Empire Lyrics
Shivering teeth
See the mountains where they meet
Smothering me
As the wind fends off the waves
I count down the days
Heavy stones fear no weather
And the shape of the heart
How it echoes through the chest
From under the ground
As the hills turn into holes
I fill them with gold
Heavy stones fear no weather
Comes a river running wild that will create
An empire for you
Illuminate!
There's a river running wild that will create
An empire for you
An empire for two
I hide in your hair
And you're staring back at me
Like I wasn't there
As our bodies become stills
We welcome the fear
Heavy stones fear no weather
Comes a river running wild that will create
An empire for you
Illuminate!
There's a river running wild that will create
An empire for you
An empire for two
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On first listen, I feel like this is a love song. I believe a man is basically telling a girl he will love her till the end of time. Obviously in OMAM fashion, there are epic nature and fantasy elements at play, but I don't believe they want us to look too far into it. As with all of their songs, you can dig as deep as you want into the lyrics looking for meaning.
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Some of the lyrics are wrong. It's "Heavy stones, feel no weather" and its "the shape of the heart" not high.
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The song's about resilience - about hanging in when times are tough ("heavy stones feel no weather"), and knowing that the tough times will shape you and make you stronger by the end.
"From the rain comes a river running wild..." - the difficult times "...that will create an empire for you, an empire for two" - you become stronger for having gone through the difficulties
The singer is asking the person he's singing to to find strength and resolve and comfort in their love "I live in comfort in the sound and the shape of the heart", and trust that they'll be stronger for their difficulties ("an empire for two")
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If feel this song is definitely about the soul and the afterlife and possibly reincarnation. Breaking down the lyrics by verse here you go:
Feel the ocean as it breathes Shivering teeth See the mountains where they meet Smothering me
(the physical body is failing- shivering maybe from fever and getting smothered- finding it hard to breathe. At the same time the senses of the body/soul are heightened and more aware of it's connection to the earth as the earthly body prepares for death. Perhaps being able to "feel the ocean" hints at an out of body experience.)
As the wind fends off the waves I count down the days Heavy stones fear no weather
(The body is getting itself ready for death, counting down the days. The heavy stone reference is again referring to the weight of the body, as in "dead weight". But the body does not fear the weather- the pain and suffering of death as it knows something more is coming.)
I find comfort in the sound And the shape of the heart How it echoes through the chest From under the ground
(The person is dead now and buried, under the ground. But there is something still alive here, its the spirit and what was in the persons heart.)
As the hills turn into holes I fill them with gold Heavy stones fear no weather
("The hills turn into holes"- this is a reference to the burial grave. "Filling them with gold" refers to the physical body as a holy temple, with the value of gold, ie. something precious.)
From the rain comes a river Running wild that we create An empire for you Illuminate there is a river Running wild that will create
("from the rain comes a river"- the rain is the pain and suffering of death. The river is the afterlife of the spirit or soul. "illuminate" is a reference to rebirth or resurrection. We are cleansed and reborn in the river of life.)
An empire for you An empire for two An empire for you An empire for two
(the river runs wild and creates an empire for us, this is possibly a reference to reincarnation, leading many lives where we get to experience all that the physical world offers. "for two" references the body and soul.)
And I paint your body black I hide in your hair And you're staring back at me Like I wasn't there
(painting the body black- it is dead. But the spirit is there an separate now, hovering around the head/hair. The dead body is staring back at the spirit.)
As our bodies become stills We welcome the fear Heavy stones fear no weather
(as our bodies become stills- another reference to the death of the physical body. It welcomes death though as it knows this is not the end and the spirit lives on.)
From the rain comes a river Running wild that will create An empire for you Illuminate there is a river Running wild that will create
An empire for you An empire for two An empire for you An empire for two
From the rain comes a river Running wild that will create An empire for you Illuminate there is a river Running wild that will create
An empire for you An empire for two An empire for you An empire for two
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They are singing the volcanoes of Iceland. The volcanoes watch as the forces of nature compete against each other and each climate favors one or another. But when the time has come, the volcanoes will go full force regardless of weather and dominate the scene. And they fill the holes of mountain with golden molten rock, paint the hill with black ashes. When time is for becoming inactive again, the hills grow vegetation and hide the volcano with its "hair". Volcanoes can create islands, which may be what they mention as an Empire. A bound piece of land one or two can rule, can have for their own.
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I feel its about having a plan. Its going to happen and its getting closer to the time. But everything goes to chaos while still seeming normal on the outside. Everything carries on as normal but its all falling apart.
But he finds inspiration in another and wants to shelter them from the bad stuff. And even though its all shit hes still moving forward and having success. And then from the bad times will come a flood of good and with that he can create an empire for himself and the one he treasures and feels that he had to prove himself too.
By turning her body black he is acknowledging that not everything about the person is perfect and she has her own issues. He wants to spend time with her as she makes him feel safe (hide in her hair). But she is distracted by her own life. Shes afraid of how hard it will be
But he is sure that if they stay together and support each other that he can keep her strong, they can make it through and eventually create the empire he always dreamed of. Of they stay together they will be safe forever in their empire.