for those that are unaware, josh is the music writer, i am the lyric writer. it's just always worked that way. generally i write words and send them to josh, and he twists them to fit the song. but this was going to be a little different. one of the themes of silence speaks volumes is the changing of seasons, each chapter representing another. this would mean that all the music would need to flow and have a high level of purpose in where it went. this time we decided to both do the bending to make sure this turns out as beautiful as it deserved.
ssv opens in spring, a time of renewal, setting the scene of a man recalling how lost he is with this woman, sorrow. sorrow is a comfortable emotion. it's easy to cling to, and although it never brings any comfort, it's one the you can slide into and have troulbe seeing anything else. as inviting as it may seem at time, that self-involved attention and dispair, it's a slow destroyer of your livelihood. "only a friend could hurt this much" is the sentiment that feabilly tries to shed some light on the narrators predicament. he is obsessed with a feeling that will kill him. he faces the question "will you stop in the rain to find a new life?"
he knows in his heart that he doesn't want to live a life of apathy, and he understands this at night when he can think and dream peacefully, but in the waking moments he is weak, like all of us, and sees her once again. though he sees he is being deceived, he can turn away from something so certain. he is starting to realize the damage he's been taking (the ashes left on all the corners). this second chapter shows his lack of self control, and admittance of defeat. the summer is a time of fun and irresponsibility, but he's coming to the conclusion that there's more for him elsewhere.
every fall from grace is followed by regret. he's walking away from her, but he's feeling the chill of lonliness. it's so hard to find a new way of thinking, a new way of life when you don't know any other way. he's getting a glimpse of what redemption could offer, but mostly he feels trapped, where he can see life on the outisde but is stuck inside feelings of emptiness. our narrator is mroe resolute than ever to leave his old ways of life, but he doens't know what real life offers or how to get it.
this is the darkest chapter of silence speaks volumes. the scariest thing is that it is so unassuming. he faces the dangers of indifference. if there is no aim in your life, you can end up in the darkest of places. in the climax of the tale, sorrow climbs back to the top of the mountain and throws herself off it. he is terriblly conflicted by this, as something he's loved so long is now gone, but at the same time he is free of these negative emotions he's clung to so long. freedom comes at a price, but he did not pay it.
though it is yet to be concluded, the final chapter is also set in spring, and is, as titled, a time of renewal and rebirth. resolution is only a beginning.
silence speaks volumes
mending chaos