Thrice have always seemed like the philosophers of the punk scene. Even their breakout album, The Artist In The Ambulance, was filled with introspective soul searching. Lately, they’ve been taking this to a whole new level. The Alchemy Index was a four disc album devoted to the elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water). This was perhaps their most artistic and literary endeavor; many lyrics on the album explored mythology and legend, from Davey Jones to Daedalus.
Beggars is the culmination of Thrice’s career. Their sound has become defined and polished, their lyrics are poetic and relevant. This album is a huge contrast to the fantasy of The Alchemy Index. While many of the themes are similar, the context is much more modern. They explore human error in many facets; emotional and social issues that are unfortunately turning into accepted practices.
The album kicks off with a coherent thesis. “We are saints made of plaster, our laughter is canned; we are demons that hide in the mirror… but the blood on our hands paints a picture exceedingly clear. We are brimming with cumbersome, murderous greed and malevolence deep and profound. We do unspeakable deeds… does our wickedness know any bounds? Something’s gone terribly wrong with everyone; all the world is mad.” This commentary is anything but subtle, and the lyrical tone continues this way throughout the album.
“The Weight” dives into the issue of selfishness in relationships. “Love is a loyalty sworn, not a burning for a moment.”
“True progress means matching the world to the vision in our heads, but we always change the vision instead,” laments “Circles.”
While this tone can feel judgmental, it is exceptionally honest and poignant. The narrator finally admits to his own weaknesses and mortality in “At the Last.” “Am I a good man? I thought I was, but the rewards of this life now count for naught. My body soon buried and left to rot. The time’s gone, how quickly it all passed. My God, now I see how I’ve squandered each and every breath.”
By the time Thrice concludes their album, it’s difficult for an active listener to walk away from the experience unchanged. The themes explored through the album are extremely human, and---while they do retain a timeless quality---they are also extremely relevant to these particularly trying social and political times.
“All you great men of power, you who boast of your feats---
Politicians and entrepreneurs.
Can you safeguard your breath in the night while you sleep?
Keep your heart beating steady and sure?
As you lie in your bed, does the thought haunt your head
That you’re really rather small?
If there’s one thing I know in this life…
We are beggars all.
All you champions of science and rulers of men,
Can you summon the sun from its sleep?
Does the earth seek your counsel on how fast to spin?
Can you shut up the gates of the deep?
Don’t you know that all things hang, as if by string
Over darkness, poised to fall?
If there’s one thing I know in this life…
We are beggars all.
All you big shots that swagger and stride with conceit,
Did you devise how your frame would be formed?
If you’d been raised in a palace or live out on the street,
Did you choose the place or the hour you’d be born?
Tell me, what can you claim? Not a thing. Not your name.
Tell me if you can recall just one thing that’s not a gift in this life.
Can you hear what’s been said? Can you see now that everything’s graced after all?
If there’s one thing I know in this life…
We are beggars all.”
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