Mummy Dust by Ghost Lyrics Meaning – Unearthing the Allegorical Riches Buried Within
Lyrics
To corrupt humanity
I will pummel it with opulence
With corpulence and greed
In God you trust
My mummy dust (dust)
Mummy dust (dust)
Your cavalier of crapulence
To this feast of rapacity
I will bury you in treasures
Just to feed your incapacity
In God you trust
My mummy dust (dust)
My mummy dust
In God you trust
My mummy dust (dust)
My mummy dust
You are the possessée of avarice
I am the ruler of the Earth
I will smother you in riches
Until you choke on sordid mirth
You are summoned in cupidity
Purulence and lust
I am the magnet for stupidity
And divine you feel my thrust
In God you trust
My mummy dust (dust)
My mummy dust
In God you trust
My mummy dust (dust)
My mummy dust
My mummy dust
Ghost, a band shrouded in mystery and intrigue, beckoning from the shadows, teases the senses with their hypnotic blend of metal, melody, and macabre. ‘Mummy Dust’, a track as elusive and potent as the name suggests, is a soundscape rich in metaphorical lyricism and sinister charm. The convoluted interplay of heaviness and harmony wraps around the listener, coaxing a deeper dive into the cryptic verses penned by Ghost’s enigmatic lead, Tobias Forge.
As the chords progress, so does the gravity of the themes presented – a spiritual and socioeconomic commentary overlaid with the seductive threat of corruption. The haunting lyrics serve as a medium for the exploration of temptation, the allure of materialism, and the ultimate folly of man’s quest for earthly treasures. The song’s essence is encapsulated in the repetitive invocation of ‘mummy dust’, a mystical metaphor for the futility of wealth—a fitting paradox for our times.
The Corrupting Howl of Materialism
The atmospheric entry with ‘I was carried on a wolf’s back to corrupt humanity’ is a prelude laced with symbolism. The wolf, often a totem of cunning and predation, is the perfect vessel to introduce the theme of corruption, and when juxtaposed with the human condition, the metaphor extends its grip. It’s a seductive whisper, suggesting the innevitable fall of mankind to the destructive charms of excess and self-indulgence. Ghost enunciate the societal downfall with the weight of a sledgehammer—simultaneously enticing and forewarning.
‘Pummel it with opulence, with corpulence and greed’ the lyrics go, invoking the imagery of an assault on spiritual and moral values by the decadence of the physical world. As Ghost chant the mantra ‘In God you trust’, it’s as if to mock the duplicity of man’s faith juxtaposed with his unyielding pursuit of material gain. Can one truly serve two masters—the divine and the dollar?
A Feast of Sensory Overindulgence
‘Your cavalier of crapulence, to this feast of rapacity’ – such turns of phrase buoy ‘Mummy Dust’ into the literary realms, with the song’s writers deftly weaving a tale of excess and indulgence. Crapulence, with its archaic roots describing the sickening effect of excessive eating or drinking, paints an opulent yet repulsive scene. Through this feast, Ghost illustrate a society gorging on its own insatiable desires, losing sight of true nourishment.
The treasures burying and incapacity feeding are metaphors for the perverse satisfaction found in things that ultimately lead to spiritual suffocation and a state of catatonic complacence. The intricate layering of sound parallels the layering of meaning—a testament to Ghost’s masterful composition.
The Mirth of Affluence and its Sordid Irony
‘I will smother you in riches, Until you choke on sordid mirth,’ vocalizes the poignant irony at the heart of consumer culture. Ghost doesn’t just scratch the surface; they delve into the suffocating reality of wealth’s false promises. The ‘sordid mirth’, an expression of joy tainted with moral distaste, suggests that the more one acquires, the less fulfilling life’s pleasures become.
This lyric broadcasts the notion that true happiness eludes those who purely chase fiscal and superficial success. In the band’s orchestral, heavy whispers, one might hear the shoveling of gold as much as the shoveling of grave dirt—each verse a nail in the coffin of the capitalist dream.
The Gravitational Pull of Foolish Desires
‘You are summoned in cupidity, Purulence and lust’ – the lure of avarice is irresistible, and Ghost captures this insidious appeal with a landscape of words that denote both longing and repulsion. Cupidity, the insatiable desire for wealth, is perfectly mirrored by purulence, a term that denotes decay and infection, creating an antithesis that challenges the listener’s ideals and morals.
In this haunting admonition, ‘mummy dust’ transforms into a siren call for the foolish, spiriting away reason in favor of greed. The alluring force that Ghost conjures in their music becomes a masterful allegorical study on the folly of giving oneself to materialistic forces.
An Anthemic Refrain of Existential Depth
As the mantra ‘My mummy dust’ echoes throughout the song, it ceases to be a mere chorus but arises as the central thesis—a choral embodiment of impermanence, mortality, and the ludicrous pursuit of what cannot be held. Each repetition of ‘In God you trust’ acts as a knell, a reminder that what is treasured is often not what is transcendent.
The memorable lines of ‘Mummy Dust’ stay with the listener, a ghostly resonance that challenges notions of value, worth, and permanence in an impermanent world. The intentional repetition is not redundancy, but reinforcement—a lyrical incantation meant to imbed its cautionary tale into the psyche of its audience.
