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about

This song is about perseverance and resolve. It’s one of the more straightforward tracks on the record. In the midst of his motivational rut, the protagonist remembers the reason he set out on his quest, and pushes harder than ever before to break through the apathy that has enveloped him (“I’m so tired of sleeping and sick-to-death of this illness”).


In the chorus he tells the listener that “Vitality is gone from me, my apathy a eulogy that reads: ‘Here lies a tragedy, a hollow shell of what was me.’” He sees himself as a “Skeleton of [his] former self and [he] can see that [he] lack[s] a spine.” After he becomes aware of how far he has fallen and how close he was to giving up on his quest, he redoubles his efforts and forces himself out of the slump into which he has fallen (“I fear there is no cure for this lethargy-wrapped narcotic bliss, no shock that can awaken me, no force to break this apathy. Wake me up!...”).


Much like track 4, “Vitality” has elements of both hope and despair and it seems to teeter back and forth between the two. This is in an attempt to mimic the real-life thought processes that surround emotions like apathy, resolve, etc. as they are almost never black-and-white matters.


With his purpose revitalized and his strength restored, he prepares to finish his quest and finally arrive at the fabled Castle in the Clouds.

lyrics

I’m so tired of sleeping and sick-to-death of this illness and
Each day I can feel as the stronghold of my mind

Slips out of focus, away from these dreams
Heart beaten down, torn at the seams

This can't be the end of everything that I've done
All the darkness in this world could never block out the sun
There’s no evil that surrounds us that can outweigh the good
Bound by the light, lifted up from the ground where we stood

Vitality is gone from me, my apathy a eulogy,
That reads: “here lies a tragedy,
A hollow shell of what was me”

You’re a skeleton of your former self, and I can see that you lack a spine.

I fear there is no cure for this
Lethargy-wrapped narcotic bliss
No shock that can awaken me
No force to break this apathy

Wake me up, wake me up, I'm far too dead to die
I can't remember how long it's been since I last saw sunlight
Wake me up, wake me up, I'm far too dead to die
I can't remember how long it’s been since I saw any light

Vitality is gone from me,
My apathy a eulogy
That reads: “here lies a tragedy,
A hollow shell of what was me.”

Restore to me vitality

credits

from Castle in the Clouds, released July 9, 2015

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