Decade
Frail Lyrics


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Centuries old. centuries disillusioned. shielded eyes following a battered path marked out of our blood and ignorance. unthinking condition. mindless reaction. stiff thoughts as we decay from our existence. life is much too short to live their hopeless lie. lie. change is our constant fear. why? if we're better off down the road. our sacrifice won't hurt that much if we just escape from their unwritten law and change our ways. change. what can we seize from the furnace if we're the ones that are burning? burning. burn.




Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Frail's song Decade carry a deep message about the human condition and the chains that hold us back from progress. The opening lines, "Centuries old, centuries disillusioned" suggest that the human race has been around for a long time, but still feels lost and disillusioned. "Shielded eyes" and "battered path" imply that we are blinded by our ignorance and continue to follow a destructive path. The reference to "unthinking condition" and "mindless reaction" suggests that we are not actively seeking to improve or evolve, but rather, are acting out of habit and without conscious thought.


The next lines, "life is much too short to live their hopeless lie. lie." speaks to the idea that life is too short to conform and live a hopeless existence. The repetition of the word "lie" signifies the idea that society may be living a falsehood or untruthful life, one that is not in alignment with the truth, integrity or authenticity. In these lines, the singer urges listeners to change their ways, as it is not worth living a life that is not filled with purpose or meaning.


The final lines of the song carry a sense of urgency and desperation. "What can we seize from the furnace if we're the ones that are burning? Burning. Burn." suggest that if we continue down this path of destruction, we will only end up destroying ourselves. The repetition of the word "burn" implies that we are currently living in a state of burning, which could be a metaphor for self-destruction or societal collapse, and urges us to take action before it is too late.


Line by Line Meaning

Centuries old. centuries disillusioned. shielded eyes following a battered path marked out of our blood and ignorance.
We've been around for hundreds of years, but we're still lost and confused. We blindly follow a path that's been beaten down by our own ignorance and the ignorance of those before us.


unthinking condition. mindless reaction. stiff thoughts as we decay from our existence.
We're stuck in a rut of unthinking, robotic behavior. We're not really living, just reacting. We're slowly deteriorating and losing our sense of self as we go along.


life is much too short to live their hopeless lie. lie.
We don't have enough time on this earth to live a life that's not our own. We need to stop pretending and living a lie that wasn't meant for us.


change is our constant fear. why? if we're better off down the road.
We're afraid of change even though it might lead us to a better place. We need to question why we're so resistant to change when it might benefit us in the long run.


our sacrifice won't hurt that much if we just escape from their unwritten law and change our ways. change.
If we break free from the expectations and norms that have been forced upon us, any sacrifice we make to change won't be as painful. We need to embrace change to live a better life.


what can we seize from the furnace if we're the ones that are burning? burning. burn.
We can't gain anything from our destruction. We need to let go of the things that are causing us pain and burning us down so we can move forward and live a better life.




Contributed by Chase T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

M-Tron

how has NO ONE commented on this classic record ! 😑

Myles Shapiro

Saw them at the Detroit hardcore fest in maybe 96? Never forgot.

T H

visceral shit.. how can you not thrash?!

Mena M

I listened to Paradise Lost today.

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