Greg Weeks (born in Rochester, NY) is an American singer-songwriter based … Read Full Bio ↴Greg Weeks (born in Rochester, NY) is an American singer-songwriter based in Philadelphia. His music has been described as folk, acoustic, psychedelic and experimental. He is best known as a founding member of the psychedelic folk-rock band Espers. Weeks has released several solo albums and has guest-recorded with many artists, including Fern Knight and Marissa Nadler. He is also a member of The Valerie Project. His song "Made" was featured in the "Pink" adicolor video directed by Charlie White.

The Angel of Death
Greg Weeks Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Condemn (?) everything
Flames feed this pain
I forget everything
It's lost to your name

Distant rain
As you turn to leave
I hate myself

And all of my friends

Close to your flesh
Close to the end
Even your starry eyes
Can't unseal my fate

Close your eyes
Until you feel
My shaking lips
Soft to your skin

Why does it seem
That dusk rues (? possibly "rules") the day?

Night moves the earth
And my blood melts away

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Greg Weeks's song The Angel of Death seem to revolve around a sense of guilt, pain and the inevitability of death. The opening lines "Condemn (?) everything / Flames feed this pain" suggest a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness, perhaps a feeling of being trapped in a difficult situation or relationship. The singer seems to have taken solace in forgetting everything, but ultimately is unable to let go of the pain caused by the person addressed in the next line "It's lost to your name".

The lines "Close to your flesh / Close to the end / Even your starry eyes / Can't unseal my fate" suggest that the singer was close to the object of his affection, perhaps even physically intimate, but ultimately cannot escape their fate. The reference to the angel of death also suggests a sense of impending doom and finality. The lines "Why does it seem / That dusk rues (?) the day? / Night moves the earth / And my blood melts away" evoke a sense of melancholy and despair, perhaps even a yearning for death and release from the pain of life.

Overall, the lyrics of The Angel of Death are open to interpretation and could be seen as a metaphor for any challenging situation in life where one feels trapped or powerless. The haunting melody and sparse instrumentation of the song add to the overall mood of melancholy and introspection.

Line by Line Meaning

Condemn (?) everything
I reject everything in my life

Flames feed this pain
My pain intensifies and ignites like a flame

I forget everything
I choose to disregard my past experiences

It's lost to your name
I cannot recall previous memories because of a person's influence on me

Distant rain
A metaphor that represents a melancholy feeling

As you turn to leave
The feeling of loss when a loved one departs

I hate myself
I am disappointed with my own actions

And all of my friends
I am dissatisfied with the actions of those I associate with

Close to your flesh
An intimacy with another person

Close to the end
Near the end of a significant event or experience

Even your starry eyes
The beauty of another person