A number of their albums are concept albums - Catatonia is a concept album "depicting the internal journey of a man born without the ability to dream". The Robbery of Murder is about a man who hunts down the drunk driver responsible for running down his father when he was a boy.
Their CD, Mimi's Magic Moment features guest appearances from Neal Morse, David Ragsdale of Kansas and Fred Schendel from Glass Hammer and is highly recommended. They recently released their eighth studio album, Pennies in the Karma Jar, on the surface it appears to be a "praise and worship" album, but like everything with Salem Hill it is much deeper than that. Carl Groves' exceptional guitar playing, introspective lyrics, and love affair with the Hammond dominates their latest work.
Epilogue
Salem Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I feel inside a pit of emptiness
Although I've let the hatred go
I'm left here with a hungry hole to fill
When you're consumed for years and years
By a mission so seemingly clear
It's not easy moving on
Forgive me, Dad. I let him go
It was something in a fleeting glance
A familiar fear or welling tear
Which put me in a chilling trance
A sight I'd caught a thousand times
But never got used to
The mirror's frozen stare
Of a frightened little boy
Now with this realization
A new mission breaks into view
To sail through the heavens on a ship borne with hope
and to live there forever with you
The lyrics of Salem Hill's song "Epilogue" are reflective and introspective. The singer acknowledges that they have been consumed by a mission for years, and that although they have let go of their hatred, they are still left with a sense of emptiness. This pit of emptiness represents the absence of the thing that has driven them for so long, and now that it's gone, they are left with a sense of loss.
The singer goes on to mention their father, and how they have forgiven him for something. It's not clear what this something is, but the singer is haunted by a memory of a frightened little boy staring back at them in the mirror. This realization prompts them to embark on a new mission – to sail through the heavens on a ship borne with hope and to live there forever with their father.
All in all, "Epilogue" is a song about letting go of the past, forgiving those who have hurt us, and moving on to a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
And since I've put it all behind me
After closing that chapter of my life
I feel inside a pit of emptiness
But now I am left with a deep sense of nothingness
Although I've let the hatred go
Even though I have managed to release the anger
I'm left here with a hungry hole to fill
I am still trying to fill the void that it left
When you're consumed for years and years
When you have spent countless years consumed by
By a mission so seemingly clear
A sense of purpose that was once so obvious
It's not easy moving on
It is not an easy thing to do, to simply move on
Beyond such a primitive urge
Beyond the basic human desire that drove me
Forgive me, Dad. I let him go
Father, I ask for your forgiveness, I finally let go of him
It was something in a fleeting glance
It was just an instant in which something caught my eye
A familiar fear or welling tear
It was a sense of dread, or perhaps sadness
Which put me in a chilling trance
That put me in a frightening state of shock
A sight I'd caught a thousand times
A sight I have witnessed time and time again
But never got used to
But one that never became familiar or comfortable
The mirror's frozen stare
The reflection staring back at me, motionless
Of a frightened little boy
Of a young boy that had been scared for so long
Now with this realization
But now I see the truth
A new mission breaks into view
A new purpose appears before me
To sail through the heavens on a ship borne with hope
To travel through the skies on a vessel filled with optimism
and to live there forever with you
And to spend eternity alongside you
Contributed by Jake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.