We all have favorite songs that hold tremendous meaning to us, those tunes that we stop everything for when they start to play so that we can be present with them—so that we can focus on absorbing the feelings they evoke from the deepest parts of our psyche. Our favorite songs affect us as if they’re a kind of magic medicine, something to take away the pain of the day and embolden us to march head-on into whatever life has in store for us next. With A Meditation on Metal, I’m hoping to impart some hidden gems that I hold dear so they can be spread and enjoyed by others who might also find significance within the melodies.
To start the series off, I’d like to discuss what quickly became one of my favorite songs upon just my first few listens: Dog Fashion Disco’s acoustic cover of their own song “Rapist Eyes.” I don’t want to say too much before you listen for yourself, but I do want to set the stage for what you’re about to hear.
“Rapist Eyes” is comprised of a smorgasbord of emotions. You could describe the lyrics within the verses as dark and perhaps gloomily playful, while the melodies of the verses are haunting and occasionally demented. But I don’t want that to turn you off, because the chorus is stunningly powerful and beautiful. Though to be more accurate, I should say it’s stunningly powerful and beautiful within its melancholic message:
Oh sweet rapist eyes, look what you've done to me
You’ve burned down the temple where the children were sleeping
Ashes and smoke rose up through the sky
The memories bloom as the future dies
I’ll post the full lyrics at the bottom of the article. For now, sit down, hit play, close your eyes, and give the song a listen.
Whenever I hear that chorus—whenever I take it in fully, lyrics, melodies, mood and all—it often brings tears to my eyes. It encapsulates tragedy, the loss of innocence one experiences when one has survived the unthinkable, yet at the same time it contains the beauty of catharsis, an expression of affliction that dispels the inner demons one may be harboring. Part of me wishes there were more songs like “Rapist Eyes” out there, music that’s not afraid to dig into the darkest and most fragile elements of the human condition and expose them in a meaningful way—but of course another part of me knows that if writing a song like this was a skill more artists were in touch with and songs like "Rapist Eyes” were a dime a dozen, the song would lose much of what makes it unique and influential.
Anyway, the plan is to keep these Meditation on Metal pieces short and sweet. I hope you enjoyed the post. Hopefully it’ll be one of many.
Ta-ta, and stay safe out there.
Draw me a bloodbath, oh sweet rapist eyes
As all the bruised babies hum lullabies
Burnt at the stake, old souls fill the skies
Sacrificed for all humanity’s liesI summoned a demon and took it to bed
I don't recall exactly what was said
It tied my hands and my feet to the bed
I don't recall exactly what was saidYou’ve got the look that makes detectives itch
A mouthful of thunder and feverish pitch
A cross between Satan and a Gucci witch
Your disposition would make Hitler flinchShow me some sympathy
In His image, God made me ugly
Envy and lust
You are so beautifulDon't look at me with those sweet rapist eyes
Perhaps it's the wine or the soft candlelight
But I'm under your spell, I'm all yours tonight
The phone’s off the hook and my tongue is tiedOh sweet rapist eyes, look what you've done to me
You’ve burned down the temple where the children were sleeping
Ashes and smoke rose up through the sky
The memories bloom as the future dies