Thrice › A Subtle Dagger Guitar Tab

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A Subtle Dagger Tab

Send "A Subtle Dagger" Ringtone to your Cell Phone

Eb Tuning - Strings are (Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, eb)

... - palm mute
h   - hammer on
p   - pull off
~   - let ring out
^   - bend
/   - slide up
   - slide down

7x
7x  -  mute strings after strum
5x

------------------
 GUITAR ONE PARTS
------------------
Intro: (2x)
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|----------------8---------------8---5-------------------8-----8-----5------|
A|------------0h5---7---------------7---7-------------0h5---7----------------|
E|0--0-0-0--0---------0--0-0-0--0---------0--0-0-0--0---------0---0-0---0-6-5|
  ...........         ...........         ...........         .   ...   .....

Verse: (2x)
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|----------------8---------------8---5-------------------8-----8-----5------|
A|------------0h5---7---------------7---7-------------0h5---7----------------|
E|-0-0-0-0-0-----------0-0-0-0-0-----------0-0-0-0-0----------0---0-0---0-6-5|
   .........           .........           .........          .   ...   .....

Chorus: (2x)
e|---------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------|
G|-12>>--11--12>>>>--11-12-12-16--14-14-16--14-|
D|--x-----x---x-------x--x--x--x---x--x--x---x-|
A|-10>>---9--10>>>>---9-10-10-14--12-12-14--12-|
E|---------------------------------------------|

Repeat Verse (2x)

Repeat Chorus (1x)

2nd Chorus Cont'd:
e|--------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------------------|
G|-12>>--11--12>>>>--11-12-12-16--10-10-10-10-10-10-|
D|--x-----x---x-------x--x--x--x---x--x--x--x--x--x-|
A|-10>>---9--10>>>>---9-10-10-14---8--8--8--8--8--8-|
E|--------------------------------------------------|

Interlude:
e|-0~--------4---------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-0~----4h5----6-5-5h6-5----------------------------------------------------|
G|-1~---------------------4-4h5~---4h5-5--4-4h5-4-2-1~---1h2p1...(read-below)|
D|-2~------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-2~------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-0~------------------------------------------------------------------------|

...this part is really fast and extremely
   hard to hear, so here's the notes in
   the scale, just go off with really fast
   hammer ons and pull offs, and then somehow 
e|--------------------------------------|-end-up-on-this--------------|
B|-------------------notes-in-scale-----|-----------------------------|
G|-2-1----------------of-crazy-hard-----|-----------------------------|
D|-----3-2-0------------solo-part-------|-----------------------------|
A|-----------3-2-0----------------------|-----------------------------|
E|-----------------4-1-0----------------|--------4/5----4-5-5/7---7/8-|

Really Fast Interlude Part: (4x)
e|-16-13----13--------------------------|
B|-------15----15-12-15-12----12--------|
G|-------------------------13-----13-10-|
D|--------------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------|

Build Up: (listen for triplets)
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------0-0-0-0-0-|
A|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-----------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
   .........................................................................

e|-------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------------------------------------|
D|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0---0-1-0---0-1-0---0-1-0---0-|
A|---------------------------2-------2-------2-------2---|
E|-------------------------------------------------------|
   .....................................................

Cool Part:
e|---------------------6^------6^--|
B|---------------------5^------5^--|
G|-----3---3-3-3-3-----------------|
D|-----2---2-2-2-2-----------------|
A|---------------------------------|
E|-0-0---0---------0-0-----0-0-----|
   ...   .         ...     ...

Ending:
e|----6^-----6^-----6^-----6^------------------------------------------------|
B|----5^-----5^-----5^-----5^------------------------------------------------|
G|----------------------------15-15-15-15-14-14-14-14-15-15-15-15-14-14-14-14|
D|-----------------------------x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x|
A|----------------------------13-13-13-13-12-12-12-12-13-13-13-13-12-12-12-12|
E|0-0----0-0----0-0----0-0---------------------------------------------------|
  ...    ...    ...    ...

e|----6^-----6^-----6^-----6^------------------------------------------------|
B|----5^-----5^-----5^-----5^------------------------------------------------|
G|----------------------------15-15-15-15-14-14-14-14-18-18-18-18-17-17-17-17|
D|-----------------------------x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x|
A|----------------------------13-13-13-13-12-12-12-12-16-16-16-16-15-15-15-15|
E|0-0----0-0----0-0----0-0---------------------------------------------------|
  ...    ...    ...    ...

e|----6^-----6^-----6^-----6^------------------------------------------------|
B|----5^-----5^-----5^-----5^------------------------------------------------|
G|----------------------------15-15-15-15-14-14-14-14-15-15-15-15-14-14-14-14|
D|-----------------------------x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x|
A|----------------------------13-13-13-13-12-12-12-12-13-13-13-13-12-12-12-12|
E|0-0----0-0----0-0----0-0---------------------------------------------------|
  ...    ...    ...    ...

------------------
 GUITAR TWO PARTS
------------------
Intro: (2x)
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|----------------8---------------8---5-------------------8-----8-----5------|
A|------------0h5---7---------------7---7-------------0h5---7----------------|
E|0--0-0-0--0---------0--0-0-0--0---------0--0-0-0--0---------0---0-0---0-6-5|
  ...........         ...........         ...........         .   ...   .....

Verse: (2x)
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-2-2-2-2-2x-------2-2-2-2-2x-------2-2-2-2-2x-------2-2-2-2-2x--2-2-2-2-2x-|
E|-0-0-0-0-0x-------0-0-0-0-0x-------0-0-0-0-0x-------0-0-0-0-0x--0-0-0-0-0x-|

Chorus: (2x)
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-2-2-2-2-2-|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-2-2-2-2-2-|
A|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-0-0-0-0-0-|
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-------------------------------------------|

e|-------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------|
G|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-----------------4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
A|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
E|-----------------------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-----------------|

Repeat Verse (2x)

Repeat Chorus (1x)

2nd Chorus Cont'd:
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-2-2-2-2-2-|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-2-2-2-2-2-|
A|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-0-0-0-0-0-|
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-------------------------------------------|

e|-------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------|
G|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2---------------------------------|
D|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|
A|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-|
E|-----------------------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-|

Interlude:
e|--------------------0~------------------0~--|
B|--------------------0~------------------0~--|
G|--------------------2~------------------2~--|
D|-2~-----------------3~--------2~--------3~--|
A|-2~--------2--2--2--3~--------2~--------3~--|
E|-0~--------0--0--0------------0~------------|
             .......

Really Fast Interlude Part:
e|---------------------------|
B|---------------------------|
G|---------------------------|
D|-2x--------3x--------2~----|
A|-2x--------3x--------2~----|
E|-0x--------1x--------0~----|

Build Up: (4x) (play really fast)
e|--------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------------------|
D|--------------------------------------------------|
A|-2--2--2--2--2--2--2--2--2--2-2-2--2--2--2-2-2--2-|
E|-0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0-0-0--0--0--0-0-0--0-|
   ................................................

Cool Part: Only Guitar One Plays

End:
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------12-12-12-12-11-11-11-11-12-12-12-12-11-11-11-11---|
D|--------------------------x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x---|
A|-2-2---2-2---2-2---2-2---10-10-10-10--9--9--9--9-10-10-10-10--9--9--9--9---|
E|-0-0---0-0---0-0---0-0-----------------------------------------------------|
   .....................

e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------12-12-12-12-11-11-11-11-15-15-15-15-14-14-14-14---|
D|--------------------------x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x---|
A|-2-2---2-2---2-2---2-2---10-10-10-10--9--9--9--9-13-13-13-13-12-12-12-12---|
E|-0-0---0-0---0-0---0-0-----------------------------------------------------|
   .....................

e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------12-12-12-12-11-11-11-11-12-12-12-12-11-11-11-11---|
D|--------------------------x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x---|
A|-2-2---2-2---2-2---2-2---10-10-10-10--9--9--9--9-10-10-10-10--9--9--9--9---|
E|-0-0---0-0---0-0---0-0-----------------------------------------------------|
   .....................

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A Subtle Dagger Tab

Send "A Subtle Dagger" Ringtone to your Cell Phone

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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture mat Wanna Be	#1 by mat bar at Jun 23, 1970 at 3:26 AM EST
	Ok I know that people get upset when people call Thrice a Christian band, and I know that they've denied that they are, so we'll leave it at that. I also understand that songs can have multiple meanings, so please don't bitch at me because you are close minded to what I see in this song. To me, this song is solely about sin, and how it can pervert the way that we live our lives. The song also hints towards the fact that everything in life points towards the fact that there is a God. I see this song as pointing out the way that society is so quick to follow a path that so obviously will end in ruin.

No Picture Joonas Wanna Be	#2 by Joonas Luukkainen at Oct 28, 1970 at 7:45 PM EST
	yeah I agree, Thrice are much more intelligent then those dumbasses who think that Anarchy is such a great idea. Take it from Unquestioned Answers "and all those who rebel, just to raise up some hell, tell me what were you hoping to gain". They may not be a Christian band but I think that DarkSkiesAhead and cerulean_caelum are much closer then anything about government bashing.

No Picture alex Average	#3 by alex at Sep 22, 1971 at 5:52 PM EST
	Ok I know that people get upset when people call Thrice a Christian band, and I know that they've denied that they are, so we'll leave it at that. I also understand that songs can have multiple meanings, so please don't bitch at me because you are close minded to what I see in this song. To me, this song is solely about sin, and how it can pervert the way that we live our lives. The song also hints towards the fact that everything in life points towards the fact that there is a God. I see this song as pointing out the way that society is so quick to follow a path that so obviously will end in ruin.

No Picture nick Wanna Be	#4 by nick at Jun 23, 1972 at 7:53 PM EST
	See, what pisses me off about this song is... Dustin is obviously referring to the "design" of the universe by God. It is pretty useless to deny that. But what he does is he tries to convey the idea that everyone is being led into some sort of athiestic mindset, that everything "points to design", yet "still our chests swell". But almost everyone I know is religious in some way... it is very rare to find a person who truly believes in no higher power that guides our actions. Yet this song is kind of complaining that the masses have followed this anti-God way of life. That's just not true, and if he is speaking of the fact that many people are still struggling with sin, than I will of course give him that. But to claim that there is some sort of minority of believers is ridiculous, and therefore renders this song fairly useless. However, it is written immensely well and the music is incredible, so I love it nonetheless. One last thing... he says "so we won't have to change the way we see, we live, we love, we die". He is acting like humans get some sick benefit out of not believing in God... I think that rather than being duped into NOT believing, many people just believe in God so they can be comfortable and never think things out for themselves. So this song could be used as an anti-religion song as well. I don't know, these lyrics just kind of confuse me.

No Picture Gabe Average	#5 by Gabe Hawkins at Apr 29, 1974 at 5:38 PM EST
	this song is pretty fuckin' tight...i have some idea (governent related...but then again, i think everything is about atrocities of the government) what it means but the only thrice knows what it means

No Picture bob Average	#6 by bob bob at Nov 6, 1979 at 3:47 AM EST
	I don't know about the lyrics. I'm not sure what kind of meaning they intended it to have when they wrote it. And that's fine with me. I'm know literary critic so I'm not going to carefully analyze their music for it's true meaning. Many of their lyrics do have obvious meanings that are something everyone can relate to, but I don't see the need to go through every song and search for the true meaning of it. Not that doing that is bad, but all I know is that Thrice fucking rocks and their style of lyrics is something unique to them. This is one of my favorite songs off of the cd.

No Picture chris the pirat Lead Player	#7 by chris the pirate. arr at Sep 9, 1980 at 7:51 AM EST
	i think the meaning of this song is pretty obvious.. but this song is fricking insane. and the lyrics are probably my favorite thrice lyrics.

No Picture Brett Professional	#8 by Brett Czap at May 31, 1981 at 5:20 AM EST
	this song reminds me so much of macbeth.

No Picture kyle Professional	#9 by kyle mcdonough at Jul 26, 1981 at 1:05 PM EST
	I always presumed some sort of loss of religion in "we implore empty skies." It's a confusing song, but it's amazing.

No Picture Chase Wanna Be	#10 by Chase Hendrix at Nov 7, 1981 at 11:22 AM EST
	great lyrics. this song kicks so much ass.

No Picture Justice Wanna Be	#11 by Justice Fish at Aug 11, 1982 at 12:12 PM EST
	"It infiltrates, insidious, it feints at love, betrays our trust in what we know, the truth we've found in all we've seen" (Cultural standards and popular thinking often tell us to deny our inner nature and the true nature of the world around us, by telling us to suppress our feelings and true thoughts for fear of being ostracized. It "infiltrates" because cultural brainwashing begins at day one, "insidious" because it never stops, and will continue to work against you even if you know it is happening. This brainwashing and suppression of our true selves "feints at love" by pretending that it is for our own good, then "betrays our trust in what we've learned, the truth we've found in all we've seen" once we realize how we've been programmed into a drone of society.) "Points to design, still our chests swell. We'll never find true answers from a wishing well." (The "design": all of our cultural and societal brainwashing claims that it benefits us because there is a "big picture" in which these widely-accepted ideas are important. "Points to design" could also mean that the indoctrination may have some ideas right (right as far as revealing truth), but doesn't follow them through. Often societal norms are only half-truths that point the way to higher ones.) Our "chests swell" because, as we learn these societal ideas that seem to be so important, we begin to feel enlightened by our "wisdom", when in fact all that is happening to us is conditioning as we begin to turn into a drone. "We'll never find true answers from a wishing well.": the wishing well represents apathy and lack of interest in actually finding truth and wisdom, and this line tells us that if we want to know answers and truth, we must work for it instead of lazily assuming that it will come in time, as is the popular belief.) "So feed us all another lie, to still our thoughts, appease our pride so we won’t have to change the way we see, we live, we love, we die." (People, especially large groups (i.e. society, organizations based on ideas), dislike learning that all they know and believe in is a lie. This is most always true in the case of religions and political beliefs, and also true for ideas such as "right and wrong". Often the mere suggestion of an alternative mode of thinking is enough to enrage these groups of people. People are stubborn to the point of stupidity, because they come to identify with their ideas personally instead of revising them when something obviously better comes along.) "Our lusts precede our blasphemy, our logic reads like notes from tainted autopsy." (Lusts...for the comfort of believing that we are right and others are wrong. We lust after that feeling of ideological security, even at the cost of never knowing the truth. "Logic reads...autopsy" says that we will willingly muddle our own logic in an attempt to justify unjustifiable ideas or the way we defend them. It says that people will go to great, irrational lengths to fight for their adopted causes, and this isn't a good thing.) "Our souls they speak of something more, but we can’t look beyond ourselves, we implore empty skies because our hearts hold room for no one else." ("Our souls...more" shows that we inherently realize that some of our culturally-implanted ideas and notions are wrong, and we know that there are better things out there. Unfortunately, the idea of solving problems alone is so deeply rooted in our psyches that we often refuse help from others, as is revealed in the line "but we can't look beyond ourselves". We create false gods that echo our beliefs, because this way we can feel ideological comfort and pretend that we are in the right ("we emplore empty skies because our hearts hold room for no one else".) Those words also seem to say that we can find god, or god-like qualities (i.e., knowledge and wisdom) in each other, but we refuse for the same reasons I previously stated. "We extend our claws to grasp at shadows of the ideals we have lost, casualties of a subtle dagger buried to the hilt in our heart, blood on our hands." (We finally realize that we are on the wrong path in all we believe, and we desperately "extend our claws" (try to stretch our minds to encompass new ways of thinking) to grasp for a different way of life, the one we might've had if not for our collective brainwashing at the hands of the tyrannical majority. "casualties of a subtle dagger buried to the hilt in our heart, blood on our hands" is the most chilling line of all. We are doomed in the end (if we realize our situation too late), because we have been ideologically and spiritually slain by the "subtle dagger" of the overbearing ideas of society. "Blood on our hands"...this is scary. We are all parts of society, and society wields the subtle dagger with which to deny our true selves...and the one most responsible for our spiritual death is ourselves. We have killed ourselves, so the blood is on our hands.) Feel free to disagree, and post your arguments here. Feel free to ask for clarification, as some of these things I've expressed are hard for me to put into words. I had fun doing this, and I hope you take the words of Thrice and I seriously, because they're true.

No Picture Bye! Average	#12 by Bye! at Sep 6, 1987 at 7:00 PM EST
	i don't think i ever said government. i said society. they are two different things you know, and like any good poetry, this can obviously be taken on more than level. and cerulean, think about this. What if the government could implant a radio into your mind, one that broadcasted their ideas in your own mental voice, so that you couldn't distinguish their ideas from your own. You wouldn't even know that they aren't even your ideas, and gradually you would come to believe them. Now, tell me that they haven't already done this. (I first heard that idea from a book called "The Illuminatus! Trilogy" by Robert Anton Shea, and you might like it.) And tell me NOW, that institutions like religions and goverment and society don't have the power to infiltrate your soul. "No man is an island..." so what makes you think that there is something inside of you that is untouchable. the enemy is inside ourselves? I don't think it was always there. I don't believe that people are naturally self-destructive or self-doubting. I think that prevalent culture poisons people that way, in effect creating an enemy inside of you. And, what may I ask is "so juvenile" about gov't bashing? Just because you disagree with a sentiment doesn't mean it's wrong or stupid or childish, does it? And if gov't bashing is juvenile, what's so wrong about stupid, low, childish things? What is wrong anyway? If any of you read this again, then please respond because I'd like to know what you think about this. and cerulean, i liked your analysis, but it didn't look deep enough. What does "being human" mean to you?

No Picture nick Wanna Be	#13 by nick at Jun 1, 1988 at 12:15 AM EST
	i think this song was probably written about society losing religious beliefs, but i do not believe in god, so whenever i listen to it i can easily apply it to the topic of government. it can be related to the fact that the government is feeding us all lies and working for its own economic benefit instead of for the good of the American people. XXX

No Picture metalis4ever Average	#14 by metalis4ever at Jan 2, 1989 at 1:05 AM EST
	Whether you like it or not, this song is about religion. Deal with it. The "subtle dagger" is human nature. It infiltrates, insidious --Human nature cuts in, subtly and harmful. It feints at love, betrays our trust In what we've known since we were born --It always seems that when we're being selfish, and going against God that things are going to be good for us (thus, temptations are often successful). But it is really working against us, and uprooting all of our must basic beliefs. The truth we've found in all we see Points to design Still our chests swell We'll never find true answers from a wishing well --Everything we see says "Hey, there's a God here," but we get too self-centered to want to admit that we're the lesser beings here. So feed us all another lie To still our thoughts, appease our pride So we won't have to change the way We see, we live, we love, we die --We continue to deciever ourselves to stop the thoughts of the possiblity of a supreme being, so we won't have to change the way we live our lives. Our lusts precede our blasphemy Our logic reads like notes from tainted autopsy --Our desires are predecesors to our sins, and our thoughts (of self-centered Godlessness) are wrong and completely illogical. Our souls they speak of something more But we can't look beyond ourselves --We inherently know there is a God, but we just can't get over the self-importance we have. We implore empty skies because Our hearts hold room for no one else --We hope the skies are empty (there is no God) because we're too infatuated with ourselves to love God. We extend our claws to grasp the shadows of the Ideals we have lost Casualty of a subtle dagger Buried to the hilt in our heart Blood on our hands --We try to regain the beliefs we once had, that we killed with our self-centered actions and thoughts, but we never quite grasp them again, attaining only "shadows" of what we had. And, the fault is our own. *Credit for this interpretation given to my girlfriend. Man, she rocks.

No Picture austin Lead Player	#15 by austin at May 3, 1990 at 6:44 PM EST
	right on tompson ( saviorcom[ples goes to school with me SO HA) i get to here his wqisdom al lthe time, ARNT YOU ALL JEALOUS

No Picture Roman Rhythm Player	#16 by Roman Malik at Jun 28, 1990 at 4:51 PM EST
	I guess anyone can get any kind of meaning out of something. But looking at every other songs Dustin ever wrote, you have to come to terms with the fact that your idol here is a devout christian. Anything else would be absurd, considering songs like this one, "To What End" "The Abolition of Man" and "A Torch To End All Torches". Not aimed at you specifically here, but there are just WAAAAY to many people here grasping desperately at straws, trying to fool themselves that Thrice are ahteist like them.

No Picture Nic Rhythm Player	#17 by Nic F at Aug 14, 1991 at 6:10 PM EST
	this song is pretty fuckin' tight...i have some idea (governent related...but then again, i think everything is about atrocities of the government) what it means but the only thrice knows what it means

No Picture tim Average	#18 by tim martin at Jan 6, 1995 at 2:49 PM EST
	(i know the band isn't a christian band, but i understand that dustin is, and since he writes the lyrics i'm going off of what i see in them) i think he's talking about worldy ideas that deny God (i.e. evolution) and how they slowly seep into our minds and "rule out" the thought of God to the point that we eventually deny his existance.

No Picture David Rhythm Player	#19 by David Bradley at Jul 16, 1995 at 2:15 AM EST
	i agree with XunspokenlullabyX. anti-government lyrics is a bit too juvenile for thrice. at the beginning it does sound like that, but the ending... Our souls they speak of something more, but we can’t look beyond ourselves, we implore empty skies because our hearts hold room for no one else. We extend our claws to grasp at shadows of the ideals we have lost, casualties of a subtle dagger buried to the hilt in our heart, blood on our hands. we all long for something more, something transcending this life. but being human we can't let go of worldly pleasures. we compromise and gradually convince ourselves we're justified in our failure until we've lost sight of our original ideals, or warped them into something false. the government doesn't truly have the power to infiltrate the human soul, people. the enemy is inside ourselves. thrice isn't about juvenile government bashing.

No Picture chris Wanna Be	#20 by chris calle at Dec 3, 1996 at 9:29 PM EST
	it speaks of ignorance

No Picture nathan Average	#21 by nathan skidmore at Jan 19, 1998 at 1:31 PM EST
	what is the it that this song is talking about? ego? pride? self-centeredness?

No Picture Neal Average	#22 by Neal Breen at Mar 25, 2000 at 6:27 PM EST
	its about the passage from childhood to teenage

No Picture Jay Dizzle Wanna Be	#23 by Jay Dizzle holden at Sep 21, 2001 at 5:14 PM EST
	Whether you like it or not, this song is about religion. Deal with it. The "subtle dagger" is human nature. It infiltrates, insidious --Human nature cuts in, subtly and harmful. It feints at love, betrays our trust In what we've known since we were born --It always seems that when we're being selfish, and going against God that things are going to be good for us (thus, temptations are often successful). But it is really working against us, and uprooting all of our must basic beliefs. The truth we've found in all we see Points to design Still our chests swell We'll never find true answers from a wishing well --Everything we see says "Hey, there's a God here," but we're get too self-centered to want to admit that we're the lesser beings here. So feed us all another lie To still our thoughts, appease our pride So we won't have to change the way We see, we live, we love, we die --We continue to deciever ourselves to stop the thoughts of the possiblity of a supreme being, so we won't have to change the way we live our lives. Our lusts precede our blasphemy Our logic reads like notes from tainted autopsy --Our desires are predecesors to our sins, and our thoughts (of self-centered Godlessness) are wrong and completely illogical. Our souls they speak of something more But we can't look beyond ourselves --We inherently know there is a God, but we just can't get over the self-importance we have. We implore empty skies because Our hearts hold room for no one else --We hope the skies are empty (there is no God) because we're too infatuated with ourselves to love God. We extend our claws to grasp the shadows of the Ideals we have lost Casualty of a subtle dagger Buried to the hilt in our heart Blood on our hands --We try to regain the beliefs we once had, that we killed with our self-centered actions and thoughts, but we never quite grasp them again, attaining only "shadows" of what we had. And, the fault is our own. *Credit for this interpretation given to my girlfriend. Man, she rocks.

No Picture Kyle Average	#24 by Kyle Lester at Feb 12, 2004 at 1:25 AM EST
	the song refers to human selfishness and ignorance.

No Picture JJ Average	#25 by JJ at May 13, 2005 at 2:08 PM EST
	See, what pisses me off about this song is... Dustin is obviously referring to the "design" of the universe by God. It is pretty useless to deny that. But what he does is he tries to convey the idea that everyone is being led into some sort of athiestic mindset, that everything "points to design", yet "still our chests swell". But almost everyone I know is religious in some way... it is very rare to find a person who truly believes in no higher power that guides our actions. Yet this song is kind of complaining that the masses have followed this anti-God way of life. That's just not true, and if he is speaking of the fact that many people are still struggling with sin, than I will of course give him that. But to claim that there is some sort of minority of believers is ridiculous, and therefore renders this song fairly useless. However, it is written immensely well and the music is incredible, so I love it nonetheless. One last thing... he says "so we won't have to change the way we see, we live, we love, we die". He is acting like humans get some sick benefit out of not believing in God... I think that rather than being duped into NOT believing, many people just believe in God so they can be comfortable and never think things out for themselves. So this song could be used as an anti-religion song as well. I don't know, these lyrics just kind of confuse me.

No Picture Shreder Dude Wanna Be	#26 by Shreder Dude at Aug 22, 2005 at 12:41 AM EST
	it means we try to hard to analyze creation when the answeres right in front of us. I think deep down we all know theres a God yet we cant fully understand Him so we keep analyzing and analyzing everything to death to Appease our pride (like they said) because were to selfish to focus on God or anything thats not of the self.

No Picture Allen Average	#27 by Allen Stone at Apr 26, 2006 at 4:56 AM EST
	i reckon... and this is an opinion, so don't go crazy on me but... i think it is about how the world wants to distract you from God and how we were designed (by God... "points to design") so we wish for true answers. anyway... it then says... "so then feed us all, another lie, to still our thoughts, appease our pride" well, thats just saying the world keeps feeding us lies about whats going on, and we believe them, cause we don't want to think about God, cause we don't want to change... our pride also gets in the way, and so the lie appeases the pride because pride doesn't want to change it's ways. "so we won't have to change the way we....." etc. "our souls speak of something more" our souls know deep down there is something more to life (ie. God) but we don't want to and can't bear to look beyond ourselves for true answers. "we implore empty skies because our hearts hold room for no one else" we look and beg for distraction because we don't want there to be a God... we don't want him in our hearts. the rest of the song is along the same lines... if you think i have left out a key bit of the song and want me to explain it, i'll give it a go. and feel free to argue over any points i've made, as long as you don't go too crazy hehe. oh yeh, and I know thrice say they aren't a christian but Dustin obviously is.... but that doesn't MAKE them a christian band having one member a christian... that goes the same for any other band... Will