Scapegoat

Song Meaning

The narrator feels an overwhelming urge to escape, confessing a desire to "run too far away from home" and "cross the sea alone." This flight seems driven by a profound sense of inherited or collective sorrow, as they perceive "the lord's been crying / Too many years." There's a palpable weight of this divine distress that compels the narrator towards self-imposed exile. This internal conflict crystallizes around the idea of taking on others' burdens. The narrator states, "I will walk away for them / I see their thoughts in me again," suggesting a deep empathy or perhaps a psychic connection that forces them to internalize the pain of others. This leads to a pivotal realization: "Cos' I can take this blame on me now." This isn't just about empathy; it's about accepting responsibility, becoming a "scapegoat" to alleviate a perceived cosmic or communal suffering. The most striking aspect of the lyrics is the questioning of the divine source of this pain. The narrator asks, "Is my lord really crying / This long time for me?" This doubt introduces a layer of existential uncertainty, challenging the very foundation of the suffering they feel compelled to absorb. The repetition of "For me again" underscores a cyclical, perhaps even self-inflicted, pattern of taking on this blame. Ultimately, the power of these lyrics lies in their raw portrayal of a soul wrestling with immense, almost cosmic, guilt and sorrow. The narrator’s willingness to "dream this dream again" and "take this blame" suggests a complex mixture of resignation, sacrifice, and a desperate attempt to find meaning or resolution through self-abnegation, even while questioning the legitimacy of the suffering itself.