The Evanescence Song Interpretation Thread

[vampiregirl]

i love even in death. my interpretation is that these two people really love each other, but one of them died.the other person still loves the other very much and can't let go.thus even in death our love goes on.

[SoMissing]

Understanding

Its about seroiusly needing a bath...."Can't wash it all away" lol


LOL, sorry had to make the lame joke!

Understanding (serious interpretation)

This is always on high rotation on my Ev playlist. Its just...too good to be just a song

The theme is simple. Its about a consuming relationship, based on love and lies. She loves him. He loves her. She lies to him, and he lies to her. Its about the tormentation of lost lovers in a relationship, making it a bitter-sweet coupling.

Both know about the lies, yet they refuse to admit it. They try to wash it all away, wish it all away, cry it all away, fight it all away, scratch it all away. Especially the scratching, it just resembles how the lies are "stuck" on their skin, like a burden that they cant get rid of.

They know about the lies yet somehow they try to comprimise and compliment. When theyre sitting together and all alone, theyre silent, they cant look each other or talk to each other. Yet they know theyre in love, and thats what gets them through. They try romanticism. They comprimise with sacrifice...but the lies still haunt them, each by themselves.

The fear that grips you, the pain that blinds me...shows how each of them realises that the other is lying. Theyre not only lying to each other, but to themselves, and to those who surround them. The lies spread and stretch to the point where the only true thing that exists is their love...and at a stage this love is even questioned!

The lies burden grows and grows and grows...and they are still together. The song ends with a confession i think of the lies...but the confession is just another lie, another burden, another understanding.

And thats why the song is called Understanding. Its about knowing whats wrong, whats false, whats shit, but being helpless and powerless when it comes to making a move towards fixing it. You cant wash it all away...you can just be thankful to understand it.

[Eleanor]

I've always thought that Understanding is about two people who have faced difficulties together and are now bearing painful memories that they want to get rid of. I've interpreted it this way because of a personal experience. My friend wanted to erase our painful past by stopping to see me but that didn't work. Happily that's over now.

The singer and her lover or friend want to erase a memory of something that happened in the past. Maybe she hurt him someway, they had a fight or they saw someone dying. They try to pretend everything's OK to hide the pain from the others although that's a lie. "In our mutual shame we idolize to blind them from the truth that finds a way from who we are."

The memory is still haunting them. "Can't wash it all away. Can't Wish it all away. Can't hope it all away. Can't cry it all away..." She has realized that the pain can't be forgotten. Now she just wants him to realize it too.

"The pain that grips you, the fear that binds you, releases life in me." His pain makes her worried. She feels that he shouldn't deny the bad things but they should face the truth together. "I try to fight the truth my final time."

She can't face everything alone although she understands that the memory can't be erased. "Cast me not away, say you'll be with me, for I know I cannot bear it all alone." He tries to escapes from her and she's afraid of being left alone.

She's longing for his love and presence. "Lying beside you, listening to you breathe... Hold and speak to me of love without a sound." She loves him even more after the darkness they've been through. "My love for you still grows..."

She asks him not be afraid of the future. "Please don't be afraid when the darkness fades away." He should survive. She would even sacrifice herself and die for him if that's the only way. "Tell me you will live through this and I will die for you."

Facing the bad things and realizing the truth makes them free from the pain. "The dawn will break the silence screaming in our hearts." There is a better day ahead. He's just too scared of it.

The quote in beginning explains that the mind tries to erase bad and shameful things but fails. "You hold the answers deep within your own mind. Consciously, you've forgotten it. That's the way the human mind works. Whenever something is too unpleasant, to shameful for us to entertain, we reject it. We erase it from our memories. But the imprint is always there." The bad things stay in the unconcious and come back haunting.

A good thing is that the answers to questions can also be found deep within the mind. By finding them you can survive. The man in the beginning sounds like a doctor or a psychologist who is lecturing about human mind. The singer may have heard his words on the television or in a lesson and seen how true they are.

The other quotes tell that you are never all alone although it may feel like that when your loved ones are gone and you're unhappy. The help is never far. "You're not alone, are you?" "Never... Never."

Understanding belongs to the Evanescence songs I like the most. I tend to put it to the last song to the Evanescence and general playlists. It seems sum up the message of the other Evanescence songs and fits well after other artists' songs too. It's one of the wisest songs I know.

[Candy cloud]

I agree with Eleanor's interpretation, that's the way I see the song too.

For me, it's about two people really in love who can't face something. Maybe they made a mistake, Amy sings "In our mutual shame we hide our eyes To blind them from the truth that finds a way for who we are"
They seem to have something to hide, something that they can't face, as the man says at the beginning
"You hold the answer deep within your own mind. Consciously you've forgotten it. That's the way the human mind works. Whenever something is too unpleasant, too shameful for us to entertain we reject it, we erase it from our memory, but the imprint is always there. "

This secret is haunting them but their love is strong and they can overcome it if they are together
"Tell me you will live through this and I will die for you
Cast me not away Say you'll be with me For I know I cannot bear it all alone"

Amy tries to reassure him, he must be really worried.
"Please don't be afraid
When the darkness fades away
The dawn will break the silence screaming at our hearts
My love for you still grows
This I do for you
Before I try to fight the truth my final time"

But she asks for being reassured too she needs to know that she won't face this trouble alone.
"Hold and speak to me
Of love without a sound
Tell me you will live through this and I will die for you
Cast me not away
Say you'll be with me
For I know I cannot bear it all alone"

I hope you understood what I meant, but excuse my bad english, I'm french.

[Naeryn]

Understanding, hmmm? I have my own interperetation for it, but it's really very difficult for me to put into words.

I feel it's got something like to Solitude - unrequited, perhaps lost love. Talking about why the love has failed, rather than someone's feelings of despair because said love has failed. It's a song I can really relate to right now...

[Shivercide]

"Understanding" reminds me a lot of "Where Will You Go" and "Bleed", as it seems to correlate on the same subject - denial.

When I listen to this song, I hear two people speaking to each other in it. Though there is only one voice relaying it, it sounds to me like a conversation between two people. In this interpretation, I'm writing the two people as being a guy and a girl. Just because.

One is trying to "understand" the other one's pain, while the other is trying to "understand" how to heal, her denial, and just what affect it takes upon her.

"You hold the answer deep within your own mind. Consciously, you’ve forgotten it. That’s the way the human mind works. Whenever something is too unpleasant, too shameful for us to entertain, we reject it, we erase it from our memory. But the imprint is always there…" That first part, taken from an old film with subliminal messages, is a great beginning to this song. It is like an open introduction itself, and the rest of the song is the movie…or the example.

When we go through bad experiences, especially traumatizing ones, denying it can be a tactic for survival. The mind creates a shield against the pain, and that is, I believe, what’s expressed in this song. However, although denial is the mind’s way of trying to protect itself, it can also be damaging in the long run. Everything that happens to us in our entire life may not be on the surface of our memory, but it is in our subconscious. Even the painful things that turn into repressed memories or downright denial. Without facing those things, they are left to build up more and more and create more pain.

"The pain that grips you, the fear that binds you releases life in me." In trying to be understanding in another person’s pain, the first person feels life in that. He sees pain as not a dull, destructive entity, but a part of life, and thus a part of beauty.

"In our mutual shame we hide our eyes, to blind them from the truth that finds a way for who we are." The second person’s response is her understanding of denial, and also the reason why she pulls away from the ones that care about her. She closes her own eyes to the truth because, not only does it hurt so much, but it makes her feel damaged as a person. Afraid of anyone else seeing the same thing, especially the one she loves, she instead hides it deep inside.

"Please don’t be afraid -
When the darkness fades away, the dawn will break the silence screaming in our hearts." He tries to reassure her not to be afraid, that there is no reason to push away. When the suffocating darkness is gone, even if just for the moment, all that is left is the light. And in that moment, tormented souls should be able to release that pent-up pain, instead of hiding away from the truth only to let it grow and grow.

"My love for you still grows, this I do for you, before I try to fight the truth my final time." She wants to let them know that she loves him one last time, before once again she continues to fight against the truth that lies within her soul.

("We’re supposed to try and be real. When we feel alone, we are not together, and that is real.") A conscious argument is that being real does not have to mean facing realities, but rather to feel real emotion.

"Can’t wash it all away, can’t wish it all away, can’t cry it all away, can’t scratch it all away." In the chorus, her true pain shines through, in the fact that as much as she tries, the past cannot be forgotten - it remains embedded in her memory no matter how much she tries to fight the truth.

"Lying beside you, listening to you breathe, the light that flows inside of you burns inside of me." He feels helpless to take away her pain. At the same time, though, he believes she has her own strength - her own light. "Hold and speak to me of love without a sound - tell me you will live through this and I will die for you." He believes in her, but also wants to be assured. It’s frustrating that he is right there beside her and is still unable to do anything, so he wishes that he could take on all her burdens, just to free her from the pain.

"Cast me not away, say you’ll be with me, for I know I cannot bear it all alone." She’s afraid that she will become burdensome for her love, and he will give up on her. She can hardly stand that fact, because she thinks that the faith of him is the only thing keeping her believing she can get through it.

"You’re not alone, honey, never. Never." No matter how much she feels all by herself in facing her never-ending battle between the painful truth and numbing denial, she is not. She is cared for, she is loved, and she is believed in.

"Can’t fight it all away, can’t hope it all away, can’t scream it all away, it just won’t fade away, no…no…" Losing her battle in fighting the truth and forgetting the memories, her voice fades off in a sound of dismay. However, healing in itself hurts. No matter how much in dismay she feels, surfacing from the denial is a step in healing.

"But the imprint is always there, nothing is really forgotten." And this last line sums up everything we’ve heard thus far. Bad things happen to us, horrific things, but ignoring them will not make them go away. In order to breathe, we have to purge.

[melzie29]

i believe this song in a nutshell is a bout you cant hide from your problems you have to face them

in this song i believe she has cheated on the guy who sings in this song and she trys to hide it from him.....but she is overcome by guilt and she knows she has to tell him. she hopes he can be "understanding" and they can get through it

You hold the answer deep within your own mind.
Consciously you've forgotten it.
That's the way the human mind words.
Whenver something is too unpleasant, too shameful for us
to entertain we reject it, we erase it from our memory,
but the imprint is always there.

something is kinda like haunting her, a memory, an answer to a question she does'nt really want to know because it is too unpleasant or too shameful...(i believe she has cheated on the guy who sings in this song) so she is trying to forget it or push it right to the back of her mind......but the memory will always be there

We wash it all away, we wish it all away,
we hope it all away, can't cry it all away.
she cant get rid of the memory no matter how hard she tries

The pain that grips you
The fear that binds you
Releases life in me
when she tells the story to another person their shock gives her courage and hope in deaking with her problem
In our mutual shame we hide our eyes
To blind them from the truth that finds a way to who we are
we try to "hide our eyes" from the horrible thing that has happened to try to forget it but it always will find its way back to you

Please don't be afraid
When the darkness fades away
The dawn will break the silence screaming at our hearts

it might seem bad now but hope will grow and it will soon be a bit easier to deal with

My love for you still grows
This I do for you
Before I try to fight the truth my final time
she loves this person and her love for this person grows stronger....she needs this love to support her in dealing with the truth

We're supposed to try to be real.
We feel alone when we're not together, and that is real.
self explanitory

Can't wash it all away
Can't wish it all away
Can't cry it all away
Can't scratch it all away
you cant run away from your problems you have to face them

Lying beside you
Listening to you breathe
The light that flows inside of you burns inside of me
a horrible truth is inside her and he somehow i think doesnt know about it.......possibly the girl cheating on him.....i get this impression....does anyone else

Hold and speak to me
Of love without a sound
Tell me you will live through this and I will die for you
when i tell you.....tell me we can get through this.....ill do anything to hear that we can make it

Cast me not away
Say you'll be with me
forgive me......
For I know I cannot bear it all alone
ive got to tell you

You're not alone, honey, Never. Never.
these words the guy says i think are words that the guy has said to the girl........the words are haunting her because she feels guilty

Can't fight it all away
Can't hope it all away
Can't scream it all away
It just won't fade away
Can't wash it all away
Can't wish it all away
Can't throw it all away
Can't scratch it all away
Can't fight it all away
Can't hope it all away
Can't scream it all away
? it all away
? it all away
got to face the truth

But the imprint is always there, nothing is ever really forgotten

Because I'm dying too,
because I'm dying too,
because I'm dying too,
because I'm dying too,
because I'm dying too

im dying because of what i did to you

[Euge]

This song is about the things that you have a hard time trying to accept.

You would prefer to pretend that something did not happen, just to be able to go on. [Acting like something didn't happen, is indeed a way to go on.. but it's not a long term solution]

But, the need to accept it, is real. And just because you wish something to not be there, that doesn't make it go away.

The little movie films, are cleverly adapted to this song. They give me the idea that it's about trying to understand and accept not only for yourself, but for all the people you love, the ones that reassure you that you're not alone, that it's worth the effort.

And I always say, that in order to accept something, you first must understand it.

[Cfw828]

Lies .

[Euge]

Somebody is trying to make her feel worthless. Telling her lies that makes her feel less of what she really is.

But, somehow she feels protected by those lies, maybe somebody she knows and loves is the one saying them. And even though the rest of the people might not understand why, she will struggle and fight for that love that is not there, btw.

The lies, in my opinion, are all the verses of the song where she is not singing. And all that she's able to say, as I've said above, is that people might never see why, but she will anyway keep on loving and fighting for the liar.

So, what I think of this song, is that she knows that all she loves is a lie, but is better to have something that in the end isn't real, than to have nothing and be alone.