Last week, we raved about Meridional, the new album from Norma Jean (our review is here).
A couple days ago, the band released the first video from the album, for the song “Deathbed Atheist”. It was directed by Linus Johansson at Popcore Film, which has previously made two other music videos for the band.
We’ve said before that we find most metal music videos to be completely forgettable. This one isn’t. It involves animation and it’s interesting to watch. It’s helped by the fact that the song is damned good.
On the other hand, I’m completely unclear what the imagery in the video has to do with the meaning of the song. Actually, I’m unclear about the meaning of the song itself. So far, I haven’t come across anything from the band that explains it.
The lyrics don’t help me understand what the song is about. The title doesn’t either. I’ve heard of supposed “deathbed conversions” and even “deathbed Christians”, and I get what those phrases mean. But the title of this song is “Deathbed Atheists“. And the lyrics don’t have any obvious connection to the title.
After the jump you can see the video, if you haven’t already, and we’ve put the lyrics up, too. And if you have any insights into what any of it means, please leave a comment. Hasta la vista.
Norma Jean – “Deathbed Atheist”
Norma Jean \ Normachine.com | MySpace Music Videos
LYRICS
Watch it all change and watch it go away. Watch it all never be the same again. Watch it all be nothing like we thought before. Watch it all. Watch it. Watch it all be lies, damned lies, statistics. Lie to me. Lie to me. Lie to me.
Take it all in and take it all from me. Take it all and bury it deep inside of you.
Take it all and run away. Take it all forever. Take it all. Take it all. Take it all. Take it all. Take it all.
Bury your hands in the sand. You’ll never use them on me again.
Bury your hands in the sand. You’ll never use them on me again.
Lie… Take it all. Take it. Take it all. Take it. Lie… Take it all. Take it. Take it all. Take it.
Bury your hands in the sand. You’ll never use them on me again.
Bury your hands in the sand. You’ll never use them on me again.
I’m exhausted from shaking hands with your meat hook fingers.
This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare.
This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare.
This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare. Lie to me… This is my nightmare. Lie… This is my nightmare. …to me. This is my nightmare. This is my nightmare.
Bury your hands in the sand. You’ll never use them on me again.
Bury your hands in the sand. You’ll never use them on me again.
And I’m exhausted from shaking hands with your meat hook fingers.
Lies, damned lies, statistics. Lie to me. Lie to me. Lie to me.
Lie… Bury your hands in the sand. Lie… You’ll never use them on me again. Lie…
17 Responses to “DEATHBED ATHEIST”
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It is in refrence to the sudden change from atheism to Christianity whilst on your deathbed, just before you kick the freaking bukcet. People are inherently afraid of death, so they make up comforting stories so they don’t think about the fact that their bodies become rotting sacks of meat.
You may be right, but if so, you’d think it would have been called something like “Deathbed Conversion.” This title suggests a deathbed loss of faith or maybe an atheist remaining an atheist until the end (as Elvis says below). Very strange.
It may be a reference to what d_e said, but here, I think it’s either a loss of faith near death or holding on to whatever beliefs up until the very end. It’s odd how and why it happens, but I remember my mother went through it as well, despite not having been a religious person at all. Hell, we didn’t even have a Bible. But I’m told that when she knew she wasn’t going to be leaving the hospital, she started to pray. That is, before she starting slipping in and out of a coma on that last day.
But how any of this relates to the lyrics is beyond me, as with the imagery in the video. Hammer, clock, bug, door, skeleton key, hourglass. But songs aren’t always about what the title might suggest and many videos completely ignore the title and the lyrics to do their own thing.
It sounds obvious to me that the lyrics are suggesting: what if religion was a big lie and there is no god, as statistics would tell. Bury your hands in the sand just means don’t lie to me anymore, and it keeps repeating “lie to me” also. It is his nightmare, obviously as stated, for religion and God to not be real.
I don’t really know what to say about the video, but there was a brick wall on the other side of the door, which could be religion. The hands were coming out of a reflection of himself, so maybe he doesn’t know which side to believe, since the hands are lying to him. The human skeleton could be a reference to evolution maybe? At the end of the video he also folds his hands in prayer.
Well, that’s my take on it, good luck.
Really interesting interpretation, and it makes a lot of sense to me. If the song really is an expression of doubt, that would be an unusually candid disclosure. I haven’t hunted the webz for statements by the band about the song since we put up this post. Probably time to do that.
Mike’s interpretation is interesting, but I begin to doubt it upon thinking that Norma Jean has, while not really being a preaching religious band, espoused Christian faith, and if there had been an abandonment of that slant, I’m sure we would have seen something about it in web news.
Instead, here is what I am thinking is going on, with the video in mind. The song is about an atheist wanting to maintain that opposition to faith even on his deathbed. The man looking at his reflection in the mirror is his conscious desire to tell himself that religion is a lie. But in affect, the song says he is asking himself to lie to himself.
The symbols in the video also help this message. The hammer and tools, and the focus on hands signify the atheist believes in his own abilities to construct and understand (the key, the door) the biological world (the bugs, the skeleton), even in the face of his own mortality (the hourglass, the clock).
This is a really persuasive interpretation too, and I think you’re right that it’s probably more likely to be closer to what Norma Jean intended, given their avowed Christianity. I did some poking around the internet this morning, trying to find an interview or other comment by the band about their intent, and came up dry. More looking later . . .
I agree with this. Good thoughts man.
I like both Mike’s and Peter’s interpretations, both makes sense, but due to the “this is my nightmare” line, I think the song is actually about the fear of loosing faith at the brink of death, more than the thoughts of man in the midst of a conversion to either atheism of theism.
This is a guy that does not want to loose faith but acknowledges that it might actually happen. Again this is perfectly in line with Norma Jeans Christian background, but leaving room for doubt, no matter how ugly it may be.
I’m not usually this indecisive, but now you’ve pushed me back over toward the Mike side of the line, particularly with the “this is my nightmare” line. Personally, I also find this interpretation more interesting, whether or not it’s what NJ intended, because on matters of faith, the world could use more doubt and less certitude (at least imho).
Oh.. well this is kinda cool too.
hey there i don’t have a good english, so i’ll talk in spanish, hope you could understand me:
Creo que la canción se trata sobre la perdida de fé en un cristiano ante un hecho desagradable en su vida, si se dan cuenta en el video hay ejercicios psicológicos, es decír, imaginar que todo está negro y visualizar una puerta y abrirla es un ejercicio psicológico que se trata para saber ciertos comportamientos humanos-personales, ante tal acción muestran bichos, llaves, todo tipo de cosas. Sin irme por ramas, trata la canción en sí sobre un cristiano en colapso a punto del borde de perder su fé y “volverse ateo” ante horribles hechos, para dejar de ver esos “Bichos” detras de esas Puertas que se abren en su mente, ya que se ve que rezarle ante lo que creía no le hizo efecto por eso dice “mienteme”. En parte es eso, el resto no se.
My opinion with most of all metalcore christian bands is that they never directly put the main meaning of most of their songs directly out there. just so they create discussion and you make your own meaning of the song, either negative or good interpretations. Like some of ABR songs, some help other Christians or non-Christians through dilemma’s in their life or you just diagram a meaning that helps you through them. like most sermons, you may go to church that day and think that it didn’t relate to you and them another Sunday that sermon is directed at you. you your self can only really make out the true meaning of the song.
Well-put, and I think you’re definitely correct about this song. It seems to me the lyrics were intentionally written not to be explicit about the meaning, maybe only to create intrigue for the fans, but more likely to allow the song to be subject to each listener’s interpretation — which is true of a lot of art, whether it’s written, visual, or musical. Of course, that doesn’t stop me from wondering what the band itself actually meant. 🙂
As my 18 year old niece/nephews would say, this is ‘sick!’ A friend posted this video on FB, so looked up the video here. This may just replace Decyfer Down in my car as the #1 ‘surprised she’s listening to this…whaaaa?’ track. GREAT symbolism used in the video! We struggle with our flesh in body, until the lightbulb goes off over our heads, God’s been knocking at the door. He IS our key, He took the nails hammered in his hands/wrists at the cross for us. Without Him, we are just bones, mostly not liking what we see in the mirror. We stop ourselves, we are our own ‘wall’, so to speak. Lastly, by Grace…He calls us, and even on our deathbed, those who haven’t can call to Him and He is there. Hands clasped together in prayerful thanks. As a Christian, this all made sense to me. Hope it helps whoever out there..and that you don’t wait for what you’ve been given in Grace. Peace and love in Christ to all. (Thanks SC for the FB post!)
Man, what a nice surprise to see a new comment on this post after more than a year. I’m glad you got something out of this song and the video, and joined the discussion about what it means (though I STILL haven’t quite figured it out). What I do know is that the song remains a very good one.
Mike wrote: “It sounds obvious to me that the lyrics are suggesting: what if religion was a big lie and there is no god, as statistics would tell” and Peter is, I guess, right in pointing out this being at odds with the Christian mindset of the band members. Kari was assuming that “this is a guy that does not want to loose faith but acknowledges that it might actually happen” – but the video doesn’t really feel like it tries to reflect an atheist’s own dealing with god on his deathbed – Besides, that would make it sound like a rather simple or even simplistic, cheap take on atheist behavior if you ask me. As I’m listening, I understand it more like an external, non-atheist (and not necessarily Christian) observer asking what is atheism really about. Not the atheist (the person – who is no doubt usually much more than his or her atheism) but atheism itself. Norma Jean is sort of saying “its an empty box”, it offers no answers – it only offers skepticism – but a believer can be a skeptic too and not believe in stupid, silly or childish gods – you don’t need atheism for that. So the song may sort of address the “big noise” made by, for instance, the ‘new atheists’, who are hostile to religion in a way which suggests that atheism has all the answers – as if a believer can’t be a skeptic and a rational person. We don’t need atheism to be critical. The big noise of the ‘new atheists’ started years before the release of this Meridional album (publications from S. Harris around 2002, R.Dawkins around 2005).
The words “Take it all in and take it all from me” may also refer, more philosophically, to Daniel Dennett’s famous statement that Darwinism eats everything away, all faith, all meaning. That, too, is an exaggeration, but it has been pushed through many throats as the reality. Yet, the thing is evolution does not define who we are – certainly not what the human mind is. The ‘wiring’ (our brains) are not proven to be identical to our mind. Again, from this point of view, (militant) atheism makes big noise – which the song may well be addressing in a satirical, not to say cynical, manner. The song is a work of art and it has depth, just like the entire album.