I marathoned Erfworld and heard "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" today

[The Adder]

In doing so I discovered some strange parallels between the lyrics of the song and the plot of Erfworld.

Send a heartbeat to
The void that cries through you
Relive the pictures that have come to pass
For now we stand alone
The world is lost and blown
And we are flesh and blood disintegrate
With no more to hate

To me invokes the image of Stanely's fast collapsing empire (The world is lost and blown), which is made up in large part of uncroaked infantry (And we are flesh and blood disintegrate), facing the armies of the world (For now we stand alone) and of Wanda casting the spell that summons Parson (Send a heartbeat to he void that cries through you).

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange
And in your darkest hour
I hold secret's flame
We can watch the world devoured in its pain

The first three lines of the chorus, seems like a perfect description of Parson's situation in Erfworld.

"And in your darkest hour I hold secret's flame", at least this time, brings to me the image of both the way Parson is in the dark about even the most basic thing which others hold knowledge of, and how Parson is bound to obey the Tool because of the mechanics of the spell. Mechanics that Wanda and Stanely understand and Parson doesn't.

The last line seems to be what Stanely's forces would be pushing the world towards if they had the upper hand.

Delivered from the blast
The last of a line of lasts
The pale princess of a palace cracked
And now the kingdom comes
Crashing down undone
And I am a master of a nothing place
Of recoil and grace

Is this not a perfect description of Stanley's abandonment of Gobwin knob because he believes it will fall, leaving Parson in charge?

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange
And in your darkest hour
I hold secret's flame
We can watch the world devoured in its pain

The first three lines again, seem to me to fit being about Parson.

The next lines, however, have changed.

Obviously, I see "In your darkest hour" as a representation of the nea hopelessness of defending Gobwinknob.

"I hold secret's flame" Parson's many plans. Booby trapping the catacombs, contacting Charlie, etcetera.

"We can watch the world devoured in its pain" What will happen if he fails.

<i>Time has stopped before us
The sky cannot ignore us
No one can separate us
For we are all that is left
The echo bounces off me
The shadow lost beside me
There's no more need to pretend
Cause now I can begin again</i>

This one means two things to me.

1. The situation Parson's almost in. He, Wanda, Sizemore, and Bogroll making a stand and claiming victory. I see Sizemore as the echo. "The echo bounces off me". With what Sizemore last said to Parson, they seem to be growing apart. The echo has bounced off. I see Bogroll as the Shadow (what with following Parson around (shadowing him) as his lackey). On the specukative side I formed the theory that Bogroll will get what he wants and save Parson's life, possibly being croaked, or at least injured, in the process "the Shadow lost beside me".

2. Purely speculative. I see Stanely successfully taking FAQ and the people at Gobwin knob becoming their own faction with Parson as the overlord (There's no more need to pretend Cause now I can begin again).

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange

Again, Parson himself.

And in your darkest hour
I hold secrets flame
We can watch the world devoured in its pain
Strange
Strange
Strange

This one's gonna stay in my head.

So, what do you guys think?

EDIT: Hm, 88 views without a single comment.

Apparently I wrote something so totally off the wall that I left you all entirely speechless.

[kreszantas]

Apparently I wrote something so totally off the wall that I left you all entirely speechless.

Yep. confounded us entirely (wanted to say just yep but 10 char limit)

[Justyn]

EDIT: Hm, 88 views without a single comment.

Apparently I wrote something so totally off the wall that I left you all entirely speechless.

Yes, yes you did.

[The Adder]

Yeah, I tend to partially loose my mind that late at night. While the thought of how seemingly related to Erfworld's plot that song's lyrics were I had no intention of going into that much detail when making this topic.

I actually woke up, looked at it, and pondered what in the name of god I'd done.

[Justyn]

Yeah, I tend to partially loose my mind that late at night. While the thought of how seemingly related to Erfworld's plot that song's lyrics were I had no intention of going into that much detail when making this topic.

I actually woke up, looked at it, and pondered what in the name of god I'd done.

It's not BAD off the wall, but I can say that sometimes, something off the wall can revolutionise things; I can't think of any specific examples off the top of my head, though.

[ThreeEyedOni]

...what are you smoking?

[Finn Solomon]

Seek professional help.

[SteveMB]

Reminds me of the "Dark Side Of The Rainbow". Whether that's genius, madness, or both is left as an exercise for the student.

[Occasional Sage]

Reminds me of the "Dark Side Of The Rainbow". Whether that's genius, madness, or both is left as an exercise for the student.

From the perspective of the smart (but not genius) and sane, how can we tell?

[Moechi_Vill]

Well, for what it's worth I have a lower-level genius IQ and I think the OP is artsy genius. Or did you mean 'the Dark side of the Rainbow'? Seems like good stuff.
It's kind of obvious though, when you read the song (haven't heard it before) if you have any significant interest in Erfworld and the GK storyline in particular, but the double-sided commentary for the refrain is a really neat and wonderful touch.
Kudos!

[dr pepper]

Silly, the only album that really synchs with this comic is Days of Future Passed.

[The Adder]

Well, today's page makes that theory on the final chorus far more likely than I once thought it was (though still unlikely)