Excelsis

Song Meaning

The lyrics of "Excelsis" present a stark, almost fatalistic, invitation to embrace an inevitable end. The opening lines offer a sense of closure, proclaiming the "end of your penitence" and "sadness and pain," suggesting a release from suffering and a "return to your innocence." This initial framing, however, is immediately undercut by the pre-chorus, which states plainly, "Everybody leaves one day" and "You will too, I will too." This creates a powerful tension between the promise of peace and the certainty of separation. The central emotional conflict arises from this juxtaposition. The narrator extends an offer to journey "to the rainbow's end" and "the Holy Land," a place of ultimate destination or salvation. Yet, this invitation is framed by the inescapable reality of universal departure and the shared fate of "you will too, I will too." The repeated "Excel (Ah)" in the chorus, while seemingly aspirational, takes on a more somber tone when paired with the impending end, perhaps suggesting a final, desperate push or a resigned acceptance of a grand finale. The bridge introduces a powerful, destructive image: "As levees are breaking / A flood comes / Washes away all the rubble / Past indiscretions and stalemates." This imagery suggests a cataclysmic event that purges the past, clearing the way for whatever comes next. The line "We are all sailing to the gates" reinforces the idea of a collective, unavoidable passage. The lyrics don't shy away from the fear, as the outro admits, "I am afraid of eternity too," directly confronting the dread that accompanies such a profound and final transition. What makes these lyrics so impactful is their unflinching gaze at mortality and the end of things. The direct, almost blunt pronouncements about leaving and going away, combined with the grand, almost religious imagery of the "Holy Land" and "rainbow's end," create a unique blend of the sacred and the secular, the hopeful and the terrifying. The repetition of "You will too, I will too" acts as a shared lament, binding the listener to the narrator's own apprehension in the face of the ultimate "end of the avenue."