They made special clothes, often big haute-couture-like dresses and used effects like fake blood, make-up, confetti, and various stage designs. Among their special shows was the one at the Swedish Arvikafestivalen 2007, where they made a dystopian performance in three acts with short novel films, produced only for this show, in between the acts. They made extraordinary photo shoots, like the studio photo with Princess surrounded in feathers and Pearl with paint dripping on his chest, all set up for one second moment with the premise of not using Photoshop.
They had several hits, the best known “Tar Heart ” has been named as one of the smartest marketing ideas during the Myspace era, when it was tagged on an early leak of the knife's “Silent Shout” (2006) under the name “F as in knife”, and became a big mystery until it was explained that it actually was a Zeigeist song named “Tar Heart”. Pitchfork Media listed the leaked demo of “Tar Heart” as one of the best songs 2006 on their yearly “Top 100 tracks of..."
In the same time as they declared their all-of-a-sudden split up, they released their last single, a cover of Roxette’s first single “Neverending Love”, with their own "Chasing your shadow all around the world" as a B-side. The split up was explained, as so many other fictive and dramatic things by Zeigeist, with a “termination” on their website that they had their personal reasons to “kill her".
Fight With Shattered Mirrors
Zeigeist Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We built the tree-house and forgot what it was
It left me feeling numb
And all the stories that you painted for me
Blue crayon dreams that no one ever would see
They vanished in the wind
And you would put it away
Away
- To stay
Won't you strip // I can't // oh // breath your // to // day // stay
Reflections were untold
Of your lip // I can't // oh // breath // to // you // lay // say
Reflections were untold and to say
Reflections were untold
The magpie stole our gold
Won't you strip // I can't // oh // breath your // to // day // stay
Reflections were untold
Of your lip // I can't // oh // breath // to // you // lay // say
Reflections were untold and to say
Reflections were untold
Blue crayon dreams that no one ever would see
Death for us won't make me stay, death won't make me, to stay, it's you
And all the playmates you were keeping from me
Ripped out the pages in your third diary
A hidden dream won't fly
And you would put it away
The glass
Away
- To stay
Won't you strip // I can't // oh // breath your // to // day // stay
Reflections were untold
Of your lip // I can't // oh // breath // to // you // lay // say
Reflections were untold and to say
Reflections were untold
The magpie stole our gold
Won't you strip // I can't // oh // breath your // to // day // stay
Reflections were untold
Of your lip // I can't // oh // breath // to // you // lay // say
Reflections were untold and to say
Reflections were untold
Blue crayon dreams that no one ever would see
Death for us won't make me stay, death won't make me // to say // to stay // to lay // it's you
(Wrapped up for - to hold on...)
(Death for us won't make me stay, death won't make me...)
You teached me how to practice hide and seek
I told you secrets that we promised to keep
But it was not enough
The toy box then tried to reveal its truth
Did not hold anything but spottened youth
My hate - machine could cry
The lyrics of the song "Fight with Shattered Mirrors" by Zeigeist seem to be about a sense of loss and betrayal in a friendship or relationship. The opening lines refer to a memory of a shared childhood experience, building a treehouse, but later feeling a sense of numbness as the memories vanish. The imagery of "blue crayon dreams" suggests a childlike innocence that has been lost. The lines "won't you strip, I can't, oh, breath your today, stay" seem to be urging the subject of the song to reveal their truth, but the singer is struggling to understand or accept what is being said.
The references to a stolen treasure and ripped-out diary pages suggest a breach of trust, and the lines "death for us won't make me stay, death won't make me, to stay, it's you" appear to be turning the tables on the subject, asserting that their actions have caused the singer to recoil and distance themselves. The final lines of the song, "you taught me how to practice hide and seek, I told you secrets that we promised to keep, but it was not enough," reinforce the idea of betrayal and disappointment in the relationship.
Overall, the song seems to be grappling with the idea of broken trust and the pain that comes with realizing that someone you thought you knew has been hiding things from you. The references to childhood memories and lost innocence add another layer of poignancy to the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
You never told me 'bout the bell and ball
You kept secrets from me that I later discovered
We built the tree-house and forgot what it was
We lost sight of the things we created and their original purpose
It left me feeling numb
It made me emotionally numb and disconnected
And all the stories that you painted for me
You created imaginary tales for me
Blue crayon dreams that no one ever would see
Those tales were just unrealistic dreams
They vanished in the wind
Those dreams disappeared and were forgotten
And you would put it away
The glass
Away
- To stay
You hid something important away to keep it safe
Won't you strip // I can't // oh // breath your // to // day // stay
I'm struggling to cope and I need you to strip away the masks and be honest with me today
Reflections were untold
Of your lip // I can't // oh // breath // to // you // lay // say
You kept your true feelings and thoughts hidden from me
Reflections were untold and to say
Things were left unsaid and unexplained
The magpie stole our gold
We lost something precious and valuable
And all the playmates you were keeping from me
You had other people in your life you were hiding from me
Ripped out the pages in your third diary
You destroyed evidence of your thoughts and secrets
A hidden dream won't fly
A dream or secret that's concealed can never truly be realized
Death for us won't make me stay, death won't make me, to stay, it's you
Even death won't make me stay, but it's you that I want to be with
Reflections were untold
Blue crayon dreams that no one ever would see
We had secret dreams and stories that never saw the light of day
(Wrapped up for - to hold on...)
(Death for us won't make me stay, death won't make me...)
I'm holding onto something that I can't let go of, even if death won't keep me here
You teached me how to practice hide and seek
You taught me how to hide from others
I told you secrets that we promised to keep
I shared secrets with you that we vowed to keep between ourselves
But it was not enough
But it wasn't sufficient to keep us together
The toy box then tried to reveal its truth
The things we created and cherished couldn't hide the truth forever
Did not hold anything but spottened youth
The things we held precious were just memories of our youth that were tarnished and imperfect
My hate - machine could cry
My anger and pain were so overwhelming that I couldn't hold them in anymore
Contributed by Kennedy S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.