Welcome to "Behind the Lyrics" with Elise Chandler. Each week, I find a song that I feel is understated both musically and lyrically, and I analyze it through several critical lenses.
This week, we are looking at the song "Inside the Fire" by Disturbed. When this song first came out (and even some feel strongly today), it was seen as evil and well...disturbing. Let's just begin with the lyrics, and if you haven't heard the song before, I'd highly suggest giving it a listen. It is heavy, angry, and dangerous sounding. The video is disturbing, so a lyric video may be the best option depending on your preferences.
"Inside the Fire" by DisturbedÂ
"Oh Devon
Won't go to Heaven She's just another lost soul, about to be mine again Leave her We will receive her It is beyond your control Will you ever meet again.
Devon One of eleven Who had been rendered unwhole. As a little child, She was taken And then forsaken You will remember it all Let it blow your mind again.
Devon lies beyond this portal Take the word of one immortal
Give your soul to me For eternity Release your life To begin another time with her End your grief with me There's another way Release your life Take your place inside the fire with her
Sever Now and forever You're just another lost soul about to be mine again See her, you'll never free her You must surrender it all In your life to meet again
Fire All you desire As she begins to turn cold and run out of time You will shiver Till you deliver You will remember it all Let it blow your mind again
Devon lies beyond this portal Take the word of one immortal Give your soul to me For eternity Release your life To begin another time with her End your grief with me There's another way Release your life Take your place inside the fire with her.
Give your soul to me For eternity Release your life To begin another time with her End your grief with me There's another way Release your life Take your place inside the fire with her
Devon Among the livin' Who had been rendered unwhole As a little child She was taken, And then forsaken You will remember it all Let it blow your mind again."
Okay, let's look at this. This song is about a loved one finding "Devon" who has recently taken her own life. We get this by "won't go to heaven" and the idea that taking your own life is considered a sin. The imagery in the actual video implies this as well.Â
What is interesting about this song and is also what usually makes people uneasy is the narrator. The narrator in this song is a demon. We gather this from key passages, especially in the chorus:Â
"Give your soul to me For eternity Release your life To begin another time with her End your grief with me There's another way Release your life Take your place inside the fire with her"
Only an evil entity would ask for a person's soul and use the death of a loved one to convince someone to commit such an atrocity as "selling your soul toÂ
the devil". It is also during this part of the song that musically, it becomes more upbeat and clear. Almost as if the demon knows that the aggressive tone is not working, so it must switch gears. It also explains the beginning where it is convincing the person who found Devon that there's no way she is in heaven because she took her own life. It is filling the person who found her with the most dread and lies possible and continues to go from smooth-talker to aggressive, depending on what technique is working.Â
While this is fascinating, it is not the first time an author has taken this route. The famous Christian author C.S. Lewis (creator of the Chronicles of Narnia) took on the voice of a couple of demons in his classic The Screwtape Letters.
This book caused an uproar in the Christian community, and many thought he has used his position as a Christian author to slither in and brainwash the community with devil worship. However, he defended the fact that he was trying to show the Christian community how smooth-talking and salesman-like demons actually are. They will not show up creepy and crawly. Oh no, they will sweet talk you and slowly push you in the "right" direction. These creatures do not care how long it takes to finally corrupt you; they just want to win.Â
The same thing can be heard, perhaps even more clearly than C.S. Lewis' classic because of the audio, in Disturbed's "Inside the Fire". Suicide is an unfortunate event, and many fail to understand that while the person may have chosen to take their own life, they were not mentally healthy. Something may have pushed them to believe there was no alternative. Could it be the work of demons?Â
If so, this song takes on an even scarier and terrifying twist. Not only has this demon succeeded in convincing young Devon that she is not a beautiful gift to this world with wonderful talents to share, but it has instantly switched gears to attack the next person who gets close enough to it. Nothing makes it happy except the thrill of corruption, so it jumps from person to person -- soul to soul.Â
So, the lesson we can pull from this is when those dark thoughts or self-doubts start whispering in our ears, we must stay strong and remember -- we have a purpose here. People will miss us. And folks, you are never alone. Until next time.Â