Heavenfaced by The National Lyrics Meaning – Peering Into the Ethereal Void of Love and Existence
Lyrics
In my mind, I am in your arms
I wish someone would take my place
Can’t face heaven all heavenfaced
No one’s careful all the time
If you lose me, I’m gonna die
How completely high was I?
I was off by a thousand miles
Hit the ceiling, then you fall
Things are tougher than we are
I could walk out, but I won’t
In my mind, I am in your arms
I wish someone would take my place
Can’t face heaven all heavenfaced
Let’s go wait out in the fields with the ones we love
Let’s go wait out in the fields with the ones we love
Let’s go wait out in the fields with the ones we love
Let’s go wait out in the fields with the ones we love
She’s a griever and I believe her
It’s not a fever, it’s a freezer
I believe her, I’m a griever now
She’s a griever and I believe her
It’s not a fever, it’s a freezer
I believe her, I’m a griever now
Because we’ll all arrive in heaven alive
We’ll all arrive
Because we’ll all arrive in heaven alive
We’ll all arrive
Release and introspection often wind their wings tightly around the melodies of The National’s somber, soul-stirring anthems. ‘Heavenfaced,’ a track that delves deep into the contemplative ether, is no exception as it leads us through a labyrinth of vulnerability, disarray, and the ineffable human longing for connection.
The elegiac tune, drenched in the baritone reverberations of Matt Berninger’s voice, invites a mosaic of interpretations. It shapes a haunting yet beautiful narrative, oscillating between the corporeal and celestial, plumbing the depths of despair and the heights of a figurative escape.
An Introspective Journey Through The Heart
The opening lines of ‘Heavenfaced’ serve as a poignant prelude to the lyrical voyage we are about to undertake. Berninger doesn’t merely sing; he emotes a yearning to escape life’s tribulations. Yet, paradoxically, he confesses an unwillingness to depart. This hesitation anchors the song in the realms of human complacency and the fear of the unknown—echoing the sentiments of those who desire change but are frightened by its implications.
When Berninger croons, ‘I wish someone would take my place,’ there is an almost Sisyphean sense of exhaustion. It’s a cry for respite, one that reverberates with anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by life’s relentless demands. To be heavenfaced, then, becomes a metaphor for confronting the divine or infinite, a state perhaps too pure, too perfect for a soul marinated in worldly cares.
The Metaphysics of a High Dive
The National has always had an uncanny ability to articulate the human condition in abstract, yet universally relatable terms. ‘How completely high was I?’ Berninger asks, presenting an image of intoxicating elation followed by an inevitable fall. This trajectory, mirroring Icarus’s fateful flight, sows the seeds of vulnerability inherent to our nature, suggesting perhaps that our greatest efforts to ascend can lead to the hardest of falls.
In these verses, the song captures the essence of hubris and humility, encapsulating the bitter-sweet cycle of human pride and downfall. ‘Things are tougher than we are,’ he declares, providing a sobering reminder of our limitations in the face of life’s immutable truths.
Every Line a Loaded Landscape
One could argue that each line of ‘Heavenfaced’ bears the weight of melancholic poetics. Like the masters of the lyrical landscapes before them, The National weaves the personal and profound into a tapestry of memorable lines that linger long after the music fades. ‘Can’t face heaven all heavenfaced’ becomes thus an emotional anchor, sinking deep into the listener’s consciousness.
This repetition coupled with the paradoxical message it carries—a craving for the divine countered by the knowledge of its unattainability or perhaps its incompatibility with human frailty—demonstrates the band’s skill in crafting phrases that become etched in the memory.
Embracing the Inevitable in the Elysian Fields
As the song progresses, The National shifts gears, invoking pastoral imagery with ‘Let’s go wait out in the fields with the ones we love.’ Here, the song may be gesturing to an acceptance of life’s transience. To wait out in the fields is to find solace in the open, to come to terms with endings, with nature and with the cycle of life and death.
There’s a cathartic recognition of mortality and perhaps the embrace of an afterlife, assumed to be a shared experience with loved ones. It’s a call for communion — waiting, not in fear or isolation, but in the company of those we hold dear, establishing a bond that transcends mortal boundaries.
The Cryptic Finale: Freezer or Fever?
The conclusion of ‘Heavenfaced’ introduces new characters or states of being: ‘She’s a griever and I believe her / It’s not a fever, it’s a freezer / I believe her, I’m a griever now.’ The fever could be symbolic of a passionate, albeit temporary, disturbance while the freezer suggests a numbing, enduring coldness—one that is embraced rather than fought against.
In choosing to believe the griever, the narrator aligns himself with those who mourn, acknowledging shared pain. Through this ending, ‘Heavenfaced’ offers a communion of sorrow, a testament to the power of shared grief and the complex tapestry of the human psyche as it grapples with the impermanence of life and the enigmatic afterlife.
