The Black League is a metal band from Finland. They were formed in 1998 by … Read Full Bio ↴The Black League is a metal band from Finland. They were formed in 1998 by Taneli Jarva, three years after his departure from Finnish metal heavyweights Sentenced. The Black League's first two full-lengths carry on the spirit from Taneli's work with his former band, seasoning their metal with elements of traditional rock 'n' roll. On their third release, Man's Ruin Revisited, these influences take an even more prominent role in their sound.

Discography

Demos
Demo 98 (1998)

Singles
Cold Women & Warm Beer (2003)

EPs
Doomsday Sun (2001)

Albums
Ichor (2000)
Utopia A.D. (2001)
Man's Ruin Revisited (2004)
A Place Called Bad (2005)
Ghost Brothel (2009)

Ozymandias
The Black League Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert.
Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains.

Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Black League's song 'Ozymandias' are based on a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley, titled the same. The singer of the sonnet narrates an encounter with a traveler who describes a scene in the desert where the remains of a statue of a once powerful king, Ozymandias, are scattered. The description is vivid, with the traveler mentioning the vast legs of the statue standing alone in the desert sand, and the shattered visage with a frown and wrinkled lip, reflecting the king's cold and cruel character. The sonnet also describes how the hand that created the king and the heart that nourished him have both decayed and turned into lifeless things.

Shelley's poem is a commentary on the transience of power and glory, and how nothing lasts forever. The statue that once served as a symbol of Ozymandias' rule and greatness now lies in ruins. The phrase, "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" engraved on the pedestal implies that Ozymandias' works were once grand and awe-inspiring, but now they no longer exist, and there is nothing left to be proud of. The final two lines of the sonnet are particularly poignant, describing the vast desert stretching beyond the ruins of the statue, a reminder of the infinite nature of time and how everything eventually fades into insignificance.

Overall, The Black League's interpretation of Shelley's poem in 'Ozymandias' is a somber reflection on the fleeting nature of worldly goods and the rise and fall of empires. The lyrics are melancholic and musically heavy, mirroring the inevitable decay that engulfs everything in time.

Line by Line Meaning

I met a traveler from an antique land
I met a person who came from an ancient place

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert.
The person told me about two huge, leg-like structures made of stone standing in the desert with no trunk attached to them

Near them, on the sand,
Close to those stone legs, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
there is the face of a ruinous sculpture, partially buried in sand with a look of disapproving anger.

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
The face features a raised and sneering upper lip with an expression of powerful control

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
these emotions were expertly deciphered by the talented sculpture artist who made it

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
Despite its still nature, these emotions are still conveyed in the artwork

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
These emotions were created and fueled by the artist's imagination and skill.

And on the pedestal these words appear:
on the base of the sculpture one can read these words

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
"I am Ozymandias, the greatest king of all

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Be in awe of my achievements and feel insignificant

Nothing beside remains.
There is nothing else around anymore

Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The remains of that enormous ruin are spread far and wide, with no other objects around it

The lone and level sands stretch far away.
The vast desert of low sand dunes extends as far as the eye can see.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it