morning's reign is coming to an end, once it filled the earth with light and energy but now it struggles to exist.


But your energy shall be weak, and soon to die
The morning's energy has become weak and it will soon perish, suggesting its inevitable defeat.


So die in pain my dear, expire, goodbye
The artist sees the morning as a living entity and wishes it a painful death as it fades into oblivion.


Ages has past since your eyes enlightened the earth
The morning has been shining for ages and giving light to the world, without which the earth would not have been born.


from a source of light that gave all godness birth
The light from the morning is considered divine and as the source that gave birth to all gods.


But your energy is weak and soon to die
The morning's energy has become weak and it will soon perish, suggesting its inevitable defeat.


The ground is sour from the evil that here lie
The earth is contaminated by the darkness and evil that surrounds it, symbolic of the artist's view of the world as a place of suffering.


I have come to challenge your ways
The artist announces their challenge to the morning, suggesting their willingness to take on challenges and face difficult situations.


Light's bane
The artist sees light as an adversary, and describes it as a bane, a cause of great distress.


The last of your days
The morning's last few days are here, depicting its defeat as being close.


Oh broken wings
Comparing the morning's situation to a bird with broken wings that has lost its ability to fly signifies the morning's inevitable defeat.


My darkness enslaves
The singer's darkness, representing their own negative energy, is taking over this situation and overpowering light.


Allow me to erase your feeble race
The singer is seeking permission to bring an end to the morning's weak existence, indicating an aggressive and destructive way of taking on the situation.


Morning, so feeble dawn, spread no pale dim light
Addressing the morning as feeble and gloomy despite being an emblem of light, highlighting its dwindling energy.


You've been breeding for your last time, a source without might
The morning is approaching its last few minutes, depicted as breeding without any might, indicating its weakness.


An epitaph oh lost worthlessness
Depicting the morning's end as an epitaph, honouring its loss of value and significance.


Still echoes your last cries
The singer's words and actions have the capability to affect situations beyond the moment, depicting how the mourning's last cries will continue to echo in the singer's life experiences.


The earth is pure of the evil that here thrives
The earth is free from the darkness and evil that thrives here, depicting a world without darkness and suffering.


What marks the death of "god" is the twilight for a dark age
The artist is connecting the end of the morning or light to the death of a deity, indicating the beginning of a dark age.


His creation being plagued with the venomous blood of ours
Humans are depicted as contaminating god's creation with harmful and toxic behaviour.


The sky suffocates eclipsed by a black mist of hatred
The artist depicts the sky as being choked by a shadow-like darkness of malice and aggression.


Where goodness cannot reach the fire burns in dark flames
In a world where goodness no longer exists, the darkness reigns supreme, represented as fire burning in dark flames.


Will you allow me to erase your feeble race?
The artist asks the morning if it is willing to subject itself to being destroyed; a question rhetorical in nature, as they seem rather determined to end its existence.




Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN ALLAN ZWETSLOOT, JON ANDREAS NODTVEIDT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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