Though little known outside of the Michigan area, his popularity is slowly growing, in most part due to his excellent website and some loyal fans spreading the word. Sycamore is an accomplished lyricist, and his songs often reflect his love of his home area and his atheism (Hokum All Ye Faithful).
..Well, that's one way of looking at it. Sycamore, on the other hand, considers himself more of an "agnostic," when he considers himself at all. Also--his feelings toward his home area are ambivalent at best, downright negative at worst. It should also be noted that Sycamore has a terrible habit of writing about himself in the third person on the internet, which is just so sad...
The Hands That Thieve
Sycamore Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I was told that I was guilty
And even then I wasn't really sure (yeah yeah)
The thing I felt was guilt itself
Or maybe it was something else
Frustration at the fact that I was ever caught at all
I told a lie I multiplied it
By the time I realized it
'Cause the thing you lack
When you're looking back
Is the pressure the feel that you have to act
Yeah everything is clearer when
You're looking at the past (oh no)
And I don't care if I lose
Because my heroes did too
They shouted, "Court should be adjourned
Because the jury are fools
And the judge can't decipher his left from his right
Or his right from his wrong."
And we will bite the hand that thieves
We will not turn the other cheek
This is no threat
It is a promise we will keep
So what's the point pretending
When we've seen behind the curtain
And there's nothing much to see
Oh yeah
I felt no pain 'til I was down
And I was told that I was bleeding
And even then I knew I wasn't done (yeah yeah)
'Cause the wounds I get
They will just collect
Insuring that I won't forget
Reminders of the battles
That I've lost and that I've won
And I will fight till I have died
Or until all my enemies are allies
And even then I will sleep with an open eye (yeah yeah)
'Cause the night is long and our hooves are strong
And I know that the road we're travelling on
It only seems so dark
Because we've almost reached the dawn
Oh no
And everyone will claim
That they knew from the beginning
That what they did was wrong
They still just went on sinning
The sudden rush you feel
When realizing everything you know
Will fade away
It haunts you deep
But you won't want to let it go
Someday we'll lose the war
But 'til then we will dream of winning
I won't forget
The things you said
When I was down and I was tired of it
The words you spoke
They brought me hope
When it was time to fight
We chose a side
But everyone knew that something didn't feel right
So we stood our ground
And waited for a sign
When it was time to fight
We chose a side
But everyone knew that something didn't feel right
So we stood our ground
And waited for a sign
You said don't look back
(no, no, no, no...)
Don't look back
(Don't look back
We won't go back
We won't look down
We've come too far
We're too high off the ground
The wheels have turned
The lessons learned)
You said don't look back
Don't look back
"The Hands That Thieve" by Sycamore Smith, is a song about guilt, consequence, and rebellion. The singer reflects on his past actions and questions the reason for feeling guilty when he was caught. He wonders if it was the guilt itself or frustration at being caught at all. He talks about the pressure he felt to act when he looks back and the clarity he has when he is looking at the past. He discusses losing everything he ever loved because he told a lie and how it multiplied before he realized it.
The chorus of the song is about the rebellion against the system, promising to bite the hand that thieves and not turn the other cheek. The singer comments on the flawed court system and how his heroes had also faced defeat. He talks about the wounds he's collected throughout his battles, ensuring he won't forget, and that someday he'll lose the war, but until then, he'll dream of winning.
In conclusion, the song is a combination of introspection and outward rebellion, expressing a desire to hold those in power accountable and not take injustice silently.
Line by Line Meaning
I felt no guilt 'til I was caught
I didn't feel guilty about my actions until I was told I was guilty and even then, I wasn't totally convinced.
And even then I wasn't really sure (yeah yeah)
Even after being told I was guilty, I still wasn't fully certain if I was the one to blame.
The thing I felt was guilt itself
The basic emotion that I felt was guilt, but it might not have been the only factor.
Or maybe it was something else
It's possible that there were other emotions at play that influenced my guilt.
Frustration at the fact that I was ever caught at all
The fact that I got caught caused me frustration more than guilt.
I told a lie I multiplied it
I lied and then that lie grew larger and more elaborate than I intended.
By the time I realized it
I didn't realize the extent of my lie until it was too late.
I'd given up everything I ever loved (yeah yeah)
My lie had cost me everything I held dear.
'Cause the thing you lack
When you're looking back
Is the pressure the feel that you have to act
Yeah everything is clearer when
You're looking at the past (oh no)
When you're reflecting on the past, you gain clearer insights into your actions because you aren't feeling the pressure of the moment.
And we will bite the hand that thieves
We will not turn the other cheek
This is no threat
It is a promise we will keep
We refuse to stand idly by while others take advantage of us, and we will fight back.
So what's the point pretending
When we've seen behind the curtain
And there's nothing much to see
Oh yeah
There's no use pretending everything is okay when we know the reality of the situation.
I felt no pain 'til I was down
And I was told that I was bleeding
And even then I knew I wasn't done (yeah yeah)
It wasn't until I was at my lowest point that I felt the pain of my situation. However, I still knew there was hope.
'Cause the wounds I get
They will just collect
Insuring that I won't forget
Reminders of the battles
That I've lost and that I've won
The wounds I suffer will accumulate, never allowing me to forget the battles I've fought and the ones I've lost and won.
And I will fight till I have died
Or until all my enemies are allies
And even then I will sleep with an open eye (yeah yeah)
I won't give up fighting until I die or until I turn my enemies into allies. Even then, I won't rest easy because I never know when things might change.
'Cause the night is long and our hooves are strong
And I know that the road we're travelling on
It only seems so dark
Because we've almost reached the dawn
Oh no
Although the journey has been long and treacherous, I believe the light at the end of the tunnel is near.
And everyone will claim
That they knew from the beginning
That what they did was wrong
They still just went on sinning
Many people will admit they knew their actions were wrong from the start, but they continued anyway.
The sudden rush you feel
When realizing everything you know
Will fade away
It haunts you deep
But you won't want to let it go
Someday we'll lose the war
But 'til then we will dream of winning
It's frightening to realize that everything you've built your life on may ultimately be meaningless. But despite this, we won't give up the fight until we have to.
I won't forget
The things you said
When I was down and I was tired of it
The words you spoke
They brought me hope
When I was feeling hopeless, your words lifted me up and gave me renewed strength.
When it was time to fight
We chose a side
But everyone knew that something didn't feel right
So we stood our ground
And waited for a sign
We banded together to fight for what we believed in, but things didn't seem quite right. So we held our place and waited for a sign of what to do next.
You said don't look back
(Don't look back
We won't go back
We won't look down
We've come too far
We're too high off the ground
The wheels have turned
The lessons learned)
You advised us to focus on the present and future, not the past. We've come too far to turn back now or lose sight of our progress.
Don't look back
Don't dwell on the past; focus on the present and future.
Contributed by Nathan H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.