Magenta Skycode has released two albums to date, their first album, entitled IIIII (pronounced Five Bars) was released in 2006. The band’s debut album reached the Top 40 on Finnish sales charts.
In 2010, Magenta Skycode released their sophomore album, Relief, to excellent reviews. The album won the award for Best Indie Album at the Finnish Emma Awards (which is the Finnish equivalent of a Grammy) while also being among the contenders for the Finnish nominee for The Nordic Music Prize due to the album’s outstanding lyrics and emotional impact of Sjöroos’ voice. The album, with heartbreak anthems such as Kipling and Trains Are Leaving the Yard has been shared on sites such as The Cool Hunter and Vimeo where it featured as a staff pick, earning Magenta Skycode over 200,000 plays on various sites in the process.
Relief stayed as number one on the Finnish sales charts for several weeks, as featured on the top sales charts for as long as six weeks.
Sjöroos teamed up Maurice Hawkesworth to write the lyrics for the album, which were written during numerous Skype calls and concluded on a trip to Arizona where the lyrics were shaped by the solitude and beauty found in the desert of America.
In 2011, Magenta Skycode was added to Flow Festival as one of the main acts, playing on the same stage as artists such as Kanye West, Empire of the Sun and Lykke Li.
Compassion
Magenta Skycode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drop it all and search for more
You give it up for
What is she waiting for?
Oh let me know if you want to pray
After all the players pray
It gives you luck girl
You work it up it gives you lifeblood
You put me off and you say so
It's so polarized
As we fall out
You do your best to erase hope
I´m looking for a revelation
And you wont be calling my shots
Strings are broken oh yeah
Look at the way that we go astray
Every joy divides every word you say
You know what it means to be led astray
Still you're acting like you know a cleaner way
Alone into the field I don't want to go
There are so many things I don't want to know
The only sign of health in a mental way
Is knowing that we peak and fade away
Can't stop my fire
Hope and the praise on the other side
Compassion
Desire all the things that I tried to hide (so far)
You beat it up it gives your life hope
You put me on but you don't say so
It's so glamorized
As we fall back
You do your best to erase hope
But I'm so filled with satisfaction
Cause no one's calling my shot
No words are spoken oh yeah
Look at the way that we go astray
Every joy divides every word you say
You know what it means to be led astray
Still you're acting like you know a cleaner way
Alone into the field I don't want to go
There are so many things I don't want to know
The only sign of health in a mental way
Is knowing that we peak and fade away
The lyrics to Magenta Skycode's "Compassion" seem to be about the struggles of dealing with personal desires and trying to find one's own path in life. It begins with the idea of hearing the calling of a foreign shore and the search for something more, leading to giving up everything for what someone is waiting for. This could be interpreted as someone trying to find themselves or their purpose in life, and taking risks or making sacrifices to achieve that.
The chorus expresses the desire for guidance or faith, with the suggestion to pray for luck. The lines "You work it up it gives you lifeblood / You put me off and you say so" may refer to the struggle of balancing personal passions and relationships, with the polarized emotions causing conflict. The lines "You do your best to erase hope / I'm looking for a revelation / And you won't be calling my shots / Strings are broken oh yeah" could suggest a feeling of being held back or suppressed by others, with a yearning to make one's own decisions or find clarity in life.
The verse continues with the idea of going astray and the division caused by joys and words, as well as the struggle of trying to find a cleaner or easier path. The lines "Alone into the field I don't want to go / There are so many things I don't want to know / The only sign of health in a mental way / Is knowing that we peak and fade away" could suggest acceptance of the impermanence and uncertainty of life, and the importance of focusing on mental health and well-being.
Overall, the lyrics to "Compassion" appear to delve into the complexities of self-discovery, personal desires, and the pursuit of happiness, with elements of relationships, faith, and acceptance woven in.
Line by Line Meaning
You hear the calling of a foreign shore
You feel drawn to something new, something unknown
Drop it all and search for more
Leave everything behind and pursue this new calling, this hunger for more
You give it up for
You sacrifice everything for this new adventure
What is she waiting for?
What is holding you back from taking this leap of faith?
Oh let me know if you want to pray
Tell me if you need help, if you need some guidance in this journey
After all the players pray
Once everything has been said and done, when all your options have been exhausted, surrender to the divine intervention
It gives you luck girl
It blesses you with good fortune, and showers you with serendipitous moments
We all need luck girl
We all rely on these lucky breaks, we all need a little help sometimes
You work it up it gives you lifeblood
You strive, you work hard for something, and it becomes your source of vitality
You put me off and you say so
You distance yourself from me, and you make your intentions clear
It's so polarized
It creates a division, a dichotomy between us
As we fall out
This distance between us causes our relationship to deteriorate
You do your best to erase hope
You try to quell any aspirations, any yearning for something more
I'm looking for a revelation
I'm searching for an epiphany, a moment of clarity
And you wont be calling my shots
You won't have control over me, you won't dictate my decisions
Strings are broken oh yeah
Our connection is broken, our bond is severed
Look at the way that we go astray
See how we wander off the path, how we lose our sense of direction
Every joy divides every word you say
Every joy we experience creates a rift between us, every word we utter causes more distance
You know what it means to be led astray
You understand what it's like to be lured away from your path, to be misled
Still you're acting like you know a cleaner way
You believe you have a better understanding of how things should be done
Alone into the field I don't want to go
I don't want to face this journey alone, I need someone to come with me
There are so many things I don't want to know
There are some truths that are too painful to bear, some knowledge I would rather not have
The only sign of health in a mental way
The only indication that one is mentally sound
Is knowing that we peak and fade away
Is understanding that our lives have a beginning and an end, that we have limited time to make the most of it
Can't stop my fire
My passion, my drive cannot be extinguished
Hope and the praise on the other side
There is hope and admiration waiting for me on the other side of my endeavors
Compassion
Showing empathy towards others, being kind and understanding
Desire all the things that I tried to hide (so far)
Longing for things that I've kept hidden, desires that I've suppressed so far
You beat it up it gives your life hope
You fight for what you want, and it gives you the courage to keep going, to keep hoping
You put me on but you don't say so
You elevate me, you inspire me, but you don't admit it
It's so glamorized
It's exaggerated, it's made to appear more glamorous than it really is
As we fall back
As we retreat, as we lose our momentum
But I'm so filled with satisfaction
But I derive so much joy, so much fulfillment from what I've accomplished
Cause no one's calling my shot
Because I'm in control, I'm the one making the decisions, no one else
No words are spoken oh yeah
There's no need for words, my actions speak louder
Contributed by Juliana C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.