"We survey the slopes" .....what?

[Powerslave]

This line from Advent... I just don't get it. What does it mean? What slopes?

 

[blakmetalemp]

They are getting ready to ski. DUH!

 

[TyrantOfFlames]

Have you been ignoring the lyrics from the rest of the album? Both Morningrise and Orchid have very vague lyrics. Unless you already know what the songs are about, you probably won't figure it out.

 

[Skull_Punk]

I always thought Advent was a tale about an Avalanche Patrol or something.

 

[Duvall]

I heard it was about Death. Also, all of BWP is about Death.

or so I heard..

 

[wach0052]

You're about death.

 

[Punisher]

Originally posted by TyrantOfFlames
Have you been ignoring the lyrics from the rest of the album? Both Morningrise and Orchid have very vague lyrics. Unless you already know what the songs are about, you probably won't figure it out.

well..... you are certainly smart enough to tell us then aren't you?

 

[Powerslave]

Heh. I should have known I wouldn't get a straight reply about this. Oh, and btw, I don't have Orchid, and the fact that Morningrise is about death doesn't help me understand that line at all... I repeat: What slopes?

 

[Bleakest Harvest]

The lyrics in Morningrise, I would say, aren't meant to be analysed. Mikael wrote them all down when he was on his way to the studio to record the album. Apparently he just wrote down a bunch of sentences that just sounded cool.

 

[Hondo]

I think the lyrics that make no fucking sense at all are one of its charms.

 

[Powerslave]

Hm well ok if you take it like htat, I guess it does just sound good even though it makes no sense. It kind of gives an image of this guy standing on top of a mountain surrounded by lots of mountains and, well.... surveying them.

Anyway, "Shadows skulk at my coming" must be the fucking coolest Opeth lyric ever...

 

[Katatonic]

well, night and the silent water is about his grandfather who died not long before he wrote the lyrics, and to bid you farewell and nectar (i think) are about a girlfriend mikael had for 4 years who cheated on him or something

 

[Static]

I always used to think it was

"Serving the sto-oo-one"

To this day I think that sounds cooler. When I found out it was "We survey the slopes" I thought...pftt..doesn't sound as cool.

 

[Rusty]

Originally posted by Katatonic289
well, night and the silent water is about his grandfather who died not long before he wrote the lyrics, and to bid you farewell and nectar (i think) are about a girlfriend mikael had for 4 years who cheated on him or something

Yes, that's what I heard as well. Advent must be one of the vaguest songs ever .

 

[Morningrise]

That's part of its character, Mikael wrote the lyrics FOR HIM, not for you. They are from his point of view and for all we know slopes could mean the thoughts he has, and that keeps it mysterious. When you write lyrics (especially lyrics in metal) they are often cryptic, and imagery and metaphor is placed much higher than actually making it clear. I figured you would know this.

 

[TyrantOfFlames]

Originally posted by Punisher
well..... you are certainly smart enough to tell us then aren't you?

You missed the intent of that statement, Punisher. I was referring to The Night and Silent Water and To Bid You Farewell, songs whose subject we already know.

 

[Furious B]

Originally posted by Morningrise
That's part of its character, Mikael wrote the lyrics FOR HIM, not for you. They are from his point of view and for all we know slopes could mean the thoughts he has, and that keeps it mysterious. When you write lyrics (especially lyrics in metal) they are often cryptic, and imagery and metaphor is placed much higher than actually making it clear. I figured you would know this.

I'd agree with this, and plus it's all the more fun to come up with your own interpretations of what the song's meaning is.

 

[kuraikat]

survey the slopes is one of my favorite lines from advent!

i read that mikael said the song advent was about Mikael's thoughts of what life after death might be like (common theme eh, MAYH anyone? hehe). I always thought of "Survey the slopes" as being him seeing this new place for the first time. Of course, I do a lot of hiking and mountain biking and listen to opeth as i go, so maybe thats influencing me a bit... but what else could it mean? I think it fits perfectly with the vast, epic quality of that song and album. Mikael once said that he wanted his songs to be like little trips or journeys, actually...

 

[Powerslave]

"Shadows skulk at my coming...
We survey the slopes.
In search for the words
to write the missing page.
The tainted dogma."

Incredible lyrics...

 

[Bleakest Harvest]

Especially for lyrics he came up wiht in the car on the way to the studio!