Within Temptation: The Truth Beneath The Rose Meaning
The Truth Beneath The Rose Lyrics
Give me strength to face the truth
The doubt within my soul
No longer I can justify
The bloodshed in his name
Is it a sin to seek the truth, the truth beneath the rose?
Pray with me so I will find the gate to Heaven's...
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It is about religion in the sense of questioning what our purpose is and how people throughout history have misused religion and caused bloodshed. References to the Crusades.
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I read a Sci-fi story by Gregory Benford years ago called "The Rose and the Scalpel" about a confrontation between Voltaire's persona and that of Joan of Arc in a moral showdown debate.
Evidently Voltaire had been called "The Scalpel" because of his finely-honed logical mind, and perhaps I just made the inference that "The Rose" was a reasonable nickname for Jeanne d'Arc.
If so, I could imagine the lyrics representing her state of mind during captivity, trials, and torture leading up to her immolation.
I think this could fit well with the other anonymous explanations by others given above.
Does this mesh for anyone else? -
To me this has always sounded like a question to all that is wrong with a religion that has for too long been ruled by greedy humans.
The one who is singing is begging for "Strength to face the truth, the doubt within my soul." so she is obviously still believing in something, and asking for help. But she can "No longer justify the bloodshed in his name." and all these holy wars. All the murder that has been excused by religion through all ages... It may sound like christianity, but can truly be anything, for few things has killed as many humans as disgreements over religion.
But what is the most interesting thing is the part of the lyrics that say "Blinded to see the cruelty of the beast." how the religion has turned her blind, has turned something (probably in this case the 'enemy', the oponent in the war, the sinner) into a monster, a beast. Someone they have all been blinded to kill, to never concider saving or even give the benefit of a doubt.
What is funny is that "the darkest side of me" has obviously come from obeying her faith, in doing what she was taught was right without questioning it -
I think the song is about a girl who when she was born was discriminated for who her parents were. She then experienced so much pain and suffering in her life that she started to question God due to the fact that one of Adam and Eve's sons killed his brother she wonders if bloodshed was always meant by God and murder is meaningful part to worship god, as it says in the part "No longer I can justify the bloodshed in his name" she then turns to Satan and starts murdering people to show she truly worships him. She then every night from that point goes on a killing spree but wakes up in the morning SCARED and confused. Soon she gets arrested and during her trial she tries to tell the judge that she didn't mean to kill and she was consumed by darkness and sadness but the judge says that if that's true than she is a monster but her friend tries to defend her as said in "Blinded to see the cruelty of the beast, it is the darker side of me!" She then gets taken to jail and wonders i f she still has good in her or if she has been corrupted by darkness abd why heaven sacrificed everything she loved and why is it so cruel as said in "Has darkness taken over me consumed my mortal soul. All my virtues sacrificed, can heaven be so cruel?" She turned to killing because she thought it would justify everything as said in "I believe it would justify the means, it had a gold over me!" She then prays to God for forgiveness but never gets any. She wonders why blood was there salvation and hoes that she won't get lost in hell and earth and figures out the truh and hopes for forgiveness and the will to face judgment as said in "I'm hoping I'm praying I won't get lost between two worlds for all I have seen the truth lies in between. Give me the strength to face the wrong that I have done now that I know the darker side of me!" "How can blood be our salvation and justify the pain that we have caused throughout the times, will I learn what's truly sacred will I redeem my soul, will truth set me free?" She then realizes that she might never go to heaven for going against God as said in "Is paradise denied to me 'cause I cant take no more." She then gets executed the next day but goes to neither heaven or hell and is stuck in an eternal limbo between the two. I think this is the best explanation to the song I will continue to analyze it and update this with more and updated analyses of the song.
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It obviously is that she is now doubting her choice in religion, for if God was so loving and forgiving, why would he demand his followers to absolutely slaughter their own kind? It's no way to treat the people you have created. If they were created in God's image, does that make God a ruthless, cold-blooded killer?
That is what she is questioning, and is then also feeling horribly guilty about doubting her God. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I've always come to understand it as about the Crusades. Someone has killed in God's name for so many years that he begins to question why. If God wants everyone to 'love thy neighbor' and if they're working for peace, then why are they killing men, women, and children for him? He's also worried what's worse: the killing or seemingly denying God by questioning/refusing to kill.
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I think this song is about a girl who is in love with a boy. The boy has done awful things in his life, and the girl knows that. She's been overlooking it for years, but she's finally decided that she can't overlook it anymore. But she doesn't want to admit it because she loves him. And she's afraid because she's done bad things with him.
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