The Fullness of Time (Part 2) – Despair

[Standard Disclaimer: This analysis represents only my personal interpretation of the lyrical content of Redemption's suite, The Fullness of Time, and is not representative of the opinions of either the band or any affiliated persons involved in the production of Redemption's music; past, present or future.]

This is the second of four posts on Redemption’s musical suite, The Fullness of Time. It is a lyrical dissection of the second track, Despair, which is the most straightforward of the four tracks. There is a smooth musical transition between all tracks in this suite, which represents part of the overarching concept – that this is a journey through Man’s emotional response to women’s betrayal of him.

I know, talking about emotions breaks man law, but stay with me.

The first verse:

Left now
Alone with your betrayal
There’s no way to feel secure
Anymore
Broken
Crushed in soul and spirit
With no way to set things right again

This represents, to me, an honest and private response to what has happened to Man. In public, he may show his Rage, and perhaps even initially he will feel that Rage in private. Eventually, however, it seems inevitable that Despair will set in as the true nature of the betrayal settles upon his mind. After all, he is “left alone” with “no way to feel secure; crushed in soul and spirit with no way to set things right again.” I have never been taken over the coals in the divorce court but I know some of our readers have (and my sympathies go out to you) – I imagine these lyrics might resonate with your situation? I’ve felt hopeless and despaired after suffering betrayals at the hands of women, and I wasn’t even invested significantly (like a marriage) or standing to lose anything substantial (as in a divorce) when I was betrayed!

Rage comes first, but it melts away into Despair.

The chorus:

Gone
You have stolen everything I ever had
And I’m left with nothing more than pain
And I know I’ll never trust the way that I once did
You have taken all my dreams
And turned them to ashes in my mouth

This seems to speak almost directly to those men who’ve gone through a bitter divorce or custody battle. Doesn’t it feel as though that woman you’ve trusted – the one who seemed friendly but put that kinfe in your back – has made off with everything of value you ever had (sometimes to include, most bitterly, your own children) and all you have left is pain? It also seems common for men to resolve to never “trust the way that [they] once did,” after women kill their dreams of domestic tranquility.

Final verse:

Starving
Searching for some comfort
Left to choke on my despair
Blinded
My faith and friendship shattered
And my life beyond repair

I think we men have all been seeking commiseration and unity from like-minded men. That’s why sites like The Spearhead have been cropping up. Without sites like these, we may have all been stuck in a perpetual cycle of Rage and Despair. The betrayals we’ve gone through, individually (I’m almost certain every male reader here has gone through some sort of betrayal – some only minor, some only major, and the rest somewhere in between) may have even shattered our faith and friendship. After all, the effects of feminism seemed to have led to a decline of religion (faith) and fraternity/men’s only groups (friendship). Furthermore, it seems to have had the poisonous effect of causing men to distrust one another, viewing each other as competitors (for women) during the best of times and villains (towards women) at the worst of times.

Privately, I think we have all felt that our lives were beyond repair. When we come together collectively and apply our reason, we can see that we have all suffered similar blows, that there are systemic problems and our failures are not isolated or individual in nature. This may not help ease the pain, but it does remind us that there may be any number of solutions to our grief.

Like I said, this is the most straight forward track. Stay tuned for the final two!

Tagged as: culture, despair, Feminism, music, Redemption