From the strong opener Hope, one can already feel your heartstrings being t… Read Full Bio ↴From the strong opener Hope, one can already feel your heartstrings being tugged at. The song has a nice mixture of both heavy and mellow, giving it a very depressing, emotional and melodic feel. The transition from clean to the heavy and distorted section is very well done. Just listen to the opening riff, until the 1:30 mark, and tell me that nothing has touched you. Even if nothing did touch you (you'd probably be 90% lying), the song will definitely pummel you into submission. What a very contradicting title for such a song...but then again, after listening to this, you'll be very "hopeful" for the rest of the album! Definitely one of the highlights.

All in all, this album is anything but hopeful. Hope will remain a very contradictory album title, with its endless depressing moments. However, this album, is in a sense...a hope. Never have i heard anything in my entire as depressing as this. Granted, i did try out some My Dying Bride. However, it did not appeal to me back then. This, my friends, is hope beyond hope. Exactly, what doom should be (if you take away the higher tempo).

Hope
Swallow the Sun Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Deep into the flesh the arrow cut
From the hope of a hunter's bow
Wounded we fall
With bleeding hearts we crawl
Taking shelter from the arrows

Cut the trembling flesh
And don't let the tears tame you

Rip your arrows out
And make them cut deeper
Crush my mouth, for it still sings praises to you
Run the blood out from my throat
For I'm still yours

"And the hope will die
When the curtains fall
And silence the pain"

We drink from the well
The well of poisoned hope
Until the water will burn
All pure hearts away

Keep your eyes on the wounds
Those rivers will run dry soon

Will it leave you wanting more
The taste of flesh that bleeds in your honour

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Hope" by Swallow the Sun are full of pain and despair, almost as if the author is talking about the aftermath of a tragic event. The first verse talks about an arrow that has been cut deep into the flesh from the hope of a hunter's bow. This metaphor might represent the person's expectations or hopes that were once high but now have harmed them badly. As a result, they are wounded and left crawling, taking shelter from the arrows. Later, we find out that the person is singing to someone to rip the arrow out and make it cut deeper, suggesting that they already feel so much pain that they want to feel it even more.

The second verse is even darker, with the author asking someone to crush their mouth because it still sings praises to them. They want to end the feelings they have toward this person that has caused them so much pain. The line "And the hope will die when the curtains fall and silence the pain" is especially profound. It suggests that the person's only source of hope is the pain itself, and that once it's gone, there will be nothing left to hope for.

The last part of the lyrics speaks of drinking from the well of poisoned hope until the water will burn all pure hearts away. It seems that the person is aware of the harmful cycle they are trapped in, yet they are still wanting more. The lines "Keep your eyes on the wounds, those rivers will run dry soon, Will it leave you wanting more, the taste of flesh that bleeds in your honour," are particularly haunting. They suggest that the person is addicted to the pain, and they will keep going to the point where there is nothing left.

Line by Line Meaning

Deep into the flesh the arrow cut
The pain of betrayal cuts deep into one's heart.

From the hope of a hunter's bow
The person who caused the pain had high hopes for the relationship or situation.

Wounded we fall
The situation caused harm or distress to both parties involved.

With bleeding hearts we crawl
Even with the pain, there is still a desire to continue and survive the situation.

Taking shelter from the arrows
Both parties try to avoid further harm from each other.

Cut the trembling flesh
To clearly see the pain and address it head-on.

And don't let the tears tame you
Don't let the pain make you weak.

Rip your arrows out
Admit to your own faults and work to fix them.

And make them cut deeper
Have a deeper understanding of how the situation caused pain for others.

Crush my mouth, for it still sings praises to you
Trying to control one's feelings, even though the situation is causing them harm.

Run the blood out from my throat
Desiring to escape the current situation but being unable to.

For I'm still yours
Deep down, one still desires to maintain a connection with the person who caused them pain.

"And the hope will die When the curtains fall And silence the pain"
The relationship or situation will come to an end, and the pain and hope will cease with it.

We drink from the well The well of poisoned hope Until the water will burn All pure hearts away
The hope for the relationship is slowly poisoning their hearts, and eventually they will be unable to handle it.

Keep your eyes on the wounds Those rivers will run dry soon Will it leave you wanting more The taste of flesh that bleeds in your honour
Focusing on the pain will only make it worse, and eventually the desire for more pain will corrupt the heart further.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALEKSI JAAKKO SAMULI MUNTER, JUHA TAPANI RAIVIO, MARKUS JARNO KRISTIAN JAMSEN, MATTI HONKONEN, MIKKO JOHANNES KOTAMAKI, PASI KRISTIAN PASANEN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS