Bonfire
Theatre of Ice Lyrics


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Somewhere burns a bonfire
Sending sparks on higher
Into a starless night
Filled with bats gone aflight
Such fear is on the rise
You can see it in the eyes
Of a million teenage boys
Who seek only to destroy

Inside our darkened rooms
We prepare our tombs
Bathed in the silver glow
Of all that we know
We've filled our hearts and minds
With things we will never find
So now we aspire
To set our world on fire

What does our future hold
But a grave so cold
And a place in hell
Locked inside a firey cell
We've come so many miles
But we're still at the witch trails
Ransomed to the bloody past
Betrayed we'll die at last

Slowly now the light of day
Before my eyes dies away
With it fades my earthly past
Like the light it dies so fast
In my gown of spotless white
I'll take my place amidst the night




And guide each soul that comes my way
To the bonfire where i now lay

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Theatre of Ice's song "Bonfire" paints a picture of a world engulfed in chaos and destruction. The first stanza describes a bonfire sending sparks into a starless night, and the eerie scene of bats flying away, indicating an impending sense of danger. The next stanza talks about how the teenagers seek only to destroy and how they have filled their hearts and minds with things they will never find. They are a lost generation trying to find purpose in their existence by pursuing things that only lead to despair.


The subsequent stanza continues with the ominous tone, describing the future as holding nothing but a grave, a cold and fiery cell in hell. The lyrics suggest how humanity has come so far, yet they are still at the witch trails, persecuted for something that they do not understand. The final stanza speaks of death, and how slowly the light of day fades away before our eyes like our earthly past. The singer then talks about taking her spot in the night and guiding each soul that comes her way to the bonfire, where she now lays.


Overall, the lyrics of "Bonfire" create an unsettling sense of foreboding and a feeling of despair. The singer of the song seems to have accepted death as inevitable and is now taking on the role of a guide to help those lost in the darkness find their way to the final destination.


Line by Line Meaning

Somewhere burns a bonfire
There is a bonfire burning somewhere


Sending sparks on higher
The flames are sending sparks higher into the air


Into a starless night
It is a dark night with no stars in the sky


Filled with bats gone aflight
The bats are flying around in the air


Such fear is on the rise
People are becoming increasingly afraid


You can see it in the eyes
Their fear is evident in their eyes


Of a million teenage boys
The fear is felt by many teenage boys


Who seek only to destroy
These boys have a desire to destroy things


Inside our darkened rooms
We are in dark rooms


We prepare our tombs
We are preparing for death


Bathed in the silver glow
We are being illuminated by a silver light


Of all that we know
We are surrounded by things we know and understand


We've filled our hearts and minds
Our hearts and minds are full of things


With things we will never find
These things we seek will forever be out of reach


So now we aspire
We have a strong desire now


To set our world on fire
We want to destroy our world with fire


What does our future hold
We wonder what our future will be like


But a grave so cold
We know our future involves a cold grave


And a place in hell
We fear our actions will lead us to hell


Locked inside a firey cell
We feel trapped in a fiery prison


We've come so many miles
We have travelled a long way in our lives


But we're still at the witch trails
We feel like we are still being persecuted like witches


Ransomed to the bloody past
We feel like we are prisoners to a violent past


Betrayed we'll die at last
We feel like we will be betrayed before we die


Slowly now the light of day
The sun is setting slowly


Before my eyes dies away
The light is fading away before my eyes


With it fades my earthly past
As the light fades, so does my past on earth


Like the light it dies so fast
My earthly past dies just as quickly as the sunset


In my gown of spotless white
I am wearing a white gown


I'll take my place amidst the night
I will be surrounded by darkness


And guide each soul that comes my way
I will help guide others


To the bonfire where i now lay
I will lead them to the bonfire where I will be laid to rest




Contributed by Eva W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

@elshrapnel

Love Theatre for an eternity & forever

@nijimasu1

All hail Theatre of Ice!!!

@jamesdeek7039

12 years ago...I was listening to this in the Nevada desert

@MurryTheCop54638

Just uploaded a video I found of the bannd

@R.Byleth

fuckin brilliant!

@greenkorn69

this song gives me such a rush and the guitar is the best

@jonhillman871

good musicianship. it sounds like it was recorded on a 4 track cassette machine though.

@watashinonamaewajiso

@nijimasu1 Singing your own praises, eh? Also, I didn't know you were such a big deal!

@MurryTheCop54638

Classic gothic rock, or just plain old rock, forget the gothic tag. Not sure how they failed to become rock stars after they did this one. Oh yeah, maybe it was because nobody ever really heard this song until about 20 years after they released it,

@ignotlichitikus9314

They do have a gothic theme in their songs reminiscent of horror movies similar to the one emitted by the Mistfits so calling them gothic isn't too unappropriated

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