Okay. Taken seriously...
From the FAQ:
'Still Life' was not Satanic but an anti-Christian theme. It sounds pretty naive when I explain it like this. It kind of takes place a long time ago when Christianity had a bigger importance than it has today. The main character is kind of banished from his hometown because he hasn't got the same faith as the rest of the inhabitants there. The album pretty much starts off when he is returning after several years to hook up with his old "babe." Obviously a lot of bad things start happening with, as I call it on the album, "the council." The big bosses of the town know that he's back. A lot of bad things start happening. They see him as a hypocrite in a way. It's almost like a devil's advocate or whatever it's called.
Taking that into consideration and then expanding on it...this is just my opinion, of course...
Marauder
Staining the soil, midst of stillness
Beloved fraternity to an end
Red eyes probe the scene
All the same
Stilted for the beholder
Depravity from the core
Handcarved death in stoneladen aisles
It's established here that the narrator is not welcome. He's a marauder, no longer a part of the fraternity he once shared, presumably with others in his village. His very presence is sacrilegious and "staining" because he doesn't share the beliefs of the villagers.
I hide the scars from my past
Yet they sense my (mute) dirge
This is when it all falls apart
White hands grasping for straws
Here I would argue that the narrator, upon his return, at first attempts to blend back in. But he can't hide his past. I think the "(mute) dirge" is a reference to his own beliefs, which conflict with, and possibly prove false, those of the villagers. "Dirge" to me connotes a funeral, implying that the narrator's ideas would disprove the faith of the village, thereby killing it?
Sly smile, poisoned glare behind
Undisguised manmade nova
Mute cry, don't dare to tread
Searing beams tracking you down
This seems to me to be a warning from the narrator to himself as he realizes that he can't conceal his past. The "searing beams" tracking him down would then be the people who previously oppressed him, galvanized by religious righteousness--hence "beams," which immediately made me think of light. The villagers believe themselves to be the light opposing the darkness in a battle between good and evil. Again, this is just my take on all this.
Adoring what never has been
Some will bring with them all they have seen
"Adoring what has never been." To me, this is a pretty obvious jab at Christianity and the existence of God. The villagers, in practicing Christianity, are adoring a God that has "never been"--in other words, that is nonexistent.
Searching my way to perplexion
The gleam of her eyes
In that moment she knew
I'm assuming this is a reference to the one and only Melinda--perhaps the moment when she first sees him back in town? The "perplexion," then, would be hers--why would her lover have returned if they banished him. Then there is the instant recognition--"In that moment she knew." Melinda realizes that he's come back to be with her.
Thought I could not leave this place
On this imminent day
As I've reached the final dawn
To what's gone astray
What would they care if I did stay
No-one would know
What would they care if I did stay
No-one should know
Thought I could not leave this place
On this imminent day
As I've reached the final dawn
To what's gone astray
What would they care if I did stay
No-one would know
What would they care if I did stay
No-one should know
Assuming Mikael didn't just include this part so we could all hear it and think he was singing "What would they care if I was gay?"...Here I would argue that you could interpret things several ways. Either his reference to "leaving" means the first time he was banished, or the fact that they are going to kick him out again (I don't know that they are, but it's definitely not implausible considering their earlier response.) The second part, also, could be taken two ways. Either the villagers really would not care if he returned, or they would care, but he is going to try and be inconspicuous so that "no one should know." I am assuming that he either doesn't want them to know he's returned, or doesn't want them to know his beliefs have not changed.
Still brooding, soothing calm
That rigid, twisted face
Blank godhead, tear my name
Lost virtue, frantic lust
I see "blank godhead" as further reference to the falsehood of Christianity and more specifically God. The dictionary I checked defines the word Godhead (capitalized) as either "the supreme being of God" or "godhood," in other words, being a god. I think the meaning here is the former, and it is therefore interesting to me that "godhead" isn't capitalized in the lyrics. More denial of the legitimacy of Christianity, I suppose.
The part that confuses me somewhat is the line "Lost virtue, frantic lust." At first I assumed this had something to do with the narrator's desire for Melinda, but reading the lyrics again, his feelings for Melinda seem deeper and more pure than simple lust. I think this line is actually referring, again, to the people of his village. They've lost any virtue inherent in their beliefs through their "frantic lust" to force everyone else, the narrator included, to think the way they do. In other words, by proselytizing they've missed the point.
Sly smile, poisoned glare behind
Undisguised manmade nova
Mute cry, don't dare to tread
Searing beams tracking you down
Adoring what never has been
Some will bring with them all they have seen
This part is the same as earlier in the song and my interpretation of it is also the same...
Searching my way to perplexion
In crumbling faith I saw her
Bearing her pain in the wilderness
The gleam of her eyes
In that moment she knew
This final stanza is similar to the one that came earlier. I still think "her" refers to Melinda, but I think the meaning has changed. I think the perplexion is Melinda's because her faith is crumbling (presumably the narrator's beliefs have undermined and contradicted her own beliefs), but the line "bearing her pain in the wilderness" leads me to believe that she's not going to act on her newfound enlightenment. "In that moment she knew" seems to me to be referring to the moment she realizes everything she has been taught by the village is a lie.
I'm not sure why this is, but I get the distinct impression that the narrator wants Melinda to come away with him, and she knows he's right but for some reason cannot or will not leave. He loves her; I'm assuming from Mike's explanation of the album in the FAQ that she loves him too. So the "pain" she's "bearing" is probably that of being separated from him. Her eyes are gleaming--tears, perhaps?
Like I said, this is just my opinion. Actually, now that I took the time to type this all out, I'm really interested in hearing what other people think this song means...
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