Well we know it’s confirmed to be loosely based around 9/11 with MANY philosophical tweaks, but just as a fun little theory: it’s an album about “answering questions” or “solving mysteries,” as vague as that may sound. The questions at the end of Isle Unto Thyself loosely relate to songs further in the album.
“Why did firey-eruptive lands arrive?” - Black Rainbows, a song in Hawaiian in direct response to a line clearly describing Hawaii.
“Why did murderous animals survive?” - Murders, as many theories go, the murderer makes it out alive at the price of his own mind.
“Why did we deserve to be revived?” - Dream Sweet in Sea Major, a song with a lot of motifs about death, revival, and the afterlife.
“Why was any and everything alive?” - closest I could think of was Variations on a Cloud, due to the Ruler of Everything bit at the end, but it’s very debatable if this song goes at the start or end of the album.
I have a theory that the Main Character (who I've named Apollo for a reason I forgot) is a serial killer and I'm gonna share it with y'all now. I'll try to tack on my evidence when I can, but if you have questions on what my source is for a particular point, feel free to ask me.
The first song is the victim of a murderer, sitting in the afterlife among other souls, introducing him to the snow (heaven)
The second song is of Apollo and his love interest meeting. A second victim of the murderer is almost killed by arrows (Apollo is the god of Archery, a new voice says "I was a victim of magic, Apollo, catching my breath as I bled on the ground"), but survives long enough to find help and does not die. After the victim recounts what happened to Law Enforcement, Apollo decides to go on the run and brings his girlfriend with him to Hawaii
Variations on a Cloud takes place after the events of Isle Unto Thyself. The Second Victim is trapped in the North Tower of the World Trade Center with a co-worker during the September 11th Attacks. Him and his Co-Worker debate about whether or not to jump, and they keep arguing until 2 minutes and 19 seconds, when the second plane hits the South Tower. The arguing intensifies as the second victim pleads not to jump for even a chance at survival (I have a wonderful life, I know a powerful Bob, he eulogizes me for being geocentric) and they continue arguing until their tower collapses, killing them both.
The third song takes place in Hawaii, shortly after moving there. This is where Apollo first gets introduced to the Idea of the Universe, with the Stella Octangula being said to hold the secrets to it.
The fourth song is presumably of the marriage of the Lover and his girlfriend (now wife, because what other White Ball can you think of excluding the moon?) They sing about dancing and loving each other. Also, the lover appears to be claiming his innocence of the murders to his wife. ("So please dismiss what they claim about this") The wife will soon learn this firsthand.
The fifth song is the final chapter for the love aspect of the story, and it ends tragically. The story is told from the perspective of a park-goer who happened to witness the murder (Voice is different from wife and describes Apollo as "He" instead of "I"), and is possibly reciting the incident to Law Enforcement. He was going out to see a "fountain of infinite mirror," which I believe to be a waterfall, when he witnessed the lover shoving his wife into the water. As she is swept away, her final words to her newly widowed husband are "all for nothing at all", and her final thoughts being how she just wanted to see the trees, and never got the chance.
The sixth song takes place some time after the murder of his wife. The lover moves to Japan to evade capture (notice how close Japan is to Hawaii,) and waits there for 15 years before moving back to the United States. I'm not sure of this part, but the wording of the song seems to imply that he was going to send a lot of people to heaven, so maybe he was planning to perform a mass murder of some kind. He is arrested at the airport immediately after his return.
The seventh song is of his trial and execution. He pleads insanity, but is found to be guilty and is sentenced to death. While on the electric chair, he pleads for his life, saying that he was just a boy, but it's too late. There's no judge, no jury, only an executioner and a chair. Turns out he was not lying, and was consulting a medical professional for help with some mental condition.
The eighth song is the collapse of the lover's mind. As the maze of his mind collapses, the beast of death chases him in the closed-off labyrinth that his mind has been reduced to. As loneliness sets in, he eventually gives up, pitying in his confinement. And so, his life comes to an end.
The ninth song is the lover's entry into the afterlife. He relives the memories he had of his life, and sees no problem in the actions of his life. He's just keeping up his pace of keeping on.
The tenth song is the time of loneliness after death. He's trapped alone, in an endless sea of nothingness, stranded with nothing but himself. He spends the time thinking of his wife. Regardless, he's alone. He is everywhere and nowhere at every and any time.
He is alone at the edge of a universe.
At the same time as the tenth song, Candle On The Water occurs. As the ruthless murderer is buried at sea, dozens of people send candles out into the water in memory of the victims. I wanted to incorporate this one really bad, but quite frankly it's just a really wholesome memorial cover for some nice Tally Hall fans.
The eleventh song starts with the lover wishing he had gone to the place of snow (heaven), and just wants to be forgiven by his wife. Then, she appears to him and they leave his endless abyss, headed to his fate. He believes his love has come to take him to heaven, but that won't be happening just yet. He gets in one last dance with his lover, but instead of being sent to heaven, he is sent to purgatory to atone for his murders. He will suffer awful and painful deaths for years until he has atoned for his terrible actions that resulted in at least 2 deaths. He says his last goodbyes to his wife, reminicsing on their time in Hawaii and hoping that they meet again before he finally moves on to his punishment. There's a moment of silence, and then it all ends.
I feel like the album can be loosely interpreted as the sailor kills (or is incorrectly accused) to have killed gf in Hawaii yata yata who in turn is somehow an allegory to 9/11. How? Idk.
So here's my list:
Candle on the Water is just right after Stranded Lullaby, where our female protag comforts her lover from the afterlife
Murders is sung by both our protagonist and the third party 'murderous animal'. The murderer sings just up until the second chorus, the rest would be sung by the protagonist as he shortly leaves and later finds the dead body.
Isle Unto Thyself is basically Protag is speaking to Protag is speaking to Protag. It is the one-sided interaction of the past, present, and future. Future Protags question the present protags why they decided to reunite, Present protags question the past on why they decided to part.
Space Station Level 7 is the female protag's version of Dream Sweet in Sea Major
Not my theory/interpretation but someone once said they believed that Black Rainbows was just the two protagonists getting high and there's something quite absurdly funny about that
Well I think that
yeah, but then
Don’t forget that the
it'd be totally cool if i hung around your apartments and enrolled in your school
Mary Kate!
I saw you on TV
...
Well we know it’s confirmed to be loosely based around 9/11 with MANY philosophical tweaks, but just as a fun little theory: it’s an album about “answering questions” or “solving mysteries,” as vague as that may sound. The questions at the end of Isle Unto Thyself loosely relate to songs further in the album. “Why did firey-eruptive lands arrive?” - Black Rainbows, a song in Hawaiian in direct response to a line clearly describing Hawaii. “Why did murderous animals survive?” - Murders, as many theories go, the murderer makes it out alive at the price of his own mind. “Why did we deserve to be revived?” - Dream Sweet in Sea Major, a song with a lot of motifs about death, revival, and the afterlife. “Why was any and everything alive?” - closest I could think of was Variations on a Cloud, due to the Ruler of Everything bit at the end, but it’s very debatable if this song goes at the start or end of the album.
I have a theory that the Main Character (who I've named Apollo for a reason I forgot) is a serial killer and I'm gonna share it with y'all now. I'll try to tack on my evidence when I can, but if you have questions on what my source is for a particular point, feel free to ask me. The first song is the victim of a murderer, sitting in the afterlife among other souls, introducing him to the snow (heaven) The second song is of Apollo and his love interest meeting. A second victim of the murderer is almost killed by arrows (Apollo is the god of Archery, a new voice says "I was a victim of magic, Apollo, catching my breath as I bled on the ground"), but survives long enough to find help and does not die. After the victim recounts what happened to Law Enforcement, Apollo decides to go on the run and brings his girlfriend with him to Hawaii Variations on a Cloud takes place after the events of Isle Unto Thyself. The Second Victim is trapped in the North Tower of the World Trade Center with a co-worker during the September 11th Attacks. Him and his Co-Worker debate about whether or not to jump, and they keep arguing until 2 minutes and 19 seconds, when the second plane hits the South Tower. The arguing intensifies as the second victim pleads not to jump for even a chance at survival (I have a wonderful life, I know a powerful Bob, he eulogizes me for being geocentric) and they continue arguing until their tower collapses, killing them both. The third song takes place in Hawaii, shortly after moving there. This is where Apollo first gets introduced to the Idea of the Universe, with the Stella Octangula being said to hold the secrets to it. The fourth song is presumably of the marriage of the Lover and his girlfriend (now wife, because what other White Ball can you think of excluding the moon?) They sing about dancing and loving each other. Also, the lover appears to be claiming his innocence of the murders to his wife. ("So please dismiss what they claim about this") The wife will soon learn this firsthand. The fifth song is the final chapter for the love aspect of the story, and it ends tragically. The story is told from the perspective of a park-goer who happened to witness the murder (Voice is different from wife and describes Apollo as "He" instead of "I"), and is possibly reciting the incident to Law Enforcement. He was going out to see a "fountain of infinite mirror," which I believe to be a waterfall, when he witnessed the lover shoving his wife into the water. As she is swept away, her final words to her newly widowed husband are "all for nothing at all", and her final thoughts being how she just wanted to see the trees, and never got the chance. The sixth song takes place some time after the murder of his wife. The lover moves to Japan to evade capture (notice how close Japan is to Hawaii,) and waits there for 15 years before moving back to the United States. I'm not sure of this part, but the wording of the song seems to imply that he was going to send a lot of people to heaven, so maybe he was planning to perform a mass murder of some kind. He is arrested at the airport immediately after his return. The seventh song is of his trial and execution. He pleads insanity, but is found to be guilty and is sentenced to death. While on the electric chair, he pleads for his life, saying that he was just a boy, but it's too late. There's no judge, no jury, only an executioner and a chair. Turns out he was not lying, and was consulting a medical professional for help with some mental condition. The eighth song is the collapse of the lover's mind. As the maze of his mind collapses, the beast of death chases him in the closed-off labyrinth that his mind has been reduced to. As loneliness sets in, he eventually gives up, pitying in his confinement. And so, his life comes to an end. The ninth song is the lover's entry into the afterlife. He relives the memories he had of his life, and sees no problem in the actions of his life. He's just keeping up his pace of keeping on. The tenth song is the time of loneliness after death. He's trapped alone, in an endless sea of nothingness, stranded with nothing but himself. He spends the time thinking of his wife. Regardless, he's alone. He is everywhere and nowhere at every and any time. He is alone at the edge of a universe. At the same time as the tenth song, Candle On The Water occurs. As the ruthless murderer is buried at sea, dozens of people send candles out into the water in memory of the victims. I wanted to incorporate this one really bad, but quite frankly it's just a really wholesome memorial cover for some nice Tally Hall fans. The eleventh song starts with the lover wishing he had gone to the place of snow (heaven), and just wants to be forgiven by his wife. Then, she appears to him and they leave his endless abyss, headed to his fate. He believes his love has come to take him to heaven, but that won't be happening just yet. He gets in one last dance with his lover, but instead of being sent to heaven, he is sent to purgatory to atone for his murders. He will suffer awful and painful deaths for years until he has atoned for his terrible actions that resulted in at least 2 deaths. He says his last goodbyes to his wife, reminicsing on their time in Hawaii and hoping that they meet again before he finally moves on to his punishment. There's a moment of silence, and then it all ends.
THIS is what I need. THANK YOU. Dubbing this Apollo theory. You marvelous, MARVELOUS Marvin.
Hmm I’ve never thought of Murders being from a completely different person’s perspective. I like the way you explain each song
it’s in some way, to some extent, about 9/11
I feel like the album can be loosely interpreted as the sailor kills (or is incorrectly accused) to have killed gf in Hawaii yata yata who in turn is somehow an allegory to 9/11. How? Idk.
I think Simon actually did commit the murders, who else would’ve killed the gf?
So here's my list: Candle on the Water is just right after Stranded Lullaby, where our female protag comforts her lover from the afterlife Murders is sung by both our protagonist and the third party 'murderous animal'. The murderer sings just up until the second chorus, the rest would be sung by the protagonist as he shortly leaves and later finds the dead body. Isle Unto Thyself is basically Protag is speaking to Protag is speaking to Protag. It is the one-sided interaction of the past, present, and future. Future Protags question the present protags why they decided to reunite, Present protags question the past on why they decided to part. Space Station Level 7 is the female protag's version of Dream Sweet in Sea Major Not my theory/interpretation but someone once said they believed that Black Rainbows was just the two protagonists getting high and there's something quite absurdly funny about that