Interpol: Evil Meaning
Song Released: 2005
Evil Lyrics
Heaven restores you in life
Coming with me
Through the aging, the fearing, the strife
It's the smiling on the package
It's the faces in the sand
It's the thought that moves you upwards
Embracing me with two hands
Right will take...
-
1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:It took me a while to figure this song out - extremely hard to piece together, but after reading the interpretations on the web, and reading more about Paul Banks, I think I got it. Paul Banks was fascinated with serial killers, and as a literally major in college, probably with a lot of ideas around the inner workings of people.
The references to the Rosemary West killings are pretty clear (not just her name, but the "trial", "cellmate" and "shards under the belly".
Still, it doesn't make sense that this is from Fred West until the final year of his life are looked at. He confessed to the killing pretty quickly - suggesting remorse. And he attempted to make some kind of emotional contact with Rosemary...he tried twice and failed. And a few weeks later, committed suicide.
I think this song is the story of Fred West dealing with the evil he had done, and trying to reach Rosemary...the Biblical references are pretty clear. So this is his story after he committed suicide and what he'd say to her.
The first verse of the song is about embracing Heaven and god. "Heaven restores you in life" - this is a clear reference to being alive and that there is a means to salvation in life. The rest of the verse is about what that is and if she comes with him what she gets - it's the smile on the package, the faces in the sand, the thought that holds you up, their embraces - all the good things in life...the "slow-release" (inner peace) as opposed to the instant and twisted gratification of torturing their victims.
The next verse is his message to her: Hey wait, great smile (his nickname for her?) - have faith and don't deny (Just confess and faith - don't play the victim card)...then again, "but hey who's on trial" An admission he coped out by committing suicide - so he can sympathize with her decision.
Then he confesses to her what his life was about. Being completely alone (a lifespan without a cellmate) searching for a way out...from the trap of just looking the other way to everything he did - all the suffering he caused. That's the root of his "evil". Just look the other way. What was wrong with that?
The next verse describes that world of what could be or could have been - perhaps the afterlife or fantasy existence. "I could take you places....Make a revision to a dream...."
Later on, the line, "You need something to which to care" - I think a reference to how serial killers are considered uncaring.
The next verse talks about their crimes, how they hoped to presume innocence and hope for a sympathetic jury....and whether or not they really loved each other and if that was over - "Is this motion everlasting or do shutters pass in the night"
The final verse mentions that she needs someone to take her there - perhaps him or someone else (earlier - "do you need another man"). and changes the chorus - "...play the other game" a reference to their interaction not involving the girls they tortured and murdered. Suggesting once again, his remorse. -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation: -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:I'd say that the use of the car crash of a metaphor is highly plausible, and would probably make the song more credible, but I'm gonna take it at face value for my interpretation.
Firstly, I think the guy (I don't think that Paul is writing as himself - hence the use of a puppet in the vid and not a trace of the 'pol anywhere) lost his partner in a fatal car crash. I think perhaps she didn't die instantly but that she ended up in hospital and didn't make it. The song is about the guys struggle to come to terms with the loss of his partner (who I think may have been dead for some time now) in the face of feeling romantically towards somebody new - Sandy.
Right, now let's back all that up:
"Rosemary, Heaven restores you in life" - Let's everyone know she's dead right at the beginning, also shows us he believes in Heaven and believes that she may still be aware of everything that's going on. This is backed up the next few lines:
"You're coming with me, through the aging, the fear and the strife" - This line could also be a reference to the wedding vows:
"I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live." I only just thought about this one, but everything he says 'aging', 'fear', 'strife' it's all negative stuff, and in the wedding vows you promise to stick by each other even in times of trouble so maybe they were married and he's saying that even though she's no longer here, she's still going to be with him through all the things they promised when they got married.
"It's the smiling on the package, it's the faces in the sand, it's the thoughts that hold me upwards embracing me with two hands" - Again, I concur with what others have said - he feels her around him (the embrace - most common meaning is a huge between lovers e.g. a lovers' embrace) and sees her everywhere (sand, packaging).
Now for the next lyric I've found two different interpretations of the actual words he says. I thought it was "Right will take you places" but I've read elsewhere people think it's "Write, we'll take you places". It's almost impossible to decipher by listening so I'll interpret both.
"Right will take you places" - She lived a good life so she went to Heaven.
"Write, we'll take you places" - Stay in contact even though I'm falling for someone new, you won't be forgotten, you'll always be there with us too. This line goes better with the next one "Yeah, maybe to the beach"
"When your friends they do come crying" - Again, suggests that the person has died as her friends are also affected, it's not just the guy singing the song that has lost her.
"Tell them now your pleasure's set up on slow release" - she's going to be happy for a very long time, i.e. It will take a long time for her pleasure to diffuse because it's on a slow release. Also as he says "tell them" it suggests he's saying let them know you're happy it might help them come to terms with things.
"Hey wait, great smile, sensitive to faith not denial." - Maybe she was always a happy person, even when she was in hospital facing the likelihood she may not pull through (not denial - she wasn't in denial about how serious it was), sesitive to faith, perhaps she was believing her faith might pull her through.
"But hey, who's on trial?" - He reflects that he's just been judging her behaviour after the accident (noticing that she faced up to things and put on a brave face), but realises that it wasn't her fault, she was the innocent and she died. "But hey, who's on trial?" as in "Why am I judging your behaviour after that horrific accident, you had every right to behave however you pleased." Alternatively, after thinking about the next line, it could be that he was driving and feels responsible...
"I've spent a lifespan with no cellmate" - He's the guilty party (feels responsible) as far as he's concerned (maybe not in the eyes of the law, i.e. maybe another car hit them but he was the driver) referenced by the "cell" - prison - and he's also managed to go this far without felling anything for anyone else "mate".
"The long way back" - Could have several meanings. Perhaps that fateful night they took the long way back? Perhaps they didn't and he wishes they had? Perhaps he just means it happened a long time ago?
"Sandy, why can't we look the other way?" - Why am I having these feelings for you, when I still love and miss Rosemary?
"we speaks about travel
Yeah, we think about the land
We smart like all peoples
Feeling real tanned" - sounds like he's imitating ghetto speak. Angry at black people? Maybe it was a group of black people who were driving the other car?
"I could take you places -
Do you need a new man?
Wipe the pollen from the faces
Make revision to a dream while you wait in the van" - He starts thinking about Sandy again, and quick as a flash Rosemary comes back to the forefront of his mind:
"Hey wait, great smile, sensitive to faith not denial"
And then again, he wishes he didn't feel this way towards Sandy:
"It took a life spent with no cellmate
To find the long way back
Sandy, why can't we look the other way?"
"You're weightless, you are exotic
You need something for which to care" - This could be about Rosemary and/or Sandy. With Rosemary "You're weightless, you are exotic" - She's weightless because she's no longer a physical presence and she's exotic because she's different to everyone else. With regards tos Sandy, it could be she's extremely thin (not as goos an interpretation as with Rosemary I feel) and she's exotic - maybe she's foreign, maybe she's black and that's why he was mimicking ghetto talk earlier in the song. Maybe "you're weightless" is a reference to Rosemary and "you are exotic" is a reference to Sandy. The "you need something for which to care" could be a reference to either as well.
Then back to why is he thinking about Sandy, why can't he just forget her?:
Sandy, why can't we look the other way?"
Then he seems to start asking for to remember Rosemary and keep her with him so he doesn't feeling the wanting for Sandy:
"Leave some shards under the belly
Lay some grease inside my hand
It's a sentimental jury
And the makings of a good plan" - I think this is metaphorical, I don't think he really wants glass in his belly or grease in his hand, he just wants a permanent and prominent reminder of Rosemary so he doesn't move on.
"You've come to love me lightly" - He can feel her presence
"Yeah you've come to hold me tight" - He won't let himself move on, he allows her to hold on him still.
"Is this motion everlasting
Or do shudders pass in the night?" - Will he always feel like this, or does he just need more time to come to terms with it? Alternatively, maybe he wonders how long until he forgets about Rosemary altogether because he doesn't want to?
"Rosemary
Oh, Heaven restores you in life
I spent a lifespan with no cellmate
The long way back
Sandy, why can't we look the other way?" - I've explained this enough.
"You're weightless, semi-erotic,
You need someone to take you there
Sandy, why can't we look the other way?
Why can't we just play the other game?
Why can't we just look the other way?" - Sounds like this is all about Sandy so the other references "you're weightless, you are exotic" probably is as well. I feel here he is practically begging and pleading to forget about Sandy because he feels to consumed with guilt about what happened to Rosemary and also about letting her go. -
Well, this is a very complex one, beginning with the fact that this is based in the case of the serial killer Fred West and his beloved Rosemary, if you know something about that it´s pretty easy to get the context and understand the metaphores Paul uses all over the song.
Paul was so interested in serial killers when he was in university so he decided to read about the case and write a song about Fred's perspective.
I can say that almost the entire song are Fred´s toughts aboout how Rosemary lost interest on him, so he chose to suicide, the first, second and third pharagraph are based in the letters Fred wrote for Rosemary when he was in jail.
That´s the reason "but hey who´s on trial?" hits that way, with a pause, to remark the part about Fred feeling guilty and then realizing he'll be lonely in the process.
BTW, "Sandy" is an apology to Sandra Good, a member of the Manson family, it´s so confusing until you get to the last part of the song and understand that Paul was summarizing the motivations and toughts of serial killers who were considered monsters, so even the title of the song makes sense.
Paul was not talking about an specific crime or criminal, he was making a poethic essay about how the human being can reach that point of becoming a monster.
That why the song is called "Evil".
English is not my first language so there must be some grammar mistakes, sorry -
I always thought it was about Rosemary Kennedy after her lobotomy
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
-
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
-
Although now i see the other meanings i thought the song was simply about Evil when i heard it.
"Rosemary" -Rosemary's baby
"Why cant we just look the other way" -Not taking the blame for a crime, just ignoring it
"Life span, with no cell mate" -Solitary Confinment
"Your coming with me" -The survivors will always be with him, they wont forget what happened, and neither will he
"When your friends they do come crying" -Funeral for the victum
Idk, i just thought of it as pure evil.
-
Paul Banks was fascinated with serial killers, and as a literally major in college, probably with a lot of ideas around the inner workings of people.
The references to the Rosemary West killings are pretty clear (not just her name, but the "trial", "cellmate" and "shards under the belly".
Still, it doesn't make sense that this is from Fred West until the final year of his life are looked at. He confessed to the killing pretty quickly - suggesting remorse. And he attempted to make some kind of emotional contact with Rosemary...he tried twice and failed. And a few weeks later, committed suicide.
I think this song is the story of Fred West dealing with the evil he had done, and trying to reach Rosemary...the Biblical references are pretty clear. So this is his story after he committed suicide and what he'd say to her.
The first verse of the song is about embracing Heaven and god. "Heaven restores you in life" - this is a clear reference to being alive and that there is a means to salvation in life. The rest of the verse is about what that is and if she comes with him what she gets - it's the smile on the package, the faces in the sand, the thought that holds you up, their embraces - all the good things in life...the "slow-release" (inner peace) as opposed to the instant and twisted gratification of torturing their victims.
The next verse is his message to her: Hey wait, great smile (his nickname for her?) - have faith and don't deny (Just confess and faith - don't play the victim card)...then again, "but hey who's on trial" An admission he coped out by committing suicide - so he can sympathize with her decision.
Then he confesses to her what his life was about. Being completely alone (a lifespan without a cellmate) searching for a way out...from the trap of just looking the other way to everything he did - all the suffering he caused. That's the root of his "evil". Just look the other way. What was wrong with that?
The next verse describes that world of what could be or could have been - perhaps the afterlife or fantasy existence. "I could take you places....Make a revision to a dream...."
Later on, the line, "You need something to which to care" - I think a reference to how serial killers are considered uncaring.
The next verse talks about their crimes, how they hoped to presume innocence and hope for a sympathetic jury....and whether or not they really loved each other and if that was over - "Is this motion everlasting or do shutters pass in the night"
The final verse mentions that she needs someone to take her there - perhaps him or someone else (earlier - "do you need another man"). and changes the chorus - "...play the other game" a reference to their interaction not involving the girls they tortured and murdered. Suggesting once again, his remorse. -
This is a song about losing one's self after a trauma. It was likely inspired by the final days of Fred and Rosemary West, a British serial killer couple. While awaiting trial, Fred committed suicide, leaving his wife to serve a life sentence in prison.
Knowing that, the lyrics make a lot more sense. Look up the case notes. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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The murder of Rosemary LaBianca by the Manson Family. Hasn't Manson had a life spent with no cellmate?
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It's about watching a one time vibrant beautiful woman getting hooked on oxys
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I agree with everything said in the first interpretation, except for the way that Rosemary died. In the music video itself it starts off at the scene of a car crash. Therefore, it's easy to see that the shards are actually shards of glass, and when he talks about leaving some grease inside my hand, he's literally talking about grease from the car.
-
I think its about Rosemary West aswell. She has been portrayed in the UK as one of the worlds most evil women. Evil is a word frequently used to describe her in the British media where her husband was usually described as being disturbed, perverted and crazy. During her marriage to Fred West she was photographed by him in ways where she appeared exotic. Ghosts and shadows etc could be their victims including their children. The murders were often sexual in nature involving grease and shards of wrought-iron. She was widowed early in the case with Fred's suicide. She's been on medication 'set up on slow release'.
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August 11th, 2006 09:48AM is a smart cookie. That sounds right.
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Taking into account the video (which is not always a good way to interpret lyrics) it looks as as this is a song about mourning and loss after the accidental death of a loved one. The song could also refer to a car crash (glass and grease) and as previous entries have pointed out, there are a number of references to grief, loss and mourning, given with a detached attitude (but hey who's on trial?) that is also represented in the video where the protagonist is a plastic dummy, in shock and filled with a sadness rather than grief. Also there is no reference to a 'sandy' in this song. I believe some people may be mis-hearing the line 'saying 'hey, why can't we look the other way?'
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