MERCY FALLS - THE STORY (SPOILERS!!!)

Gryll said:
"this old widow plays tricks with my brain"
I think it would be safe to assume that it's his mother's pain he is referring to.

1. I interpreted "Hide and Seek" as having 2 characters in it ("Two hearts in the search for.."): a younger version of the patient (the boy) and his mother (the old widow - also the fact that she is described as a widow would lead me to presume that the patient's father is dead, which ties in with my later observations, below), so I don't think it has anything to do with his illegitimate son.

2. I also interpreted "Break the Silence" as having the same two characters
from the repeated references to "boy", "rascal" etc., "her" and this line: "It's crazy, this old primadonna".
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Yep, that makes more sense than thinking about it may be the wife. Thanks for the interpretation, you made that a lot clearer to me! :)

Gryll said:
In addition, early in the song is this line:
"But my back may hurt, so OK"
And who else do we know with an aching back? Yup, the character by the side of the patient's bed in "Tears for a Son" which, I believe, gives very strong evidence towards the argument that that character is his mother.
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I thought a long time about this obvious connection of the hurting back but I still had problems recognizing the true connection! It may be because I had always thought that the person in "Tears for a Son" were his father and not his mother!
But... does she lie in the room next door and hears the music the patient plays when his wife and his son turn the radio on? And does she know that the man next door who plays "evil music" is her son?

When I first heard the line "my back hurts and ruins my sleep" I thought it would be the patient's father who donates some of his own bone marrow for his son (the patient) so of course his back hurts...? But now after finding out that it's actually his mother... is she only there by coincidence/fate? Or does it have something to do with the patient?


Gryll said:
(...) so that the characters in "Break the Silence" are the same as in "Hide and Seek". Therefore, it would be the bonds/wounds broken between the patient and his mother that are healing.
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But it's only in his mind/imagination that those wounds are healing, isn't it? So it's basically forgiveness that finally enters his mind.

Gryll said:
And I almost imagined the song reflecting the thoughts of those involved with patient who, through his coma, managed to come to terms with themselves and find out about who they really are. Be it a good or bad person they all seem to agree that living life to it's fullest is the only way to live after seeing on of their loved ones pass away early.
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That's a nice idea, too! It's not only that the listener should take these pieces of advice but it could be that the involved persons have come to this conclusion. Great! :)

In "Destiny Calls" at 4:17 - what is it that happens? This is still the greatest mystery of the album for me. Is there anyone who has some ideas? I do have some vague clues but nothing "real" yet...

Oh, and another word or two about "One Last Goodbye"...
I often have the feeling that the person(s) who sing(s) could be the people in real life who are involved with the patient but also the inhabitants of Mercy Falls inside the head of the patient. Especially in the line "we're all here beside you" What do you think?
On a sidenote: I absolutely love this song and it's almost impossible to hold back the tears when the silent moment comes where the wife pulls the plug... I guess the line "and tears keep on falling" is to be taken literally for the listener, too.

What about the storm, people? In some way I think the approaching of the storm in Mercy Falls is a direct consequence of the feelings and emotions of the patient - it's his "world" after all! So what is the storm? His guilt? Let me think about that a little longer...

Man, this is fun!!
icon10.gif
I love this discussion!!! :lol:
 
The story is a very intelligent one but...... I do feel that the story has some kind of 'plot-hole' in it.

After the crash we get a scene where the wife and docter are at the side of the bed of our patient. The docter leaves the room and we hear him shut the door. The wife talks to our patient. She says that the docters are losing hope, he should give her some kind of sign that he's 'in there' and that the next treatment will be very imporatant. She then says "...and you know it involves our son...".
Later, of course, we find out that the boy is not their son at all.

Of course, she feels guilty and I understand that she refers to the boy as THEIR son to the WORLD OUTSIDE (she doesn't want to be looked upon as a cheater) BUT I think it is very strange to call the boy their son when she's alone with him. There's no need to do that; our patient knows it's not his boy so that's kind of silly. Calling the boy by his name would be more appropriate in that situation.

So, was this 'put in' to make the shock for us at the end of the story a lot bigger?
 
Well, first of all you have to remember that it has been like 7 years and during all those years she has of course had nothing but hope to hold her company and in a mix of naive hope and denial she feels and wishes that the child was theirs. I mean, she did not tell him until thd crash that the kid was not his, which means they went through the first phase of the pregnancy in bliss and living a dream... -plus, she does in fact also stop herself immediately after uttering those words... ;-) to me that is a perfect example of human nature, with all its flaws...
 
Originally Posted by Gryll
In addition, early in the song is this line:
"But my back may hurt, so OK"
And who else do we know with an aching back? Yup, the character by the side of the patient's bed in "Tears for a Son" which, I believe, gives very strong evidence towards the argument that that character is his mother.
Click to expand...

Originally posted by SonataFanatica
I thought a long time about this obvious connection of the hurting back but I still had problems recognizing the true connection! It may be because I had always thought that the person in "Tears for a Son" were his father and not his mother!
But... does she lie in the room next door and hears the music the patient plays when his wife and his son turn the radio on? And does she know that the man next door who plays "evil music" is her son?
Click to expand...

As you can read in one of my earlier posts I had a feeling it was his mother who was standing at the side of the bed telling him how she had missed him BUT I do think that OUR PATIENT is the one who is 'singing/thinking' the part: "my back hurts......a creep".
You can hear a change of tone in the music when that part gets started --> the mood gets darker, as if Tommy is singing through another character.
Hospital patients sometimes do get backproblems because they are lying in their beds in the same position for a long time.
 
I have an idea!!

What if the storm which approaches Mercy Falls is the bone marrow?
Let's have a look:

In "Welcome To Mercy Falls" it says "...where nobody's leaving" so the town Mercy Falls in the patient's head holds him imprisoned. As long as he's imprisoned there, he can't wake up.
The doctors think that a bone marrow transplant could get him out of the coma.
So what has to happen to get him out of the coma - out of Mercy Falls? Right: the town must be fought, maybe even destroyed. What is able to destroy a town? Right again: a really heavily raging storm!

So the storm approaching the town is the embodiment of the bone marrow getting inside the body of the patient.

Why did the body of the patient reject the bone marrow? Well, you might say it was rejected because it wasn't his real son. And you may be right with that. But one could also believe that it was the patient and some of the people in Mercy Falls, protecting the town from the storm!

What do you say?
 
That could be a reason, you're right! Maybe his subconscious makes him fight the awakening because he doesn't want to face the real world with his wife cheating on him, his father dead and his mother left behind...

Another thing I could imagine is that while he's "fighting" the storm he isn't aware of the fact that he's keeping himself in there (indicated by "now I've gotta run but something holds calls me back again" in "Break The Silence" he's pretty surprised that he can't leave)! He just thinks he's doing a good deed by helping the people but doesn't know that he's condemning himself to imprisonment!
 
Good to see that some of us are still busy finding out what is happening on and in "Mercy Falls', but.....

Maybe his subconscious makes him fight the awakening because he doesn't want to face the real world with his wife cheating on him, his father dead and his mother left behind...
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I can't agree with you on that one.
Do we really know at all what happened to his father eventually?!
If you are referring to The Father in the song 'Paradise': i'm still convinced this has to be God - it would be silly to use a capital F if just 'a' father is ment --> that song has to be some kind of prayer.
Our patient isn't fighting the awakening at all. As a matter of fact, he WANTS to get out of the coma.
In 'Destiny calls' we witness the closure of his discovery which results in him wanting to get out of the coma.
In 'One last goodbye' we find out what he's thinking: "I'm tired of constantly sleeping, I will open my eyes again, so ready to live now....... i'm flying high, aim for paradise, i'm hungry for life again, what a rush, hold my family, i'm never letting go." He definately wants to get out!

Another thing I could imagine is that while he's "fighting" the storm he isn't aware of the fact that he's keeping himself in there (indicated by "now I've gotta run but something holds calls me back again" in "Break The Silence" he's pretty surprised that he can't leave)! He just thinks he's doing a good deed by helping the people but doesn't know that he's condemning himself to imprisonment
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It's not 'holds', it's only 'calls'.
Sorry, can't agree with this one either. In the ending of 'Break the silence' we see the widow and 'the boy'. They feel some kind of connection between the two of them but they can't figure out what it is.
The part "But the face in my mind, is it her?" is sung by our patient who basicly remembers her but somehow doesn't believe his own thoughts. After leaving, he's kind of ditched by the old women, he feels the urge to go back again - "something calls me back again, something draws me near" --> he WANTS to find out who she is.

I'm still convinced that, comparing to the real-life where a carcrash brought them back together again, the storm is the 'happening' that made them find each other in his coma.
'The boy' gets back to the old lady in the end of 'Break the silence' - we hear a child's question "can i come in?" - and we enter 'Hide and seek'.
The 'mother <--> child' aspect is best shown in the chorus "...and everytime I look at her I see myself somehow...". As a matter of fact, and this part is not in the booklet!!, the fourth time the chorus is played (maybe the second time as well, but I'm not completely sure on that one) I can definately hear Tommy sing "HIM" instead of "her". She as well sees/feels the resemblance.


Make one thing clear. I'm not in anyways trying to say that you are wrong.
I'm just sharing my point of view so feel free to commend as well.

Cheersl!
 
Hey Sonata,

Yes, somehow I feel a connection between the storm and the carcrash.........
but, let's face it, this could be plain nonsense.

I'm reading the lyrics just like you do so, all in all, this is just my interpretation of things happening - no wrongs and rights here, in this thread!

So, i do think that the storm brought them back together (in his coma) but that is something i'm not sure about at all..... AND the comparison only makes sense IF the carcrash is the event in real-life which brought his mother back to the side of his bed. That is.....IF is mother is at the side of the bed.....:ill: :zombie: :cry:

You see, i'm not sure of anything at all regarding the story.
I like reading what other fans think though!!
So let's keep this thread alive.
 
Did anyone here already mention that the lyrics in the booklet that are printed in BOLD are parts from the real world and the normal lettering refers to things inside the man's head/Mercy Falls? I just discovered that! :)

I'm still gnawing on that part at 4:17 in "Destiny Calls"! What is it that happens? This is still the greatest mystery of the album for me. Is there anyone who has some ideas? I do have some vague clues but nothing "real" yet... :erk:
 
SonataFanatica said:
I have an idea!!

Why did the body of the patient reject the bone marrow? Well, you might say it was rejected because it wasn't his real son. And you may be right with that. But one could also believe that it was the patient and some of the people in Mercy Falls, protecting the town from the storm!

What do you say?
Click to expand...

This may be exactly what you had in mind, but here's how I understand it.

From what I understand medically, bone marrow from a donor that doesn't match is attacked by the patient's immune system. In essence, the body treats it as an invader. In the latter part of the story, I believe that's exactly what is happening in Mercy Falls. The storm invades the town as the incompatible bone marrow invades the man's body. They must "fight" the storm just as the man's immune system fights the incompatible marrow.

I think the story also plays with the idea that another person is invading his body.
 
I bought MF off of iTunes, and it didn't come with a digibook. the lyrics aren't online. I was just wondering if someone with the booklet would mind making a lyrics thread perhaps?
 
Kauza said:
This may be exactly what you had in mind, but here's how I understand it.

From what I understand medically, bone marrow from a donor that doesn't match is attacked by the patient's immune system. In essence, the body treats it as an invader. In the latter part of the story, I believe that's exactly what is happening in Mercy Falls. The storm invades the town as the incompatible bone marrow invades the man's body. They must "fight" the storm just as the man's immune system fights the incompatible marrow.

I think the story also plays with the idea that another person is invading his body.
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Holy shit! Brilliant I say :)
 
korruption said:
Kauza said:
This may be exactly what you had in mind, but here's how I understand it.

From what I understand medically, bone marrow from a donor that doesn't match is attacked by the patient's immune system. In essence, the body treats it as an invader. In the latter part of the story, I believe that's exactly what is happening in Mercy Falls. The storm invades the town as the incompatible bone marrow invades the man's body. They must "fight" the storm just as the man's immune system fights the incompatible marrow.

I think the story also plays with the idea that another person is invading his body.
Click to expand...
Holy shit! Brilliant I say :)
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Yes, exactly what I had in mind! Great to see that I'm not alone with believing in this theory! :)
 
Hi guys, greetings from Spain!!!

First of all I must say thanks to all of you who had helped me to find out some clues about the story behind this fantastic album that I did not notice in any of the listens.

But the main reason why I've registered in the forum is to say I'm amazed with what the music can do...I mean, its great to see how the fans are writting their own ideas about the plot and in the meantime the musician enters here to say "you're right, you're not right that way". So long live the music!!!
 
fire_angel said:
Absolutely. Firstly let me just say, Mercy Falls is an incredible piece of music. I couldn't be happier with it.

As for the story...I'm still rather fuzzy on the details, although i've only listened to it a few times in the last couple days.

So a guy is in a car crash, and then subsequently in a coma. His wife is by his bed feeling sadness (and as we later find out, guilt). The man wakes up in a town called Mercy Falls (a place that exists in his head). There, the man senses something is out of place and wants to know why he is there. He sees a woman in the window. The townspeople tell him to leave her be. While in the coma, the wife becomes an alcoholic. The son, missing his father, runs away and forges the mothers signature to allow a bone marrow transplant from himself to his father. The man's father is later by his bed, upset at the state of his sons life. Back in Mercy Falls, a storm is approaching, and the man must rally the town together to protect everyone. The storm hits. Back in the real world, the wife starts to show guilt, and remembers the past, telling the husband in his sleep that he wasn't there for her, and so she turned to another man. In Mercy Falls, the man gathers the survivors and gets them to help each other. The man rescues the woman. He believes that saving the people is his ticket home, but for some reason he can't seem to leave. He believes the woman may be the key to finding closure.

<I get lost here and can't put my finger on what exactly is happening>

The wife says her final goodbye, and decides to turn off the mans life support just as his realization of things will allow him to awake from his coma. The truth is finally revealed to us, and while passing into the afterlife, the man remembers that the wife had an affair and that the man's son was not actually his (thus the reason the transplant didn't work). Not too sure what Black Parade is about though. The afterlife?

I'm probably making up quite a bit of that, but thought i'd have a crack anyway.
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Thank you very much to clarify the story, I was trying to make head nor tails out of it, but without the lyrics of the spoken parts it was a bit more difficult for me to structure the whole thing. Now I think I'll enjoy more the album :kickass:
 
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