The point: "Know your enemy as I would have them know my son."It is not that the dragon should not be slain, but that you understand why the dragon attacks, to empathize with your foes and not dehumanize those you fight against. Do not devalue them simply because it makes it easier to fight them.
I don't know why people are having trouble finding a "meaning" to this song, it's pretty straight forward. *ACT 1:* The *father* went to war against actual dragons, *who everyone saw as bloodthirsty demonic beasts*, he heard the *grandfather* say "Son, know your enemy as i know my son" (AKA know them well) and he fought and killed a dragon who he thought was this demonic beast he had heard talk about but then realized was actually a creature just like him fighting to protect his dragon-lings. (Finally realizing that the dragons weren't demonic beasts, thus finally "knowing his enemy".) *ACT 2:* The *son* goes to war against Muslims *who everybody sees as bloodthirsty demonic beasts*, he hears the voice of his *father* say "Son, know your enemy as i would have them know my son" since the father would have them know that his son is not a monster, but a man fighting to protect that which he loves and believes in, that even if death should come to either one, they understand why do they fight and not believe them to be just a soulless beast they have to kill.
+Relatively Good Looking Jack wow... i got the meaning of the song pretty easily but i didn't notice how much it does resemble the current situation with the muslims
most commonly accepted theory is that he was fighting Vikings first, since Vikings were heathens and dubbed "The Dragon Warriors" for their ferocity in battle.
Considering the first verse refers to the dragon's offspring as "Dragon-ling" I don't think there's need for a "theory," at first the song speaks of actual dragons, with actual dragon-lings, there's not much more to it.
I know that a good amount of what Voltaire does is comedic, but when he puts a meaning, and a message behind one of his songs, it's always a strong message that people need to hear, maybe not everyone, but in general, putting it out there is a good move. With this song, God Thinks, When You're Evil, Almost human, and even Goodnight Demon slayer, when really putting the message and meaning behind each of these songs, in my opinion Voltaire is one of the smartest lyricists and musicians that I know of.
The Cynical Brony's Official RUclips Page That could be what someone gets out of When you're evil, but what I got out of it was a somewhat sarcastic tone. He talks about all the bad things that he does, would those really be things that you want to do? Where some of them are, quite frankly, hilarious, some of the others, such as "Grannies left to trip down the stairs", are dangerous. I think that it was supposed to be taken as, "It sounds fun, but do you really want to be an asshole?"
Moral of the story: don't demonize your "enemies" or whoever doesn"t have the same faith as yours. You must understand that they are humans like you. Let's all appreciate what Voltaire has written, it's a great message.
How I have always felt in I'm fixing to get to exactly the fucking point all I wanted to do was get my idol of fucking necklace from a childhood fucking crush I have issues I have not had stability the only to fucking stable man I've had in my life and I've tried to express that to and show that to is both pair and Jesus told us what on the dance floor I need him
Fascinating! At first I thought that "Know your enemy as I know my son" meant to be aware of your foe´s nature and tactics in order to be victorious, but that´s not what he meant! He was trying to say; "Your foes have the same motives you may think you do to fight them."
+Olivia Gordon For me it's always 'The dragon fell upon the ground, Twas then I heard a whimpering sound. A dragonling to his father clung who only fought to protect his young' press a hand to my heart and nearly burst into tears
Stories about slaying dragons weren't literally about slaying dragons. They were moral teachings about destroying greed, lust, anger ect. Slaying a dragon was a metaphor for slaying your own inner demons and temptations. Just like the three little pigs isn't literally about three pigs, its about planning ahead and being prepared because bad things do happen. Honestly the song itself could be interpreted in numerous different ways, which is one of the reasons I enjoy this song. =)
I tried my damnedest to run from this shit but no I'm the chosen one of fucked over and I don't have any money and I don't want to be there for me and I have I sold my soul to the devil for fame 14 rock and roll and got Jesus Christ just because I'm the only one in the world that would sell their own souls of the benefit their friends
Play you ain't fucking kidding you can't fuck up bigger than me I'm the queen of fuck ups I'm the only one in the world that would sell her school for fortune and fame for her friends benefit not hers so you know ya me unicorn I'm fucking pissed about it my life is a fucking tragedy and all I wanted was to be a vampire and I was just trying to get my own music but I don't know where I was just like you know how to now I have to right the point 🎉
You know what? Worse than the religious debate in the comments, are the amount of people who seem to think this song is about the extinction of Dragons!
+joinmarch76 The only creature even labeled as a dragon is the one called the Komodo dragon. It's just a large venomous lizard. It isn't even extinct. Unless dragons existed in another dimension they were never real
+ZeroakaKira Fun hypothetical question: How would a crusade be held against a dragon? Assuming dragons cannot speak of course, And dont practise their own religion...Muslims were not christian and did not respect (in the christains eyes) the holy lands history and religious significance, Surely a crusade cannot be held against a dragon, Unless it somehow made a part of the holy land its territory...In which case i can understand the christians trying to clense it of the beast....
I think there's a very good reason that the third part of the song is nearly a direct copy of the first part, with a few particular words changed. And the Crusader finds out what it is at the very end, you can hear it in the pause and change in tone of voice in the very last syllable. The Crusader simply realizes that this is going to go on forever, because his own warning is nearly identical to the warning that failed to stop himself. The reality is that every generation will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the last, for all time, just with a new enemy each time, and innocents will be convinced to kill innocents in wars, with only those who survive the bloodshed learning the lessons, and being unable to stop the next generation from doing the same thing. And given Voltaire's general premise of how his songs go, maybe his point is that religions could co-exist peacefully if the people in charge of them just stopped lying to their own people about an enemy they probably only want some territory or resources from. Would the dragon have needed to defend its home to the death if no one had convinced the Crusaders it was evil enough to be worthy of death? No, and the Crusaders wouldn't have tried if people told them the truth about the dragon. But like the song says, these things keep happening, and no one's found a way to stop them forever yet. The song's message essentially acknowledges that it knows even this warning will go ignored. So, just remember, anyone who tries to convince you of something gets something out of convincing you to do that. Anyone who tries to convince you a fellow human being (or dragon) is evil enough to be worthy of killing, gets something out of convincing you to hate it enough to kill them. Just remember... they might be lying, because if you knew the truth, you wouldn't want to kill them, even though they want you to. And because they're willing to kill, they're willing to lie to get you to kill too. Don't trust people who try to make you hate part of your own species enough to kill them. If there's a good reason to kill someone, they'd just tell you THAT instead of making you hate them. I always cry when I type a summary of this song's events. It's the saddest song I've ever heard in my life. And it hits especially hard because I have a big soft spot for dragons, especially when they die defending their homes by human knights. And that's unfortunately a common enough trope that I'm not just referring to this song when I say it.
I love how people take this song at face value and don't even look at what the song really means. This isn't just about religious differences. Its about listening to propaganda and not thinking for your self, as well as accepting the consequences of your decisions and trying to teach the next generation to do better. If all you see is the obvious allusion to wars between religions, you need to listen again. He CLEARLY regrets killing without fully comprehending the situation and is trying to encourage his son to stop think and comprehend everything as best as possible before rushing off to war. War is used like a 3 year old's insult these days and it disgusts me. It's like saying that because you took my model rocket I am going to dump buckets of cow blood on you. It doesn't make sense and the rate at which lives are wasted over someone's petty squabbles about where a line in the sand is drawn just because they think they are better than everyone else.
the rusting star sadly people these days are hell bent on bloodshed. Personally I think that we need to rebuild the Roman Colosseum. Then we can put any world leaders with disputes in there with the same weapons the Romans used, and let them duke it out and whoever is left wins. And at the end of the day if they still dont have a winner they take a break and come back the next day, and go again only with booby traps. And every day past the first that they take to settle it the fight gets more dangerous. This would save a lot of useless bloodshed in my opinion.
Anthony Nuciforo Jr I noticed this and couldn't help but think about it. But I have to say this would be a horrible idea. Not in theory, no in theory it would probably be wonderful to an extent. But really, if I wasn't so certain I would live a fight in the Coliseum, why would I bother fight honorably? I'd probably be more inclined to slit his throat in the middle of the night than duke it out with a gladius. And logistically, think of the world leaders we would have to reelect constantly. The only real change would be the nature of war, from open battlefields AND the dead of night, to the dead of night alone, where no one can know who the enemy of who is.
this is a fair point, but thats why it would work. it cuts the bloodshed in two ways. it makes the world leaders less willing to go to war because its their life on the line. and it saves the lives of all those soldiers
Anthony Nuciforo Jr Unless you're a coward and commence in what is known as shadow warfare, and casualties would still pile up. Both those killed illegally, and the world leaders who fight honorably. Who are the world leaders anyways? Like the USA, is it the president who'd fight? Or the 100 senators? Or the 500 some Representatives? All of them? The Presidential cabinet, supreme court? And if you do ALL of them, then they could just conquer a lot of people *legally* because they'd have overwhelming numbers.
He's saying, know your enemy because they probably aren't the monster you thought they were. The dragon is the part that's supposed to teach you that lesson, then it's applied to the crusades.
RovertNoteek It's tragic to be sure. Such a surprisingly profound song, coming from one of the Weird Al of dark songs *and let's be honest, I'm not that far off with that analogy* and yet people are more interested in the religious side than the actual point of the song!
Yes, but this isn't a painted can of soup; this is a story with a clear path and moral; Things depicted or talked about like they are monstrous or evil are not always monstrous or evil, and it is important you really look at something before you do something of consequence on that assumption.
Oh my fucking god, I've listened to this song like 20 times and I've only just understood the ending. He's wants him to be merciful. Holy fuck, actual god damn goosebumps right now.
I like the pause before the final "my son" because it makes me think the warrior turned bard singing this just noticed his son entering the tavern and he's so overcome with relief and joy that he embraces him
My interpretation of this song: (And i'm an atheist so please no stupid religion comment wars)First verse is a crusader speaking of his experiences fighting "the scourge of christendom" lifting his arms for his beliefs before then justifying the actions he's about to commit by saying stuff like "they're demons, they're dragons". whereas he then either before or during battle hears his "fathers" words telling him he should lay down his arms and know his enemy as he knows his son (Love them as i love you) which he either ignores or misinterprets, whereas he then continues to kill "the dragon" only to find out the 'dragon' only fought to protect it's child.the other verse is his god talking about how his son is off to war to fight the 'scourge of christendom' holding aloft his brazen (Shameless) arms and justifying why he is off to kill in his name, but he knows the men he are off to fight are just humans of another faith, and instead of hearing dragon/demon he hears 'muslim faith' the truth behind it all, whereas he then proceeds to speak to his son in order to reach out to him and tell him to know his enemy as he knows them.or it could be about how christianity drove dragons to extinction.
Dainn Greywall Honestly interpreted the first part as actual dragons, in reference to the epics in Europe (Killing Fafnir, Beowulf's son, most notably Saint George and the Dragon)...notably, as other gods often took on animal/nature aspects, they were quite literally demonized, and the aforementioned George came about around the Crusades, so...
+Dainn Greywall I am quite agree with your interpretation, but the end is more like 'know them as I let them know you' Which open to a more interpretation of understanding instead of fighting; like put differences aside, telling that god allowed the others to know his son instead of blindfully fight with him. Ore... recalling your past analogy 'love then as I let them love you'
I think this song is fairly literal from the bible in the first part as there were dragons mentioned in the bible, but the second is quite literal as to the Crusades and the modern day
for anyone whose wondering this song is actually a poem, and as such the first stanzas are written as prose from the perspective of a member of the Christian church. In the poem, the soldier LITERALLY goes to war with his brethren against the dragons of Dragons Gate, and finds out that they were all wrong about hte Dragons. That they weren't monsters just because they were at odds and war with them. So in the second part his son is literally going to war against the Muslims, and he is seeing how fundamentalism and propaganda is painting enemies of war as base monsters, unrealistically, and he appeals to his son to learn from his mistakes just like his father appealed to him years ago. He is witnessing history repeat itself. Sometimes things really are what they seem, like this song for example. I believe Occam's Razor states that often the simplest answer is the correct one.
The problem is, Steven, that there is a thing called Taqiya. It means you can lie to any kafir (unbeliever) if you will gain from it. Now, there are no moderate moslems. I agree with the dictator of Turkey there. You know what? The wise ones are the ones who quit. But the problem is that there are repercussions, namely death. If there was no death penalty for any who leave, it wouldn't be such a popular religion. Well, I say popular...heh.
crapparc Anti-Balaka, Orange Volunteers, Gods Army, Aryan Nations, Christian Identity Movement, KKK, Neo-Confederates, Neo-Nazis and more prove you wrong.
Aligor Zeimet And yet, none of those put together even measure up in the death tally put forward by the pedophile prophet. He was just a dirty old man with a penchant for murder and a lust for preteens.
crapparc Oh? You want to talk about historical figure killing for a religion? Does Hitler not being a bell? "We do not tolerate in our ranks those who attack the ideas of Christianity. Our movement is Christian."
love breeds revenge breeding hate pain and misery break the cycle using forgiveness though lest it not be abused as a sign of weakness only compaction to truly be free and equal for friendship to eliminate the ideal of trust only that it is not needed at all as we are all the same
Fairly sure the point of the song is that religious differences shouldn't be a reason for confrontation or violence. That said, the comments are extremely depressing.
Haradion Drogon Not just religious differences, but all differences. From religion, to race, to who your favorite damn sports team is. There's no reason for the fighting, if we'd all just "know your enemy as you'd have them know your son." To half-ass quote the song.
InuShommaru *It's just dawned on me! This scroll of Broken Sword's isn't about sword technique but about swordsmanship's ultimate ideal. Swordsmanship's first achievement is the unity of man and sword. Once this unity is attained even a blade of grass can be a weapon. The second achievement is when the sword exists in one's heart, when absent from one's hand, One can strike an enemy at 100 paces even with bare hands. Swordsmanship's ultimate achievement is the absence of the sword in both hand and heart. The swordsman is at peace with the rest of the world, he vows not to kill, and to bring peace to the land.* ~ The King of Qin - Ying Xiong (Movie) ~ [ This movie was based upon real events, if dramatized in combat, that led to the rise of hte first Emperor of China, who built the Great Wall of China after uninting all of China into one Empire.]
The Pope didn't care about the Crusaders, since if he DID NOT order the Crusades THEY would sack Rome AGAIN! The Normans in Italy actually sacked Rome in 1060. So he sent them to the 'holy' land
*Comes to comment section* *Sees people shouting DEUS VULT* I didn't realize it was possible to miss the point of a song so hard. This goes beyond missing the anti-war subtext, this is just missing the anti-crusade surface text.
Man, if you understand the meaning behind many songs of Voltaire, a lot of them are really sad... Usually I listen to music to feel better, but now I'm just depressed...
There are happier Voltaire songs. Like Headless Waltz! Wait, no, that’s about revolution and war. How about Almost Human? No, no... that’s about bullying. Well, Cannibal Buffet couldn’t be too bad. Unless if it’s about the consumption of human flesh.
There are happier Voltaire songs. Like Headless Waltz! Wait, no, that’s about revolution and war. How about Almost Human? No, no... that’s about bullying. Well, Cannibal Buffet couldn’t be too bad. Unless if it’s about the consumption of human flesh.
I imagine that the "dragon" the singer fought was actually a Viking warlord. It would make sense with the theme of the song, the time frame fits, and Vikings were frequently characterized by contemporaries as being like dragons.
No matter how many times I listen to this I still cry when the singer hears the baby dragons and the end whenever the son leaves to war. The music is so beautiful and story is so sad, I love it so much!!!!
It's hilarious that there are so many comments about how there are so many comments about religion that you can't even see the ones that are about religion
+Alex Dagos The shown comments keep shifting, so many people that comment are actually referring to comments that are now (thankfully) below the bottom of the screen.
Just saw Dr. Peterson talk about some Christian icon of Saint George slaying the dragon but instead of the dragon, it was a Muslim soldier. Instantly reminded me of this song.
I would think that this song means this... Yes, this was about the crusades(duh) and that the one who went off to fight, did not heed what his father said. After he had slain the "dragon." The first knight felt a sense of guilt when the child came to cling his fathers corpse, (and so he had to live with the greif and carry that in his mind). And so the first knight, tells his son, hoping that he listens, to know his enemy, so that he doesn't go through the same pain as the first knight. As confusing as this paragraph is constructed, this is my opinion.
That's the point of the song, pointing out the propaganda and hate used in the old Cruasades in the Middle East, and how it correlates to (a degree) many conflicts throughout history, all showing a common theme of prejudices, and occasionally religion.
everyone has wronged someone in some way or another it might not seem significant to either party but the only way you could live a life without at least offending a few people is to be completely deprived of human contact.
I'm a Christian and I love this song. It makes a good point and teaches history. Just because it was a bad thing that happened doesn't mean that we should deny it.
+Christian Dauz Neither are inherently "good". Some people will kill over any difference in beliefs. I'm not going to say Christianity is inherently good, however. Like every group, it's a story of best intentions that eventually devolve into pointless violence. Christians have simply been around long enough for it to loop back to (relative) sanity. On the subject of Transhumanism, I think that humans can be improved, but that it won't resolve all of our problems.
Johannes Simola You see, that's the problem. Humanity "evolving" means nothing more than that we are better at surviving. And survival is pretty much 50% luck to begin with. If a gamma ray burst hit the planet right now and killed every eukaryote on the surface, did all of those organisms "deserve" to die? No. Organisms go extinct either when they don't have their own niche to fill, or when their niche disappears. Also, I must point out that humans *have* evolved to a ridiculous level, albeit through technology rather than genetics. We have literally broken evolution by creating our own niches where previously we couldn't survive at all. And one last thing; might doesn't make right or wrong, it just leaves you alive to dictate the difference.
The message isn't that you shouldn't kill humans, It's that you should understand why they fight and not dehumanize them just because it makes them easier to kill.
I've lived my life as a Christian, I have always been taught that no one was below me and that I should treat everyone with respect that they deserve. When I have attempted to judge others I have been wrong. It is not the right of anyone to pass judgement on another. I can respect the views of others and will never try to force my views on them but all I have ever asked from an athiest(and rarely recieved) was the mutual respect that I have given.
Long ago i went to war To fight the scurge of Free-he-dom I held aloft my Thompson gun And said by God let them come They said their hearts are black as pitch I heard it told from hell they came Their guns spit fire Their tanks are forged Thus are the men of Ger-man-y *chorus* The fates were kind they let me join To go to france, to end their reign I placed my knife upon his throat And with a shout i thrusted in The hun he fell upon the ground Twas then i heard a wimpring sound A young boy to his father clung Who only fought to protect his son *chorus* And now my son is off to war To fight the new scurge of Free-he-dom He holds aloft his M-16 and says "Dad, let them come!"
In truth some are, during the occupation some Germans soldiers married and had children with french woman's, if I remember well Germany even made a project to protect those marriages, I don't remember very well.
I'm genuinely curious. Do you believe this song is about the extinction of dragons AND religion or do you believe it is based on religion with dragons only used as a metaphor/symbol. Reply and tell me why.
+awesomesauce980 ... Dragons don't exist. They were never driven extinct. The dragon is a metaphor for how the Crusaders considered the Muslims that they killed to be less than human, monsters. Just like they considered Jews to be child-eating, and Pagans to be devil-worshipping.
+Ezra Block Actually I think this is the point of view of the Jews. He says he went to fight Christendom, and then his son goes to fight the NEW scourge of Christendom, and then you hear the line "thus are the men of Muslim faith." Both Jews and Christians during the times of the crusade would call people who believed differently from them "dragon."
+awesomesauce980 Well dragons did exist. It's not really that far-fetched to believe that dragons existed. So it could be used as being literally dragon extinction, religion, and a metaphor/symbol.
I like the idea that there wasnt any real dragon, that their real enemy were humans that they've dehumanized to the point that they've become unholy, fiery "dragons" in the Crusaders' eyes. It's just that the father (the one whose perspective we follow throughout the song) comes to realize that he was wrong about the "dragons" which is why in the second part (the part that mirrors the first verse), he speaks of them not as dragons anymore but as who they actually are -- Muslims. Years after his realization, he sees his old, ignorant self in his son, who now goes off to fight in the same war with the same ideals and beliefs. The father no longer sees the sword as "blessed", instead he describes the sword that his son holds aloft as "brazen", and he advises his son with the same advice his own father gave him long ago. But anway, who knows what Voltaire really meant with this song ;)
Ho sentito le parole dei miei padri nel profondo del mio cuore Figlio, conosci il tuo nemico come conosco mio figlio E ora mio figlio è in guerra Per combattere il nuovo flagello della cristianità Egli tiene in alto la spada di bronzo E dice: "Papà, lasciateli venire!"
The only reason people are talking about religion is because the songs actually meaning has to do with the crusades of the Middle Ages, and how a knight of the first crusade realized how wrong he was for doing said crusade, and tried to prevent it from happening again
@InquisitorxSmith At the end of the song that's what's implied. The son mistakes his father's words who tells him to "know his enemy". What his father meant was to know if they were his enemy or not, but he didn't understand that meaning. That's my interpretation of the song, at least.
I'm listening to this song the hundredth time while doing other stuff and just realised that it can have dual meanig. The "scourge of christendom" can mean both the scaourge against christendom or scourge that is christendom. "Thus are the men of Muslim faith" indicates the Muslim men are as described, said in the voice of the child, but it can also be interpreted as thus speak the Muslim men, spoken by the father, being Muslim himself and watching the new generation grow with hate.. With the alternate interpretation, title means either: Holy wars in general the response to crusades In both cases, a tragic song.
At the end of the song, after he said his son to know his enemies as he would let them know his son, in the instrumental part, I saw a flashback of the knight, now king, kneelt and crying before the corpse of both the Dragon an the dragonling, because for his ignorance two innocent beast, maybe the last ones on the Earth, died. (For me, he thought that killing the dragonling would be a mercy because of he let it live, humans would make it a weapon of War or torture it now that it didn't have its farther or mother to protect it)
Next time I guess I'll research my words before I use them incorrectly. I go through the comments and feel bad for what I've started XD Thanks for the correction, I felt a bit silly realizing that .-.
to all religious debates back 1500-2500 years ago in the Jewish religion "Christ" was a title like "bishop", "priest", "father" ect, and the name Jesus was very common back 2000 years ago it was the equivalent of the name "John" today so saying there was a Jesus Christ was not so rare back then due to it's mistranslated and interpretation into the European languages from the Hebrew and Latin there was back then it saddens me to think of all those that had died due to this misleading cause that will only lead to failure there is no honor, redemption, dignity, or savior from these horrors *sigh* -_-
I think it's funny that the bible didn't even get the name right, as it was originally pronounced Joshua. I wonder what else was different in the original.
well many things got lost between the nobles changing the wording for their preference, also due to translating it from Hebrew, to Latin, to Italian to English and what ever other languages they had before Hebrew way back in Baghdad and Isreal all 2200-3000 years ago where it all started
First off: Christ is the closest way to pronounce the Greek translation of either a Hebrew or Syriac word meaning Messiah. Secondly: Yasooa is more correct than Joshua. And finally: The Bible didn't get the name right as it was originally written in Aramaic, then Hebrew, then Arabic (as they are all Semitic languages and sound similar) and was only then translated to Latin, then English. It was the Romans or Byzantines who translated Yassoa to the next closest thing they could pronounce, namely, Jesus.
still doesn't take into account that for about 3000 years only nobles and priests knew how to read and write and they could "bend" the meanings and stories in the book however they pleased
So, we had a project for english class where we had to create our own utopian city and blah blah blah....we forgot we needed a national anthem, so I hastily wrote down the lyrics to this song and gave it to my other group members. They didn't really read it and didn't really care since we didn't want it to be late, so this was our national anthem. Then we found out we needed to sing it (To be specific, -I- had to sing it after they actually read it). We got an A. :)
That's one of the problems today. Many don't want to admit that their country, religion, beliefs, etc. engaged in negative actions, so they just don't teach it - as if denying it ever happened will erase it from history. Better to admit and take responsibility for past actions so that future generations will learn from our mistakes.
Hey, genuinely curious- did you watch the video before leaving this comment? And if so, why? It seems like you missed the point of the song really hard.
...I suppose it is a joke, but I'm just curious... are people actually thinking that dragons of the first verse are "dragons"? How I interpreted was, that the father romantises his battle and thus the enemies are percieved as dragon. Than he realises the truth, which explains the change in lyrics. In the first chorus the lyrics are delusional, and the second chorus reveals the truth. blessed goes to brazen as the weapon isn't a mean for justice, by god becomes Dad, overturning heroic pledge and uncovering naivity of the child soldier, the beasts of dragon's gate becomes men of muslim faith, as the beasts has been men all along, and at last the father came to his senses. The ending shows he's deep understanding of humanity. It is not as I know my son, but As I'd have "them" know my son: it is not only about understanding them, but them understanding the child as well. The corrospondent will of 3 fathers further enrich the lyrics. The father of the crusader, wanting his son to either be spared of death or guilt, the "dragon" or the muslim father trying to protect his child, and the crusader hoping to save his boy from both death and sin. This give depth to the sympathy towards both crusader and the dragon, as pity for the dragon transfers to the crusader, and empathy for the narrating figure transfers to his victim.
Whether the dragon is a literal dragon or not I suppose wouldn't be certain, but its representation is the same: the dragon is a monster and a threat, however even monsters have their reasons to fight - whether it be survival of themselves or their family. During the crusade the father warns his son that just as dragons have their reasons, so do the muslims.
@pulse0fmagg0ts it is basically talking about how so many wars are fought in the name of this or that god, but that they are so pointless and wrong. At the end when it says "son know your enemy as i would have them know my son" hes saying that the enemy is really not bad and is fighting for the same reasons as you, if you got to know them you would see that you should not fight, and he would have them know his son so that they could not kill eachother and realize whats really going on.
Actual moral of the song: Dont kill cool dragons, kill zealous degenerate non-lifeforms to purify the biosphere of parasites (and teach kids to demand cold hard physical evidence for claims instead of giving them poetic yet insanely vague in function morals).
***** Well, they were founded by a guy who raped his slave and let his imaginary friend tell him to mutilate his dick and give up bacon.... Screw Christards, they are a taint.
The point: "Know your enemy as I would have them know my son."It is not that the dragon should not be slain, but that you understand why the dragon attacks, to empathize with your foes and not dehumanize those you fight against. Do not devalue them simply because it makes it easier to fight them.
^
Christian Dauz in the plus side it keeps the population in check.
"Close your heart to them, feel no pity"
missing password "While stoppable, Merciless as a tidal wave."
TheInsanePickle Tell that to the Commissar. *MERCY ME-BLAM* He kills his own men for "morale"
I don't know why people are having trouble finding a "meaning" to this song, it's pretty straight forward.
*ACT 1:* The *father* went to war against actual dragons, *who everyone saw as bloodthirsty demonic beasts*, he heard the *grandfather* say "Son, know your enemy as i know my son" (AKA know them well) and he fought and killed a dragon who he thought was this demonic beast he had heard talk about but then realized was actually a creature just like him fighting to protect his dragon-lings. (Finally realizing that the dragons weren't demonic beasts, thus finally "knowing his enemy".)
*ACT 2:* The *son* goes to war against Muslims *who everybody sees as bloodthirsty demonic beasts*, he hears the voice of his *father* say "Son, know your enemy as i would have them know my son" since the father would have them know that his son is not a monster, but a man fighting to protect that which he loves and believes in, that even if death should come to either one, they understand why do they fight and not believe them to be just a soulless beast they have to kill.
+Relatively Good Looking Jack wow... i got the meaning of the song pretty easily but i didn't notice how much it does resemble the current situation with the muslims
+Some weirdo in a tiger costume
As Ron Perlman would say.
Religion, religion never changes.
most commonly accepted theory is that he was fighting Vikings first, since Vikings were heathens and dubbed "The Dragon Warriors" for their ferocity in battle.
Considering the first verse refers to the dragon's offspring as "Dragon-ling" I don't think there's need for a "theory," at first the song speaks of actual dragons, with actual dragon-lings, there's not much more to it.
Also, this is Voltaire we're talking about. Of course it's a dragon...
I know that a good amount of what Voltaire does is comedic, but when he puts a meaning, and a message behind one of his songs, it's always a strong message that people need to hear, maybe not everyone, but in general, putting it out there is a good move. With this song, God Thinks, When You're Evil, Almost human, and even Goodnight Demon slayer, when really putting the message and meaning behind each of these songs, in my opinion Voltaire is one of the smartest lyricists and musicians that I know of.
The Cynical Brony's Official RUclips Page That could be what someone gets out of When you're evil, but what I got out of it was a somewhat sarcastic tone. He talks about all the bad things that he does, would those really be things that you want to do? Where some of them are, quite frankly, hilarious, some of the others, such as "Grannies left to trip down the stairs", are dangerous.
I think that it was supposed to be taken as, "It sounds fun, but do you really want to be an asshole?"
+asummer6dbz personally it sounds like someone who is a sociopath
its not really a good one though not all peoples are good
Moral of the story: don't demonize your "enemies" or whoever doesn"t have the same faith as yours. You must understand that they are humans like you. Let's all appreciate what Voltaire has written, it's a great message.
How I have always felt in I'm fixing to get to exactly the fucking point all I wanted to do was get my idol of fucking necklace from a childhood fucking crush I have issues I have not had stability the only to fucking stable man I've had in my life and I've tried to express that to and show that to is both pair and Jesus told us what on the dance floor I need him
Fascinating! At first I thought that "Know your enemy as I know my son" meant to be aware of your foe´s nature and tactics in order to be victorious, but that´s not what he meant! He was trying to say; "Your foes have the same motives you may think you do to fight them."
I get goosebumps every time on "He holds aloft his brazen sword, and says, 'Dad, let them come'."
+Olivia Gordon For me it's always 'The dragon fell upon the ground, Twas then I heard a whimpering sound. A dragonling to his father clung who only fought to protect his young' press a hand to my heart and nearly burst into tears
daddy
It's hilarious that there are religious debates in this comment section considering that they're missing the entire point of the song.
I Know right ?
It's mostly because Voltaire does a lot of Religious-based songs.
What is the point, I could care less about the religious part I want to know the story.
DrowSoldier33 The whole thing is a metaphor about acceptance of other cultures/opinions/religions.
Not what I meant, but thats good too.
We're all human.
No matter who you are, where you come from, or what you think of religion.
We are all the same.
A good lesson.
We're all fecal matter in our own special way. Lesson of June 20, 2016.
AWildAdventurerAppeared RUclips vids and such
Oh shut your mouth.
Your kind ruin everything.
But seriously, it is a good message.
But you must admit, not everyone, built sadly a lot of people are...to be blunt, terrible.
AWildAdventurerAppeared RUclips vids and such
I would say that the majority of people are good, most are misguided.
sagely Demonologist Fair point.
Basically, he is saying "Walk a mile in your enemy's shoes."
Except they're wearing the same shoes.
Stories about slaying dragons weren't literally about slaying dragons. They were moral teachings about destroying greed, lust, anger ect. Slaying a dragon was a metaphor for slaying your own inner demons and temptations. Just like the three little pigs isn't literally about three pigs, its about planning ahead and being prepared because bad things do happen.
Honestly the song itself could be interpreted in numerous different ways, which is one of the reasons I enjoy this song. =)
I tried my damnedest to run from this shit but no I'm the chosen one of fucked over and I don't have any money and I don't want to be there for me and I have I sold my soul to the devil for fame 14 rock and roll and got Jesus Christ just because I'm the only one in the world that would sell their own souls of the benefit their friends
Oh now it's finally sinking in huh❤
Play you ain't fucking kidding you can't fuck up bigger than me I'm the queen of fuck ups I'm the only one in the world that would sell her school for fortune and fame for her friends benefit not hers so you know ya me unicorn I'm fucking pissed about it my life is a fucking tragedy and all I wanted was to be a vampire and I was just trying to get my own music but I don't know where I was just like you know how to now I have to right the point 🎉
OO🎉ruclips.net/video/eJ1HPUZSIiE/видео.htmlsi=R_3SIDJHqTGdBc5x
You know what?
Worse than the religious debate in the comments, are the amount of people who seem to think this song is about the extinction of Dragons!
wasn't it about dragons then?
+The Cynical Brony's Official RUclips Page Hmm... I am pretty sure it's about crusades against dragons~
+Haradion Drogon Wait, that's a THING?
+joinmarch76 The only creature even labeled as a dragon is the one called the Komodo dragon. It's just a large venomous lizard. It isn't even extinct. Unless dragons existed in another dimension they were never real
+ZeroakaKira Fun hypothetical question: How would a crusade be held against a dragon? Assuming dragons cannot speak of course, And dont practise their own religion...Muslims were not christian and did not respect (in the christains eyes) the holy lands history and religious significance, Surely a crusade cannot be held against a dragon, Unless it somehow made a part of the holy land its territory...In which case i can understand the christians trying to clense it of the beast....
I think there's a very good reason that the third part of the song is nearly a direct copy of the first part, with a few particular words changed. And the Crusader finds out what it is at the very end, you can hear it in the pause and change in tone of voice in the very last syllable.
The Crusader simply realizes that this is going to go on forever, because his own warning is nearly identical to the warning that failed to stop himself. The reality is that every generation will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the last, for all time, just with a new enemy each time, and innocents will be convinced to kill innocents in wars, with only those who survive the bloodshed learning the lessons, and being unable to stop the next generation from doing the same thing.
And given Voltaire's general premise of how his songs go, maybe his point is that religions could co-exist peacefully if the people in charge of them just stopped lying to their own people about an enemy they probably only want some territory or resources from. Would the dragon have needed to defend its home to the death if no one had convinced the Crusaders it was evil enough to be worthy of death? No, and the Crusaders wouldn't have tried if people told them the truth about the dragon.
But like the song says, these things keep happening, and no one's found a way to stop them forever yet. The song's message essentially acknowledges that it knows even this warning will go ignored.
So, just remember, anyone who tries to convince you of something gets something out of convincing you to do that. Anyone who tries to convince you a fellow human being (or dragon) is evil enough to be worthy of killing, gets something out of convincing you to hate it enough to kill them. Just remember... they might be lying, because if you knew the truth, you wouldn't want to kill them, even though they want you to. And because they're willing to kill, they're willing to lie to get you to kill too. Don't trust people who try to make you hate part of your own species enough to kill them. If there's a good reason to kill someone, they'd just tell you THAT instead of making you hate them.
I always cry when I type a summary of this song's events. It's the saddest song I've ever heard in my life. And it hits especially hard because I have a big soft spot for dragons, especially when they die defending their homes by human knights. And that's unfortunately a common enough trope that I'm not just referring to this song when I say it.
The first and third part are from the perspective of the crusader and God respectively.
I love how people take this song at face value and don't even look at what the song really means. This isn't just about religious differences. Its about listening to propaganda and not thinking for your self, as well as accepting the consequences of your decisions and trying to teach the next generation to do better. If all you see is the obvious allusion to wars between religions, you need to listen again. He CLEARLY regrets killing without fully comprehending the situation and is trying to encourage his son to stop think and comprehend everything as best as possible before rushing off to war. War is used like a 3 year old's insult these days and it disgusts me. It's like saying that because you took my model rocket I am going to dump buckets of cow blood on you. It doesn't make sense and the rate at which lives are wasted over someone's petty squabbles about where a line in the sand is drawn just because they think they are better than everyone else.
if only the world was truely capable of this :/
the rusting star
sadly people these days are hell bent on bloodshed. Personally I think that we need to rebuild the Roman Colosseum. Then we can put any world leaders with disputes in there with the same weapons the Romans used, and let them duke it out and whoever is left wins. And at the end of the day if they still dont have a winner they take a break and come back the next day, and go again only with booby traps. And every day past the first that they take to settle it the fight gets more dangerous. This would save a lot of useless bloodshed in my opinion.
Anthony Nuciforo Jr I noticed this and couldn't help but think about it. But I have to say this would be a horrible idea. Not in theory, no in theory it would probably be wonderful to an extent. But really, if I wasn't so certain I would live a fight in the Coliseum, why would I bother fight honorably? I'd probably be more inclined to slit his throat in the middle of the night than duke it out with a gladius. And logistically, think of the world leaders we would have to reelect constantly. The only real change would be the nature of war, from open battlefields AND the dead of night, to the dead of night alone, where no one can know who the enemy of who is.
this is a fair point, but thats why it would work. it cuts the bloodshed in two ways. it makes the world leaders less willing to go to war because its their life on the line. and it saves the lives of all those soldiers
Anthony Nuciforo Jr Unless you're a coward and commence in what is known as shadow warfare, and casualties would still pile up. Both those killed illegally, and the world leaders who fight honorably. Who are the world leaders anyways? Like the USA, is it the president who'd fight? Or the 100 senators? Or the 500 some Representatives? All of them? The Presidential cabinet, supreme court? And if you do ALL of them, then they could just conquer a lot of people *legally* because they'd have overwhelming numbers.
He's saying, know your enemy because they probably aren't the monster you thought they were. The dragon is the part that's supposed to teach you that lesson, then it's applied to the crusades.
*listens to song*
*understands meaning*
*reads a fair amount of the comments*
*shakes head in depressed disbelief*
RovertNoteek extremely true
RovertNoteek It's tragic to be sure. Such a surprisingly profound song, coming from one of the Weird Al of dark songs *and let's be honest, I'm not that far off with that analogy* and yet people are more interested in the religious side than the actual point of the song!
RovertNoteek Those who don't understand the song are the ones who need to the most.
Well, art can have different meanings to different people.
Yes, but this isn't a painted can of soup; this is a story with a clear path and moral; Things depicted or talked about like they are monstrous or evil are not always monstrous or evil, and it is important you really look at something before you do something of consequence on that assumption.
What a lovely tune, I can imagine this being all the sweeter listening to this on a summers day by a lake, especially with the guitar bits in it.
Oh my fucking god, I've listened to this song like 20 times and I've only just understood the ending.
He's wants him to be merciful. Holy fuck, actual god damn goosebumps right now.
I love that guitar part in the beginning and the end.
Me too brother
I like the pause before the final "my son" because it makes me think the warrior turned bard singing this just noticed his son entering the tavern and he's so overcome with relief and joy that he embraces him
My interpretation of this song: (And i'm an atheist so please no stupid religion comment wars)First verse is a crusader speaking of his experiences fighting "the scourge of christendom" lifting his arms for his beliefs before then justifying the actions he's about to commit by saying stuff like "they're demons, they're dragons". whereas he then either before or during battle hears his "fathers" words telling him he should lay down his arms and know his enemy as he knows his son (Love them as i love you) which he either ignores or misinterprets, whereas he then continues to kill "the dragon" only to find out the 'dragon' only fought to protect it's child.the other verse is his god talking about how his son is off to war to fight the 'scourge of christendom' holding aloft his brazen (Shameless) arms and justifying why he is off to kill in his name, but he knows the men he are off to fight are just humans of another faith, and instead of hearing dragon/demon he hears 'muslim faith' the truth behind it all, whereas he then proceeds to speak to his son in order to reach out to him and tell him to know his enemy as he knows them.or it could be about how christianity drove dragons to extinction.
Dainn Greywall Now you've done it, prepaid to be bombarded by eejits harnessing you to "save your soul"
MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUUUUJUUUUUUUUUU
Dainn Greywall Honestly interpreted the first part as actual dragons, in reference to the epics in Europe (Killing Fafnir, Beowulf's son, most notably Saint George and the Dragon)...notably, as other gods often took on animal/nature aspects, they were quite literally demonized, and the aforementioned George came about around the Crusades, so...
+Dainn Greywall I am quite agree with your interpretation, but the end is more like 'know them as I let them know you' Which open to a more interpretation of understanding instead of fighting; like put differences aside, telling that god allowed the others to know his son instead of blindfully fight with him. Ore... recalling your past analogy 'love then as I let them love you'
I think this song is fairly literal from the bible in the first part as there were dragons mentioned in the bible, but the second is quite literal as to the Crusades and the modern day
for anyone whose wondering this song is actually a poem, and as such the first stanzas are written as prose from the perspective of a member of the Christian church. In the poem, the soldier LITERALLY goes to war with his brethren against the dragons of Dragons Gate, and finds out that they were all wrong about hte Dragons. That they weren't monsters just because they were at odds and war with them. So in the second part his son is literally going to war against the Muslims, and he is seeing how fundamentalism and propaganda is painting enemies of war as base monsters, unrealistically, and he appeals to his son to learn from his mistakes just like his father appealed to him years ago. He is witnessing history repeat itself.
Sometimes things really are what they seem, like this song for example. I believe Occam's Razor states that often the simplest answer is the correct one.
The problem is, Steven, that there is a thing called Taqiya. It means you can lie to any kafir (unbeliever) if you will gain from it. Now, there are no moderate moslems. I agree with the dictator of Turkey there. You know what? The wise ones are the ones who quit. But the problem is that there are repercussions, namely death. If there was no death penalty for any who leave, it wouldn't be such a popular religion. Well, I say popular...heh.
+crapparc
They aren't much worse than Christians. History proves this.
crapparc
Anti-Balaka, Orange Volunteers, Gods Army, Aryan Nations, Christian Identity Movement, KKK, Neo-Confederates, Neo-Nazis and more prove you wrong.
Aligor Zeimet And yet, none of those put together even measure up in the death tally put forward by the pedophile prophet. He was just a dirty old man with a penchant for murder and a lust for preteens.
crapparc
Oh? You want to talk about historical figure killing for a religion? Does Hitler not being a bell? "We do not tolerate in our ranks those who attack the ideas of Christianity. Our movement is Christian."
voltaire at his best, powerful message though
Hate breeds hate. Break the chain, our children deserve better.
love breeds revenge breeding hate pain and misery break the cycle using forgiveness
though lest it not be abused as a sign of weakness only compaction to truly be free and equal for friendship to eliminate the ideal of trust only that it is not needed at all as we are all the same
Thank you for recognizing the /actual/ point of the song. Gold star.
Fairly sure the point of the song is that religious differences shouldn't be a reason for confrontation or violence.
That said, the comments are extremely depressing.
Haradion Drogon Not just religious differences, but all differences. From religion, to race, to who your favorite damn sports team is. There's no reason for the fighting, if we'd all just "know your enemy as you'd have them know your son." To half-ass quote the song.
InuShommaru
*It's just dawned on me! This scroll of Broken Sword's isn't about sword technique but about swordsmanship's ultimate ideal. Swordsmanship's first achievement is the unity of man and sword. Once this unity is attained even a blade of grass can be a weapon. The second achievement is when the sword exists in one's heart, when absent from one's hand, One can strike an enemy at 100 paces even with bare hands. Swordsmanship's ultimate achievement is the absence of the sword in both hand and heart. The swordsman is at peace with the rest of the world, he vows not to kill, and to bring peace to the land.*
~ The King of Qin - Ying Xiong (Movie) ~
[ This movie was based upon real events, if dramatized in combat, that led to the rise of hte first Emperor of China, who built the Great Wall of China after uninting all of China into one Empire.]
in-f×ckin-deed...
The Pope didn't care about the Crusaders, since if he DID NOT order the Crusades THEY would sack Rome AGAIN!
The Normans in Italy actually sacked Rome in 1060. So he sent them to the 'holy' land
You see what you want to see.
What a wonderful story.
Wonderful and true (pretty sad also...).
Seriet Lereiyd :/ Yeah, it is.
Seriet Lereiyd there's nothing true about this story, are you serious?
Uberbabies It's about the Crusades (when the Christians invaded Jerusalem)
MadBull that doesn't sound very christian of them.
Voltaire has a lot of amazing songs, but I will admit, this one is my favourite.
*Comes to comment section*
*Sees people shouting DEUS VULT*
I didn't realize it was possible to miss the point of a song so hard. This goes beyond missing the anti-war subtext, this is just missing the anti-crusade surface text.
This song gave me goosebumps I love it
+Cody Hagan Me too, there is a powerful message in the song
I actually studied the 1st Crusade. And this song came on while I was writing my paper on it, and now I feel like crying.
Why have I not heard this until now, it is totally awsome
This song is sad and tragic and filled with regret. It makes me cry.
Man, if you understand the meaning behind many songs of Voltaire, a lot of them are really sad...
Usually I listen to music to feel better, but now I'm just depressed...
There are happier Voltaire songs. Like Headless Waltz! Wait, no, that’s about revolution and war. How about Almost Human? No, no... that’s about bullying. Well, Cannibal Buffet couldn’t be too bad. Unless if it’s about the consumption of human flesh.
There are happier Voltaire songs. Like Headless Waltz! Wait, no, that’s about revolution and war. How about Almost Human? No, no... that’s about bullying. Well, Cannibal Buffet couldn’t be too bad. Unless if it’s about the consumption of human flesh.
Adjective Noun Number Hit the nail right on the head lmao
I imagine that the "dragon" the singer fought was actually a Viking warlord. It would make sense with the theme of the song, the time frame fits, and Vikings were frequently characterized by contemporaries as being like dragons.
Or maybe it was a dragon...
Or if you listened to the REST of the lyrics and the title, you would realize this is about the Crusades...
And there can't be dragons during the crusade?
Canyon Lynn There were no dragons in the crusades, no.
Because you were there? But honestly why can't dragons exist in a song?
So basically war, war never changes
Ezra Rhoads It only changes with rocket hands.
war always changes, more people die consecutively
+pheonix crewofnightcreatures war, war has changed.
+Generall D.E.M. Or has it?
Wait, which is correct? Fallout says that war never changes, but metal gear says that war has changed.
"This Dragon is just misunderstood! It just needs some Tender loving- *Gets face burned* NO No this is not a friendly dragon we should probably run."
Its not about Dragons....
Haradion Drogon I know, it's called a Joke.
***** What's a joke?
***** Knock Knock
Who's there o.o
I'm a Catholic and I can still real enjoy this wondrous piece of music by one of the best artists of our time.
This comment is where the war starts
No matter how many times I listen to this I still cry when the singer hears the baby dragons and the end whenever the son leaves to war. The music is so beautiful and story is so sad, I love it so much!!!!
I love this song, it means so much to me. It represents everything I believe, and it is just a fantastic song overall. Thanks for uploading!
Don't scroll down.. It's a war
Thanks for Posting this. I love this song, it means alot to me.
Don't scroll down, it's a war
and that is the reason i scrolled down *scrolls down* nope waaaaay to long
*scrolls down* Nooope nope nope so much nope
Liam Fitzsimons lol, my exact reaction XD
It's relatively not terrible by comparison to what one would find in a gregorian chant or so... Yet it's still pretty bad.
Wow, you're right!
It's almost like a....
"Puts on sunglasses"
...Crusade
YYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
The message of this song is just so intense and true.
It's hilarious that there are so many comments about how there are so many comments about religion that you can't even see the ones that are about religion
+Alex Dagos
The shown comments keep shifting, so many people that comment are actually referring to comments that are now (thankfully) below the bottom of the screen.
God this reminds me of Loki so much.
James Moriarty same
Just saw Dr. Peterson talk about some Christian icon of Saint George slaying the dragon but instead of the dragon, it was a Muslim soldier. Instantly reminded me of this song.
Sir, or madam, you are amazing. You summarized this better than I could have, thank you .
The tears in that last line. Oh this is sad, the son could misinterpret his meaning so easily.
this is poetry, can't believe ive never heard this guy
I would think that this song means this... Yes, this was about the crusades(duh) and that the one who went off to fight, did not heed what his father said. After he had slain the "dragon." The first knight felt a sense of guilt when the child came to cling his fathers corpse, (and so he had to live with the greif and carry that in his mind). And so the first knight, tells his son, hoping that he listens, to know his enemy, so that he doesn't go through the same pain as the first knight. As confusing as this paragraph is constructed, this is my opinion.
wow this song is a tragedy
Keep in mind the grandfather told the same thing to the father
This song touches the same emotional cord for me as Sting's lyric "I hope the Russians love their children too"
Now that's just wrong. I'm atheist but I don't care if a man is Jewish or Muslim. As long as they never wronged anyone in any way
That's the point of the song, pointing out the propaganda and hate used in the old Cruasades in the Middle East, and how it correlates to (a degree) many conflicts throughout history, all showing a common theme of prejudices, and occasionally religion.
everyone has wronged someone in some way or another it might not seem significant to either party but the only way you could live a life without at least offending a few people is to be completely deprived of human contact.
well when you are born your mother is in pain so you are doing a bad deed. hurting your mum.
I'm a Christian
and I love this song.
It makes a good point and teaches history. Just because it was a bad thing that happened doesn't mean that we should deny it.
This song has been too real lately...
It would have been to real about a thousand years ago. History truely does repeat Itself if we don't heed it.
Support Transhumanism and Atheism!
+Christian Dauz Neither are inherently "good". Some people will kill over any difference in beliefs. I'm not going to say Christianity is inherently good, however. Like every group, it's a story of best intentions that eventually devolve into pointless violence. Christians have simply been around long enough for it to loop back to (relative) sanity. On the subject of Transhumanism, I think that humans can be improved, but that it won't resolve all of our problems.
Heruru Meruru fucking true
Johannes Simola You see, that's the problem. Humanity "evolving" means nothing more than that we are better at surviving. And survival is pretty much 50% luck to begin with. If a gamma ray burst hit the planet right now and killed every eukaryote on the surface, did all of those organisms "deserve" to die? No. Organisms go extinct either when they don't have their own niche to fill, or when their niche disappears. Also, I must point out that humans *have* evolved to a ridiculous level, albeit through technology rather than genetics. We have literally broken evolution by creating our own niches where previously we couldn't survive at all. And one last thing; might doesn't make right or wrong, it just leaves you alive to dictate the difference.
Thanks for uploading!!! Voltaire is the best :D
So slaying dragons is ok but not humans? Racism. I'm so outraged that I will play Skyrim.
XD
bah i'm going to play warhammer 40k because i'm so outraged
Just get the Paarthunax Dilemma.
Besides that, it's ruled out as self-defense.
Paarthurnax would strongly suggest you go find your daughters, dear Adventurer.
The message isn't that you shouldn't kill humans, It's that you should understand why they fight and not dehumanize them just because it makes them easier to kill.
ira
voltaire is so brilliant to create this song even me a christian love it
Holy shit, that guy is awesome
I've lived my life as a Christian, I have always been taught that no one was below me and that I should treat everyone with respect that they deserve. When I have attempted to judge others I have been wrong. It is not the right of anyone to pass judgement on another. I can respect the views of others and will never try to force my views on them but all I have ever asked from an athiest(and rarely recieved) was the mutual respect that I have given.
I fully understand the meaning of the story....and I'm 20...and I'm crying don't judge me
He's just summing up the song like a legend. It's pretty good actually
Long ago i went to war
To fight the scurge of Free-he-dom
I held aloft my Thompson gun
And said by God let them come
They said their hearts are black as pitch
I heard it told from hell they came
Their guns spit fire
Their tanks are forged
Thus are the men of Ger-man-y
*chorus*
The fates were kind they let me join
To go to france, to end their reign
I placed my knife upon his throat
And with a shout i thrusted in
The hun he fell upon the ground
Twas then i heard a wimpring sound
A young boy to his father clung
Who only fought to protect his son
*chorus*
And now my son is off to war
To fight the new scurge of Free-he-dom
He holds aloft his M-16 and says
"Dad, let them come!"
Not bad.
hahahaha
good but true
I wasn't aware the Germans were protecting their French children during WW2.
In truth some are, during the occupation some Germans soldiers married and had children with french woman's, if I remember well Germany even made a project to protect those marriages, I don't remember very well.
good God I love the music (and the meaning) of this song.
"The rewards of tolerance are treachery and betrayal. The bloody work is its own reward."
Simple curiosity, whose quote is this ?
Catimini's Covers
It's from Warhammer 40 000 3rd edition rulebook.
Kharmazov Oh okay. Thanks !
Catimini's Covers
You're welcome.
^
I approve of these shenanigans.Good work
I'm genuinely curious. Do you believe this song is about the extinction of dragons AND religion or do you believe it is based on religion with dragons only used as a metaphor/symbol.
Reply and tell me why.
+awesomesauce980 ...
Dragons don't exist. They were never driven extinct. The dragon is a metaphor for how the Crusaders considered the Muslims that they killed to be less than human, monsters. Just like they considered Jews to be child-eating, and Pagans to be devil-worshipping.
+Ezra Block Actually I think this is the point of view of the Jews. He says he went to fight Christendom, and then his son goes to fight the NEW scourge of Christendom, and then you hear the line "thus are the men of Muslim faith." Both Jews and Christians during the times of the crusade would call people who believed differently from them "dragon."
Ezra Block
I figured but I've seen a few comments who thought it was about actual dragons.
+awesomesauce980 Well dragons did exist. It's not really that far-fetched to believe that dragons existed. So it could be used as being literally dragon extinction, religion, and a metaphor/symbol.
Shadic Nazo What scientific evidence is there that dragons existed?
I like the idea that there wasnt any real dragon, that their real enemy were humans that they've dehumanized to the point that they've become unholy, fiery "dragons" in the Crusaders' eyes.
It's just that the father (the one whose perspective we follow throughout the song) comes to realize that he was wrong about the "dragons" which is why in the second part (the part that mirrors the first verse), he speaks of them not as dragons anymore but as who they actually are -- Muslims. Years after his realization, he sees his old, ignorant self in his son, who now goes off to fight in the same war with the same ideals and beliefs. The father no longer sees the sword as "blessed", instead he describes the sword that his son holds aloft as "brazen", and he advises his son with the same advice his own father gave him long ago.
But anway, who knows what Voltaire really meant with this song ;)
Not to be that guy, but... "Their tongues are FORKED"
shut up.
Ho sentito le parole dei miei padri nel profondo del mio cuore
Figlio, conosci il tuo nemico come conosco mio figlio
E ora mio figlio è in guerra
Per combattere il nuovo flagello della cristianità
Egli tiene in alto la spada di bronzo
E dice: "Papà, lasciateli venire!"
Epic song! XD
I just, im sorry this is out of context but that sharp wit made my day. :)
Damn it, stop talking about religion and enjoy the music!
The only reason people are talking about religion is because the songs actually meaning has to do with the crusades of the Middle Ages, and how a knight of the first crusade realized how wrong he was for doing said crusade, and tried to prevent it from happening again
This man is brilliant. Everybody should listen to this song.
They spoke English in the crusades?
English and French
@InquisitorxSmith At the end of the song that's what's implied. The son mistakes his father's words who tells him to "know his enemy". What his father meant was to know if they were his enemy or not, but he didn't understand that meaning. That's my interpretation of the song, at least.
I came here to listen to a good song, not arguments about religion!
The first time I heard this song I cried. This is really sad, but the meaning is strong and powerful. I LOVE this song!!!!!!!
I'm listening to this song the hundredth time while doing other stuff and just realised that it can have dual meanig.
The "scourge of christendom" can mean both the scaourge against christendom or scourge that is christendom. "Thus are the men of Muslim faith" indicates the Muslim men are as described, said in the voice of the child, but it can also be interpreted as thus speak the Muslim men, spoken by the father, being Muslim himself and watching the new generation grow with hate..
With the alternate interpretation, title means either:
Holy wars in general
the response to crusades
In both cases, a tragic song.
thats beautiful man thats really nice
A sabaton cover of this would be amazing.
Joakim's powerful voice would certainly do this song justice
Wow this is a really good music! I love Voltaire!
The comments are particularly caustic today . . .
At the end of the song, after he said his son to know his enemies as he would let them know his son, in the instrumental part, I saw a flashback of the knight, now king, kneelt and crying before the corpse of both the Dragon an the dragonling, because for his ignorance two innocent beast, maybe the last ones on the Earth, died. (For me, he thought that killing the dragonling would be a mercy because of he let it live, humans would make it a weapon of War or torture it now that it didn't have its farther or mother to protect it)
I'm just here for a crusade.
Next time I guess I'll research my words before I use them incorrectly. I go through the comments and feel bad for what I've started XD Thanks for the correction, I felt a bit silly realizing that .-.
to all religious debates back 1500-2500 years ago in the Jewish religion "Christ" was a title like "bishop", "priest", "father" ect, and the name Jesus was very common back 2000 years ago it was the equivalent of the name "John" today so saying there was a Jesus Christ was not so rare back then due to it's mistranslated and interpretation into the European languages from the Hebrew and Latin there was back then
it saddens me to think of all those that had died due to this misleading cause that will only lead to failure there is no honor, redemption, dignity, or savior from these horrors *sigh*
-_-
I think it's funny that the bible didn't even get the name right, as it was originally pronounced Joshua. I wonder what else was different in the original.
well many things got lost between the nobles changing the wording for their preference, also due to translating it from Hebrew, to Latin, to Italian to English and what ever other languages they had before Hebrew way back in Baghdad and Isreal all 2200-3000 years ago where it all started
First off: Christ is the closest way to pronounce the Greek translation of either a Hebrew or Syriac word meaning Messiah. Secondly: Yasooa is more correct than Joshua. And finally: The Bible didn't get the name right as it was originally written in Aramaic, then Hebrew, then Arabic (as they are all Semitic languages and sound similar) and was only then translated to Latin, then English. It was the Romans or Byzantines who translated Yassoa to the next closest thing they could pronounce, namely, Jesus.
still doesn't take into account that for about 3000 years only nobles and priests knew how to read and write and they could "bend" the meanings and stories in the book however they pleased
Dronoclus Corleone Why so cynical? Can't you assume that there are some honorable people or some untouched Bibles?
So, we had a project for english class where we had to create our own utopian city and blah blah blah....we forgot we needed a national anthem, so I hastily wrote down the lyrics to this song and gave it to my other group members. They didn't really read it and didn't really care since we didn't want it to be late, so this was our national anthem. Then we found out we needed to sing it (To be specific, -I- had to sing it after they actually read it). We got an A. :)
Deus Vult.
That's one of the problems today. Many don't want to admit that their country, religion, beliefs, etc. engaged in negative actions, so they just don't teach it - as if denying it ever happened will erase it from history. Better to admit and take responsibility for past actions so that future generations will learn from our mistakes.
DEUS VULT
Praise the Emperor and Holy Terra
Hey, genuinely curious- did you watch the video before leaving this comment? And if so, why? It seems like you missed the point of the song really hard.
...I suppose it is a joke, but I'm just curious... are people actually thinking that dragons of the first verse are "dragons"? How I interpreted was, that the father romantises his battle and thus the enemies are percieved as dragon. Than he realises the truth, which explains the change in lyrics. In the first chorus the lyrics are delusional, and the second chorus reveals the truth.
blessed goes to brazen as the weapon isn't a mean for justice,
by god becomes Dad, overturning heroic pledge and uncovering naivity of the child soldier,
the beasts of dragon's gate becomes men of muslim faith, as the beasts has been men all along, and at last the father came to his senses.
The ending shows he's deep understanding of humanity.
It is not as I know my son, but As I'd have "them" know my son: it is not only about understanding them, but them understanding the child as well.
The corrospondent will of 3 fathers further enrich the lyrics. The father of the crusader, wanting his son to either be spared of death or guilt, the "dragon" or the muslim father trying to protect his child, and the crusader hoping to save his boy from both death and sin. This give depth to the sympathy towards both crusader and the dragon, as pity for the dragon transfers to the crusader, and empathy for the narrating figure transfers to his victim.
Whether the dragon is a literal dragon or not I suppose wouldn't be certain, but its representation is the same: the dragon is a monster and a threat, however even monsters have their reasons to fight - whether it be survival of themselves or their family.
During the crusade the father warns his son that just as dragons have their reasons, so do the muslims.
@pulse0fmagg0ts it is basically talking about how so many wars are fought in the name of this or that god, but that they are so pointless and wrong. At the end when it says "son know your enemy as i would have them know my son" hes saying that the enemy is really not bad and is fighting for the same reasons as you, if you got to know them you would see that you should not fight, and he would have them know his son so that they could not kill eachother and realize whats really going on.
Actual moral of the song: Dont kill cool dragons, kill zealous degenerate non-lifeforms to purify the biosphere of parasites (and teach kids to demand cold hard physical evidence for claims instead of giving them poetic yet insanely vague in function morals).
...Something that is not a lifeform cannot be killed. That is tautologically impossible.
I'm Christian, but this song totally speaks to me. There's too much fanatism and misunderstanding of the other in that world...
Scourge of Christendom? Shame you didn't win and destroy that taint.
Jews were considered the Scourge of Christendom longer than Dragons or Muslim
Perhaps you want to destroy them as well?
***** Well, they were founded by a guy who raped his slave and let his imaginary friend tell him to mutilate his dick and give up bacon.... Screw Christards, they are a taint.
***** No, Muslims have never bothered me and I don't have to worry about dragons do long as I don't piss off Khaleesi.
Most Voltaire songs are played with the guitar tuned down a whole step and usually have Em and Am chords
i agree with you, no one is able to say to another what is right or wrong, only the person himself know for sure what makes all sense
Such a beautiful song... I actually cried to this...
the king of guitar
Always glad to be of service.
Yep you're right, rites is a word. Rites is usually used in references to something spiritual, like the last rites. :)