Poets of the Fall – Nothing Stays the Same

There are songs, like the ones I talked about in my previous post – i.e. War and Late Goodbye – that do not “talk” to you the way they were actually intended… at least, it is one way to look at it (since in all honesty, I am not sure we will ever know the true intent of any Poets of the Fall song ?). That being said, there are barely any song in Poets of the Fall‘s repertoire that do not touch me, one way or another… for example: The Happy Song… don’t like it, but provided I am in the right mood, it will make me chipper ?. Seek you out, however, I dislike the chorus immensely… I am very sorry Marko but your chorus sounds too much like Rick Asley’s Never Give You Up and too much of the eighties that I actually do not like… nope, you guys are much better than that ?. That is the one song that will never ever make it to any of my playlists… I know, harsh… you’ll have to deal with it because I am not apologising ?

Jealous Gods

I have probably said it before, but I’ll say it again. Before we moved to the house, when I was still on sick leave and writing on Misfit at Heart pretty much all the time, I remember listening exclusively to Jealous Gods because it was the album I had listened to the least (before Clearview as well). So, a whole day of Jealous Gods and suddenly it hit me… I mean, I did not change album or anything. I listened with my headphones and quite loudly too, but it was some kind of background soundtrack until it felt like it had crept under my skin without my noticing it and hypnotised me. All of a sudden, I had chills for every chord, every word and that is when Jealous God became so amazing to me.  Before that, of course, Daze and Choice Millionaire kind of stole the show and were the best that Jealous Gods had to offer. Yeah, right! Think again…

The thing is, even though it is only natural that to each one’s own opinion, I never could understand how some could find Jealous Gods bland and easily forgettable. OK, maybe I can understand but I cannot… and it is not because I am a Poets nerd… well, maybe it is… no, I say it again, it is not. You see, the arguments about Jealous Gods being an “un-poet” album do not hold because none of what was said can be considered a valid argument. But enough about this. The point is, it took me a day to come around and start loving Jealous Gods. It is only later that songs such as Clear Blue Sky or Nothing Stays the Same caught me off guard.

Cowboy song

I used to call Nothing Stays the Same the cowboy song until I heard The Ballad of Jeremiah Peacekeeper, which blew my mind but I never could remember the title… for either of these two songs, for a very long time. So I had two cowboy songs which I liked a lot, and ultimately, I had to make an effort and learn their titles. So I did and the cowboy song nickname is gone back to the closet… for now.

Nothings Stays the Same

Believe it or not, it is the music that got me here… good and proper at that too. I mean, in the middle of the song, the instrumental that goes on forever which I ultimately find too short anyway…  takes my breath away ever time; and usually Marko owns that privilege, but this song: Olli, Jani, Jaska, Captain and Jari… together as one, definitely own it. High praise indeed and yet, I still have to experience it live. For what I have heard from my fellow fans, or seen on YouTube, Nothing Stays the Same is a very special song. There is something about it that puts Marko in some kind of trance – or something – when he sings it. Emotionally loaded, as I understand it, he does not only sings it baring his heart and soul, he literally lives it.

Nothing stays the same… as for the lyrics

When sorrow calls my name
I know nothing stays the same…

I would not be able to explain the lyrics even though I understand the meaning… what I can tell you is this. I feel hopelessness in the words; the character is lost… or would that be Marko, plain and simple… whatever. I feel the “they said this and that”, “should I listen or not”, “I disagree with this but I’ll do it anyway”… the contradiction of life, the influence we have on one another and the pain we cause… and in the midst of all that confusion, good prevails. Is it a person, a thought, a feeling? Your guess is as good as mine, maybe it is all at once. What I mean is that, if you pay attention to the lyrics extra much you will be able to feel every word… the strength and heaviness behind their meanings. There is yet a sense of loss too in this song… although I cannot really put my finger on it, I am mostly guessing as Marko sings:

And weak as I am you’re like an angel standing by me

We all see what we wanna see; and I suppose that we have our frame of references that makes us understand and interpret songs in different ways. That’s OK, right… I have to say though, that I have not experienced it at such an intense level with any other band… and there are loads of other amazing bands out there, but Poets of the Fall have magic about them that makes me go numb ?, it cannot be helped.

Found this… you might enjoy!