For the popular band, featuring Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan, see: A Perfect Circle.
Vanishing
Perfect Circle Lyrics
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Disappear
Higher
Higher
Into the air
Slowly disappear
No, no longer here
Disappear
Thinner, thinner
Into the air
Never really here
Wasn't ever
Like a thought
Brushing up against a sigh
Floating away
Floating away
Vanishing like a cyan Sunday
Disappear
Disappear
Vanish, vanish into the air
Slowly disappear
Never really here
Floating away
Floating away
The opening lines of the song “Vanishing” by Perfect Circle are repeated twice with slight variations, creating a sense of urgency and repetition. By repeating “disappear” and “higher” the band creates an image of something slowly vanishing into the air, and the sense of finality when the subject is “no longer here”. The next lines focus on the physicality of the vanishing, as something becomes “thinner, thinner into the air” suggesting an ethereal and intangible presence. The lyrics suggest that even though the subject is disappearing, they were never really here to begin with.
The second half of the song continues the theme of the subject disappearing like a thought or a sigh. The idea of floating away reinforces the sense of something immaterial disappearing into the ether. The final line “Vanishing like a cyan Sunday” provides a color and a day of the week to the disappearance, which lends a sense of specificity to an otherwise abstract concept. The final repetition of “disappear” and “vanish” gives the listener the feeling that the subject is slipping away for good.
Line by Line Meaning
Disappear
To completely vanish or cease to exist
Disappear
To vanish or disappear without a trace
Higher
Ascending or rising upwards
Higher
Going up or increasing in elevation
Into the air
Moving towards or entering the atmosphere
Slowly disappear
Gradually fading away or becoming less noticeable over time
No, no longer here
Completely gone or absent from the current location or situation
Thinner, thinner
Becoming more and more slender or narrow
Never really here
Not truly present or existing in the first place
Wasn't ever
Never actually existed
Like a thought
Similar to an idea, notion or mental concept
Brushing up against a sigh
Touching lightly or passing by in a similar manner to a sigh
Floating away
Drifting or moving away as if on a current
Vanishing like a cyan Sunday
Disappearing completely and suddenly like an ephemeral Sunday morning
Vanish, vanish into the air
Disappear without a trace, leaving no evidence behind
Slowly disappear
Gradually fade away and vanish over time
Never really here
Not actually present or existing in a concrete sense
Floating away
Moving and drifting away without any clear direction or intention
Floating away
Drifting and disappearing from view, as if on a current
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILLY HOWERDEL, MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind