Scarab
Northlane Lyrics


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Crawling through the burning sand
Just a man whose lost in time
Distant memories of a life
That flow like waves within my mind
Look upon these calloused hands as they move without a thought
Lucid wisdom in every atom the golden mind of Thoth,
We are the Gods, who have lost ourselves in forms,
Like a scarab in the mind we fester in the soul
I have felt the burden of pain
For the last time
So you want the fucking truth?
So you want the fucking truth?
The truth is we all suffer
We all suffer in life
We all suffer in time
Beat me down, beat me down
Again and again, again and again
Let it Reign hell on me
In life we all suffer
But I will find my way
Through the darkness
This is the truth
In the back of my mind
It's been hiding away
For me to find
Dancing in the fire




We burn together
This pain will never end

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Northlane's Scarab describe a man who is lost in time, crawling through burning sand with only distant memories of his past life. He looks at his calloused hands moving without a thought, feeling the burden of pain for the last time. The lyrics mention Thoth, an ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, which suggests that the man may be searching for some kind of spiritual enlightenment to help him cope with his suffering. The scarab is a symbol of rebirth and transformation in ancient Egyptian mythology, and the comparison to the scarab in the mind suggests that the man is struggling to overcome his inner demons. The repetition of the line "the truth is we all suffer" reinforces the idea that everyone experiences pain in some form, and that this is an essential part of the human experience. The song ends on a hopeful note, with the promise that the singer will find his way through the darkness and that the pain will never truly end.


One interesting fact about Scarab is that it was originally intended to be an instrumental track. However, the band decided to add lyrics after a friend of theirs suggested that the song had a powerful emotional quality that could be enhanced with the right words. Another interesting fact is that the song was inspired by a trip to Egypt that the band took, where they were struck by the powerful juxtaposition of ancient ruins and modern cities. The lyrics reference this experience with lines like "We are the Gods, who have lost ourselves in forms" and "dancing in the fire, we burn together." Scarab was released in 2013 on Northlane's album Singularity, which was widely praised for its genre-bending sound and thought-provoking lyrics.


Line by Line Meaning

Crawling through the burning sand
The artist visualizes himself wandering aimlessly through a desert environment.


Just a man whose lost in time
Narrator feels lost and directionless, untethered from temporal reality.


Distant memories of a life
The artist feels a sense of nostalgia for a life that seems far from reach and extremely hazy in his memory


That flow like waves within my mind
Images from the past keep coming one after another in artist's mind.


Look upon these calloused hands as they move without a thought
Narrator takes a moment to observe his own calloused hands, which feel detached from his mind.


Lucid wisdom in every atom the golden mind of Thoth
Reference to Thoth, an Egyptian God of wisdom, means ‘there's a higher purpose in everything.


We are the Gods, who have lost ourselves in forms
The artist believes that in reality, humans are actually divine beings, but are trapped in human forms, obscuring their immortal essence.


Like a scarab in the mind we fester in the soul
The artist suggests that the human subconscious is like a scarab beetle that eats away at the soul.


I have felt the burden of pain
The artist has experienced unbearable pain.


For the last time
The last time the artist will feel this pain.


So you want the fucking truth?
The artist addresses the listener and desires that they want to know the truth about something.


The truth is we all suffer
Artist wants to reveal the truth that all humans experience pain.


Beat me down, beat me down, again and again, again and again
Artist is talking about experiencing the trials and tribulations of life, which continuously beat him down with extreme consistency


Let it Reign hell on me
The artist accepts that things can get bad, but he's willing to handle whatever the universe throws at him.


But I will find my way, through the darkness
The artist will overcome any obstacle and embrace the darkness to gain enlightenment.


This is the truth, in the back of my mind
The artist strongly believes that we always contain the truth within ourselves, but often do not connect with it.


It's been hiding away, for me to find
Artist has a revelation that he has to look within himself to find this truth.


Dancing in the fire, we burn together
Artist indicates how everyone's lives are entwined, where our actions and misfortunes directly implicate and affect others in society.


This pain will never end
The artist proclaims that the pain experienced in his life is unlike to end and therfore, must be embraced and experienced.




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JONATHON FRANCIS DEILEY, ADRIAN JAMES FITIPALDES, NIC EDWARD PETTERSEN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@XxSynsterxX420

Still obsessed with this whole album in 2021

@andg_rodg_4_real710

Same 😅

@svono_svono_music

yeah- - quantum flux / dream awake are some of the greatest pieces in history

@SuicidalChocolateSK

Man of culture

@jtr9859

2023 closer to the truth he was talking about

@Daniel-Cherry

"We are the Gods who have lost ourselves in forms".... I love the hints to spiritual awakening and nonduality throughout this album 🙏🏻🕉️

@clarkcant4818

adrian is the most inspirational lyricist i think i know of by far, he very much practices what he preaches as well. really great person all around

@Oh_its_Mike

One of the most iconic metalcore songs of all time. Life changing.

@Fahreun

This song still kick ass in 2019, thanks northlane for what you did !

@Ic3nova

Northlane really outdone themselves with this album. This song especially goes hard as fuck!

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