Has me looking
Right here under the sky
And I left my home
Passed the evening fires
In the blink of an eye
I had closed the door behind me
The vapour of old love
Will transfigure through a veil of clarity
I sense my grave way below the mire
Sorrow will find you
Its voice has given way to mine
Heart pumps death into our heredity
Who wants to come with me?
For every dream that is left behind me
I take a bow
With every war that will rage inside me
I hear the sound
Of another day in this vanishing life
Returned to dust
And every chance I've pushed away
Into the night
Time won't let go
It's got you in debt now
And it's got me crawling all the way back to the start
I swear that I saw you there
Your hands were reaching out for mine
Sorrow will find you
For every dream that is left behind me
I take a bow
With every war that will rage inside me
I hear the sound
Of another day in this vanishing life
Returned to dust
And every chance I've pushed away
Into the night
I sense my grave way below the mire
- Katatonia (2016)
It only seems reasonable that maybe an introduction to Katatonia is in order. They were originally formed in the early 1990's in Sweden as a death/doom metal band. Initially it was intended as only a studio project, but they soon started touring. There were constant lineup changes throughout the 90's. At one point Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth/Bloodbath) was a member. The sound evolved through the years, going from death and doom to the progressive and melodic sound they are known for today. "Old Heart Falls" was the first single from their tenth studio album, The Fall of Hearts.
Just as in the previous entry for "The Parting," these lyrics are packed with imagery. As the title suggests, this seems as an old person looking back on his or her life and taking stock of that life once lived. This isn't the life flashing before the eyes just prior to death, here we see that death is imminent, yet still not due to make the visit ("... another day in this vanishing life"). But there is also the possibility that one may not be so old and death not so imminent and that our protagonist is merely coming to grips with something and realizing the fruitlessness of holding onto something that can never go anywhere. There is a fair amount of regret, both in the words and in Jonas Renske's singing tone.
There are two lines, however, that tie it all together - "Heart pumps death into our heredity/Who wants to come with me?" Is this a suicide note? It's in the middle of the song. This is typically where the listener's emotional reaction would be the strongest and seems a throwaway lyric, meant to keep the lyrical rhythm flowing. It's the second time we're introduced to death in the song. What really drives it home are the 2 lines immediately preceding - "Sorrow will find you/It's voice has given way to mine." "Sorrow" is echoed again later in the song, but itself. This has the effect of either tricking the listener into disregarding the suicide note portion or, more likely, adding to the emotional weight of the decision.
What do you think? Do you even like the song? Leave your own thoughts in the comments below.
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