The Sorrow of Rimmon

Song Meaning

The narrator is drowning in a profound sense of loss, so much so that they seek out a specific, almost ritualistic experience: "the sorrow of Rimmon." This isn't just sadness; it's a chosen immersion in a particular kind of grief, a place where they can barely function, gasping for air without the presence of a lost loved one. The immediate feeling is one of overwhelming dependency and a desperate need for solace. This despair is framed against a backdrop of forgotten love and decay. The imagery of "old bones scattered round these stones" suggests a place where past affections have long since withered, becoming part of the landscape. It’s a stark contrast to the narrator’s own fervent plea for connection, highlighting the isolation of their present pain. The chorus, a direct, almost childlike appeal – "Find me, hold me, call me" – underscores the raw vulnerability and the yearning for rescue from this emotional wasteland. The bridge introduces a dramatic, almost cosmic plea. The narrator implores "lovers" and even "nature" to intervene, to have "mercy on the heart, breaking slowly." This section reveals the root of the sorrow: "Love destroyed by jealous wishes." It’s a powerful image of passion undone by internal conflict or external envy, a wound that festers and repeats, becoming the titular "sorrow of Rimmon." The final verses offer a complex resolution, or perhaps a path toward one. The narrator grapples with the idea of true love requiring release, suggesting that to "truly love" means to "set them free / And lose this time around." This implies a profound understanding that holding on, even to a memory, perpetuates the sorrow. The call to not "divide / Allot or partition / That which is unified / Beyond this world" hints at a spiritual or eternal connection that transcends earthly loss, suggesting that true love’s essence cannot be broken, only its earthly manifestation. The effectiveness of these lyrics lies in their raw emotional honesty and the stark, almost biblical imagery. The contrast between the personal, desperate pleas and the grand, almost elemental appeals in the bridge creates a powerful sense of scale for the narrator's grief. The repetition of "the sorrow of Rimmon" acts as a refrain, cementing the idea that this is not just a passing sadness but a defining, almost chosen state of being, born from the destructive force of jealousy.