Megadeth: Looking Down the Cross Meaning

Looking Down the Cross Lyrics

Now before they take me
And my blessed life
Now you'll know why Death
Was summoned here tonight
I'll recall my perils
They'll kill me in pride
No, I can't run away
There's no place to hide
Though too much to live for
I owe enough to...

1. anonymous

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   Sep 6th 2014 !⃝

   One of the best songs ever written!
   The complexity and genius is just
   stunning, to say the least. To think
   that Dave was in his late teens when
   he wrote this song, it boggles the
   mind.
   ==================================
   Part I:
   ==================================
   "Now before they take me
   And my blessed life
   Now you'll know why death
   Was summoned here tonight
   I'll recall my perils
   They'll kill me in pride
   No, I can't run away
   There's no place to hide"
   ==================================
   I think this part may refer to the
   Last Supper. The tense is clearly
   pre-crucifixion, but it's hard to
   tell whether he's thinking it or
   saying it out loud. The line "No,
   I can't run away, there's no place
   to hide" at first seems like some-
   thing he might say to Peter after
   he tries to convince Christ to
   avoid the coming danger. But it's
   too weak. Christ would have told
   Peter something more akin to "Get
   behind me Satan!", and Dave would
   have known this. So it's more like
   these are Christ's personal thoughts
   while he's sitting there watching
   everyone eat and be merry. Don't
   forget, Christ was as much man as
   he was God.
   ==================================
   Part II:
   ==================================
   "Though too much to live for
   I owe enough to die
   Ask not for salvation
   My death shall mean their lives
   Hatred and guilt the altar they built
   High priests of sin
   Destiny, fate, the Wicked One's gate
   Beckoning you in"
   ==================================
   Strongly disagree with the idea that
   this means "we're all damned to hell
   for our actions". Dude, you're way
   off - no offense. The first half is
   obvious. Christ is making a choice.
   His "mortal" death will mean their
   "eternal" lives. The second part is
   in direct reference to the Pharisees
   and the Sadducees - the so-called
   "white-washed tombs"; the "high
   priests of sin" who built their
   alters on hatred and guilt. It is
   they who are beckoned by in by the
   Wicked One's gate.
   ==================================
   Part III:
   ==================================
   "Down the walkways
   Through the bloodstained town
   Looking down the cross,
   Bleeding from the crown
   Led to stay, to die beside the thieves
   Kill the King of the world to be "
   ==================================
   The Via Dolorosa is Latin for "Way
   of Grief" or "Way of Suffering". This
   part seems to refer to the path that
   Jesus walked, carrying his cross, en
   route to his own crucifixion. But it
   also speaks "looking down the cross"
   "to die beside the thieves", so at
   this point (and hereafter) Christ is
   on the cross considering his final
   hours.
   ==================================
   Part IV:
   ==================================
   "Now to you, this will come:
   A putrefying pestilence
   More noxious than a serpent's breath
   Malevolently destined
   More corrupt
   than the malice
   of Choronzon
   More diseased
   Than the wind
   in the moonlight sun
   ==================================
   At first glance, it's tempting to
   think that Christ is cursing man
   here for his unmitigated arrogance,
   but I don't think that's correct.
   Remember that Christ, the only begotten
   son of God the Father, "became sin" on
   the cross. I think the verse, "Now to
   you, this will come:" precedes a long
   list of horrors that befalls the one
   person in all of history who didn't deserve
   them. The "malevolently destined" serpent
   appears to be Satan. Choronzon, otherwise
   known as the Demon of Dispersion, has
   also been described as a personification
   of a force of chaos & malevolence acting
   without purpose and serving only to utterly
   destroy that which was created. In other
   words, Choronzon roughly equates to "sin".
   The "moonlight sun", I think, symbolizes
   the full moon, which has been linked to
   mythical diseases like lycanthropy and
   vampirism, but also to crime, suicide,
   mental illness, disasters, accidents,
   birthrates, fertility, and suffering.
   It is, for example, a harbinger of
   all kinds of putrefying pestilences.
   ==================================
   Part V:
   ==================================
   "Putrefaction you have caused
   No need for confession
   Now you'll wish you had a God
   To stop your demolition
   Crushing the bones of a hundred-fold
   Swinging the judgment hammer
   Man, woman, child, no one's safe
   The heads of the dead are the banner"
   ==================================
   Again, at first glance, it's tempting
   to believe that Christ is thinking this
   as he experiences unspeakable suffering.
   But, again, I don't think that's right.
   To me, this is God (the Father) now
   speaking to mankind. Furious that it
   has come to this, there's "no need for
   confession". Sickened by mankind's
   insolence He states, "Now you'll wish
   you had a God". In short, God appears
   to be reconsidering wiping mankind
   off the face of the earth. It wouldn't
   be the first time.
   ==================================
   Part VI:
   ==================================
   "And this was all you got
   So don these broken wings
   Sands of time run out
   The bells of Hades ring
   Is this a nightmare?
   To unhallow thy name
   Smell of brimstone
   Dancing in the flames
   No help now
   As you fulfill His task
   Chief of evil
   Has got you by the ass"
   ==================================
   I think this is where Dave begins
   to question scripture (as we all do).
   To me, this looks like Dave is
   speaking to himself, almost as thought
   he was an eye-witness observing those
   final moments. He asks, "And this
   was all you got?" You were supposed
   to be the King of Kings. But you're
   not putting on robes of royalty, you
   don only "these broken wings" (he's
   of course referring to Christ's
   arms outstretched on the cross).
   It's almost like Dave is saying.
   There's no time left! Do something,
   anything! The "bells of Hades", the
   "smell of brimstone", the "dancing
   in the flames", they do not mean
   that Christ is going to Hell (as was
   suggested in a previous comment) -
   again, way off. It just evidence
   that Satan is there, taunting Christ
   during the whole ordeal.
   ==================================
   Part VII:
   ==================================
   "Set free
   To sit upon the throne
   It's just a dream?
   You're weeping all alone"
   ==================================
   Here, Christ is "set free, to sit
   upon the Great White Throne" - i.e
   his body finally dies. But, again,
   I think this is Dave speaking. He
   doesn't doubt that Christ himself
   believed that he was God's son. He
   doesn't doubt that Christ lived a
   perfect life, that he fulfilled
   two-thousand years of Hebrew
   prophecy, etc.. He doesn't even
   really deny that Christ deserved
   to rule the kingdom he so frequently
   preached about. But Dave appears to
   take a look at the world around him
   and says, "Seriously, this is what
   you died for?". He concludes (at
   least at the time he wrote this)
   that it was all just a figment of
   Christ's imagination. That, in the
   end, Christ was "weeping all alone".
   ==================================
   Part VIII:
   ==================================
   "Looking down the cross
   Speak no evil
   Looking down the cross
   Speak no evil"
   ==================================
   Here we return back to the perspective
   of Jesus during the last moments of his
   life. He's looking down the cross in
   agony; having lived a life of purity,
   holiness and perfection. He only
   has a few hours left. He's almost
   there.
   ==================================
   In this song, Dave conveys his own
   personal struggle with the Gospel.
   He is searching (intensely searching)
   for an answer by imagining the events
   as they unfolded in an attempt to
   understand them. It's actually a
   fantastic example of extraordinary
   mind, under no delusions, willing
   to take an honest look at himself
   and the world he lives in. As I
   understand it Dave Mustaine
   is currently a professed believer so
   it would seem that he has worked
   through any doubts he may have had
   at the time he wrote the song. Man
   do I wish songs like this one were
   still being written. Alas it seems
   that the bubble gum, hip-hop, lollipop,
   talentless, club-hopping majority
   will always dominate the mainstream.
2. anonymous

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   Dec 20th 2012 !⃝

   Well, when you sum up the entire message of Christianity you get this: that humanity was created perfect as was all creation, but because of Adam's sin(Note that anyone else would have done the same in his place.), all humanity was torn away from God,but throughout history He proved his sovreignty and also his incomparable mercy and love for humanity by showing the world how he raised the weak Israelites to a mighty kingdom and when they sinned he disciplined them(Discipline indicates love). He promised them that he would change all the lives of everyone forever by doing something illogical to us finite, blind humans, but which was the thing to do for an infinite being. He sacrificed HIMSELF for us, seeing that we were completely trapped in sin and could not save ourselves (Our 'Righteous Deeds' were like filthy rags). It was'nt easy .He became sin for us, which is like cutting a third of yourself off with a butter knife, and bleeding to death in a state of extreme depression. He took our sins upon himself so that everyone would have a chance at being justified. doing this Requires:
   a)Being ashamed of your sin
   b)Coming to God realizing that you cannot save yourself.
   c)Repenting of your sin
   d)Stating with your heart and mouth(If you can talk) that you believe everything he has revealed to you, that you believe in the fact that He has died for you and thank him from the bottom of your heart.
   e)Professing that he is your Lord and saviour, and accepting him into your heart.
   you WILL be changed, and without a doubt, saved. I Don't see a paralell between your interpretation of the lyrics and this, so the logical explanation to this is that
   this song is about what Dave would have done in God's place, which was to take revenge. This shows us how great God is.
3. anonymous

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   Mar 6th 2011 !⃝

   The first part of the song is about Christ's knowledge that his death is coming:
   "Now before they take me
   And my blessed life
   Now you'll know
   Why death was summoned here tonight
   I'll recall my perils
   They'll kill me in pride
   No, I can't run away
   There's no place to hide "
   
   The next part speaks of his intentions when he dies. It's implied that rather than go to heaven, we're all damned to hell for our actions and that the Christian faith is a hope of redemption and desperation, brought on by their guilt and fear:
   "Though too much to live for
   I owe enough to die
   Ask not for salvation
   My death shall mean their lives
   Hatred and guilt - the alter they've built
   High priests of sin
   Destiny, fate - the wicked ones' gate
   Beckoning you in "
   
   Next, it talks about his actual death:
   "Down the walkways
   Through the bloodstained town
   Looking down the cross,
   Bleeding from the crown
   Led to stay, to die beside the thieves
   Kill the King of the world to be "
   
   Next, he speaks of his revenge:
   "And now to you, this will come:
   A putrefying pestilence
   More noxious than the serpent's breath
   Malevolently destined
   More corrupt than the malice of Choronzon
   More diseased
   Than the wind of the moonlight sun
   Putrefaction you have caused
   No need for confession
   Now you wish you had a god
   To stop your demolition
   Crush the bones of the hundred fold
   Swing the judgment hammer
   Man, woman, child, no one is safe
   The heads of the dead are the banner"
   
   Finally, toward the end of the song, it explains that we're all damned no matter what we do:
   "And this was all you got
   So don these broken wings
   Sands of time have run out
   Bells of Hades ring
   
   Is this a nightmare to unhallow thy name?
   Smell of brimstone dancing in the flames
   No help now as you fufill his task
   Chief of evil has got you by the ass
   
   Set free to sit up on the throne
   Just a dream, you're weeping all alone "
   
   
   The line "looking down the cross... Speak no evil" is to imply that he talks of forgiveness, to grant false hope and yet on their death will be tormented in hell for their sins.
4. anonymous

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   Jun 29th 2008 !⃝

   Dave says on the liner notes to the Remastered version of the KIMB that this song is about what he thinks Jesus's last words and thought might have been while on the cross. I'd quote the notes if I had them in front of me.

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