Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a quest into a hidden, almost mythical realm, seeking out "hidden folk." The initial encounter is transactional: the narrator is given "arms and riches" and witnesses a strange act of cutting "gold threads with their teeth." This sets up a nocturnal ritual, a nightly visit where the narrator is offered drinks, daring to "drink deep." The core of the song lies in the disorienting consequence of this act. Time warps dramatically, with "thousands of years" passing in what felt like a single night, and "thousands of tears" mistaken for a mere sip. The narrator's physical form deteriorates, "eyes sunk" and "skin began to fade," suggesting a profound, perhaps destructive, transformation brought on by this deep drinking. The most striking revelation comes in the third verse: the source of the drink is not external but internal. The "thread they spun" is described as a woman's hair, and the "cup they brought near" is revealed to be filled with the narrator's own essence. This twist transforms the act from receiving something external to a form of self-consumption or self-destruction, a realization that the "drink" was ultimately "made of me." This self-consumption, even after the horrifying realization, is what makes the lyrics so potent. The repeated insistence on continuing to "drink deep" despite the physical decay and temporal distortion highlights a complex, perhaps compulsive, engagement with an ultimately self-destructive force. It's a haunting portrayal of being drawn into something that depletes you, even as you are the source of its power.