Hessian Peel Interpretations?

atlantis19 · July 22nd, 2008, 04:47 PM

I'm kind of baffled trying to figure out what is going on in this song. Any ideas about what "characters" may be involved here and what might be going on (especially toward the end)? I saw some people calling the 'sweet Satan' thing a joke, but could it be one of the characters addressing his/her problematic loved one? Also, does anyone understand the title? Its the only title on the album that makes no sense to me at all.

Hopefully someone can clear this up for me- I feel like I'm being blind to the whole climax of the album.

SeViMeTaL · July 22nd, 2008, 06:29 PM

i guess it's about guys and their mom.as i understood their mom tried to protect from harm her children and she had to leave her children''Lock the children away from harm'' .the story is told by one of child of her and the child thought that their mom left them ''The longing for me,Comin' down like hail,Why did you leave me?'' .they're missing but they didn't forget her.it's like a love mixed by hate.i guess mom found her children finally but the children didn't listen to her reasons and they killed her or tortured her or she could killed by others''Lock the children away from harm,They'll lock all your reason why,Seeking with a dagger,Skin is blocked by the years of trial''(i couldn't solute this part complately).
''You felt abandoned in the fog of flesh
Sitting in place from the dead
Awaiting the face of the moon to ascend
You follow the siren in your head'' =>maybe mom felt that she is betrayed by her children or others
or maybe the children saw their mom to end of their life and they waited for their mom
=>
''Your concern
The signal for us to end our lives
To wipe beneath the watches
And you wait forever''
what a complicated story

PS:sorry for the awful grammar.i can't help it :/

NSpen1 · July 22nd, 2008, 08:11 PM

Here are more complete lyrics. Pretty sure the Satan thing is a joke referring to the Led Zep alleged backmasking as I posted in the other thread http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairwa...ng_controversy

HESSIAN PEEL

Will the children cry
When their mother dies
And in the autumn of their lives
Will they feel the same

(backwards)
Out on the courtyard
Come back tonight
My sweet Satan
I see you

Her longing for me
Coming down like hail
Why did you leave me

Come here inside
And tell me how
How in my final days
I'd find the rhyme

(The) light comes on
The signal for us to act our lives
You wait beneath the white sheets
And you wait forever
The light comes on
????
So I left you alone
We all left you alone

Lock the children away from harm
They're no longer your reason why
Seeking tenderness with a dagger
Skin is marked by the years of trials

You felt abandoned in a flock of friends
Singing a praise for the dead
Awaited the face of the moon to ascend
And followed the sound in your head

The Antihero · July 23rd, 2008, 02:37 AM

According to Wikipedia "hessian" is used to describe someone who is into heavy metal and weed. The "sweet Satan" backwards part might be trying to poke at that perception of metal's perceived connection to Satanism or the occult.

Of course, hessian can also mean several other things. It's a math term, it describes people from a certain part of medieval Germany, etc etc etc. So who knows.

Saint - Ex · July 23rd, 2008, 04:31 AM

I guess this is the hardest song from Watershed. I have no idea what the title means. The lyrics concern the family again, I assume the father comes back, to his sick wife thinking: "Will the children cry..."
Then he meets her again, after he left her "So I left you alone".
Something important happens: "Light comes on..."
Maybe she is dying after all, the light means the light at the end of a tunnel, the death. So the children are no longer the reason for his departure: "They are no longer the reason why". The line "Lock the children away from harm" says that they suffered from the drama.
So I guess the father is speaking, saying "When their mother dies" creates an awful distance between him and her.
That the father left is mentioned in Heir apperent: "Invisible King/Dying". He is not often at home, so he can't be seen often, he is invisible.
I don't know why he returns in hessian peel, but I guess he does.

pyr0rrzzz · July 23rd, 2008, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Antihero

According to Wikipedia "hessian" is used to describe someone who is into heavy metal and weed. The "sweet Satan" backwards part might be trying to poke at that perception of metal's perceived connection to Satanism or the occult.

Of course, hessian can also mean several other things. It's a math term, it describes people from a certain part of medieval Germany, etc etc etc. So who knows.

Mikael said in an interview that "hessian" is what collectors call sort of a raw vinyl sleeve and peel refers to peeling of the sleeve of the LP. So I guess the title has not much to do with the lyrics.

btw: Might the missing lines here

Quote:

The light comes on
????
So I left you alone

say something like "your weakness (storing trace?!) on your arms" ? I'm pretty sure he says weakness and arms. The song immediately reminds me of Lopez since I noticed this because him leaving fits well with this part of the lyrics.

NSpen1 · July 23rd, 2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyr0rrzzz

btw: Might the missing lines here

The light comes on
????
So I left you alone

say something like "your weakness (storing trace?!) on your arms" ? I'm pretty sure he says weakness and arms. The song immediately reminds me of Lopez since I noticed this because him leaving fits well with this part of the lyrics.

haha, that's what I suggested here Final missing lyrics for Watershed - can someone supply?
but there's still the couple of words in the middle which sounds something like what you've put, but I guess not quite as it should make a bit more sense than that

Klämrisk · July 23rd, 2008, 02:46 PM

The song's definetly about a family where a mother has left the children. (' Will the children cry when their mother dies') One of the children has tried to commit suicide several times ('Seeking tenderness with a dagger, skin is marked by the years of trial') and one night follows the sound in his/her head on a non-moonlit night out on....the courtyard to face her doom ('my sweet Satan'), which is another way of saying that he/she dies.

pyr0rrzzz · July 23rd, 2008, 03:38 PM

Why didn't you use the official lyrics?

pyr0rrzzz · July 23rd, 2008, 03:55 PM

Third post in this topic. (Official means they were hidden in the booklet.)

Jet Pilot · July 23rd, 2008, 04:17 PM

Basically, i don't remember when or where but Mikael Akerfeldt has explained that hessian is a kind of thick package used as a vinyl case.

July 22nd, 2008, 04:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
atlantis19 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 21	Hessian Peel Interpretations? I'm kind of baffled trying to figure out what is going on in this song. Any ideas about what "characters" may be involved here and what might be going on (especially toward the end)? I saw some people calling the 'sweet Satan' thing a joke, but could it be one of the characters addressing his/her problematic loved one? Also, does anyone understand the title? Its the only title on the album that makes no sense to me at all. Hopefully someone can clear this up for me- I feel like I'm being blind to the whole climax of the album.

July 23rd, 2008, 02:46 PM	#8 (permalink)
Klämrisk Hedon Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Linköping, Sweden Posts: 226	The song's definetly about a family where a mother has left the children. (' Will the children cry when their mother dies') One of the children has tried to commit suicide several times ('Seeking tenderness with a dagger, skin is marked by the years of trial') and one night follows the sound in his/her head on a non-moonlit night out on....the courtyard to face her doom ('my sweet Satan'), which is another way of saying that he/she dies. __________________ While your at it, visit my myspace site: http://www.myspace.com/klamrisk

July 23rd, 2008, 03:38 PM	#9 (permalink)
pyr0rrzzz but still so precious... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 347	Why didn't you use the official lyrics? __________________

July 23rd, 2008, 03:55 PM	#10 (permalink)
pyr0rrzzz but still so precious... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 347	Third post in this topic. (Official means they were hidden in the booklet.) __________________

July 22nd, 2008, 08:11 PM	#3 (permalink)
NSpen1 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 11	Here are more complete lyrics. Pretty sure the Satan thing is a joke referring to the Led Zep alleged backmasking as I posted in the other thread http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairwa...ng_controversy HESSIAN PEEL Will the children cry When their mother dies And in the autumn of their lives Will they feel the same (backwards) Out on the courtyard Come back tonight My sweet Satan I see you Her longing for me Coming down like hail Why did you leave me Come here inside And tell me how How in my final days I'd find the rhyme (The) light comes on The signal for us to act our lives You wait beneath the white sheets And you wait forever The light comes on ???? So I left you alone We all left you alone Lock the children away from harm They're no longer your reason why Seeking tenderness with a dagger Skin is marked by the years of trials You felt abandoned in a flock of friends Singing a praise for the dead Awaited the face of the moon to ascend And followed the sound in your head

July 23rd, 2008, 02:37 AM	#4 (permalink)
The Antihero Ninja Evasion Specialist Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 147	According to Wikipedia "hessian" is used to describe someone who is into heavy metal and weed. The "sweet Satan" backwards part might be trying to poke at that perception of metal's perceived connection to Satanism or the occult. Of course, hessian can also mean several other things. It's a math term, it describes people from a certain part of medieval Germany, etc etc etc. So who knows.

July 23rd, 2008, 04:31 AM	#5 (permalink)
Saint - Ex Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Hamburg, GER Posts: 10	I guess this is the hardest song from Watershed. I have no idea what the title means. The lyrics concern the family again, I assume the father comes back, to his sick wife thinking: "Will the children cry..." Then he meets her again, after he left her "So I left you alone". Something important happens: "Light comes on..." Maybe she is dying after all, the light means the light at the end of a tunnel, the death. So the children are no longer the reason for his departure: "They are no longer the reason why". The line "Lock the children away from harm" says that they suffered from the drama. So I guess the father is speaking, saying "When their mother dies" creates an awful distance between him and her. That the father left is mentioned in Heir apperent: "Invisible King/Dying". He is not often at home, so he can't be seen often, he is invisible. I don't know why he returns in hessian peel, but I guess he does.

July 23rd, 2008, 04:17 PM	#11 (permalink)
Jet Pilot Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2	Basically, i don't remember when or where but Mikael Akerfeldt has explained that hessian is a kind of thick package used as a vinyl case.