Rot - Lyric Ananlysis

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Not to long ago I wrote a devotion that centered around part of the song Rot by Lacey Sturm. Now seems like a good time to take a deeper look into the whole song.

Rot was written by Tom Gascon, Ben Hull, Saria Dorsey, Josh Sturm, and Lacey Sturm. It was produced by Evan Rodaniche.

This song does segue from a short spoken word song called vanity that is about an abusive relationship but I’ll let you discover that on your own.

Intro
I can't hold my head up in this dark room anymore
I need a lightning bolt to raise me from this grave
Here comes fresh fire
Fresh fire, fresh fire

This sets the stage for the song by really admitting that the singer is dead, stuck in a grave without the ability to continue on. This is also a call to rise from the grave and to then be back in the world with a new perspective and fully motivated to make a difference. Fresh fire seems odd at first but when you take a second to see that it is signaling a statement that I have been reignited it works. It really is a soul set on fire to make a difference.

Verse One
So infatuated by the darkness and so surrounded by the light
Oh my God, save my soul
And still I want what's pure and want what's right
But I need another fix tonight
Oh my God, save my soul

This kind of feels like a step back after that intro. This is the struggle of knowing and wanting what is right but being pulled down by the desires of what is wrong. This sees the continued cry for help but it feels more like a statement from before the fresh fire has set in.

Chorus
Beneath her glowing eyes that call like fire to a moth
The most disgusting lies are dressed in beauty that'll rot
Oh my God, you've won the coldest battle we've fought
Deliverance is mine, from all this beauty that'll rot

This is where we really get to the point that this song wants to be making. It is all about disguises. This really makes sense, the best looking, most attractive things are often the ones that can harm us the most. Additionally, all that beauty will fade away with the world and what remains will be truth and God. I’m not sure what is meant by the coldest battle but it seems to result in the realization that this world will rot away and what comes next will be true beauty.

Verse Two
Mirror mirror on the wall, will there be glory if I fall?
Oh my God, save my soul
I need a faith that's solid as concrete, but the impact's broken both my knees
Oh my God, save my soul

This one is interesting because it contrast that chorus but gets to a larger issue. The idea here is what happens if I fail? I know I won’t Rot away if there is solid faith but it is so hard to keep after my shortcomings. Verse one is the struggle of wanting to do good and falling to the bad. Verse two shifts to the fear of what happens when I can’t do the right thing all the time. This is a really nice direction for the verse to take.

Chorus
Beneath her glowing eyes that call like fire to a moth
The most disgusting lies are dressed in beauty that'll rot
Oh my God, you've won the coldest battle we've fought
Deliverance is mine, from all this beauty that'll rot
Don't wanna rot

Unfortunately verse two doesn’t change the perspective of the chorus or give us more context.

Ending
I can't hold my head up in this dark room anymore
I need a lightning bolt to raise me from this grave
Here comes fresh fire

Breathtaking blinding truth, freedom I never knew

Oh my God, you've won the coldest battle we've fought
Deliverance is mine, from all this beauty that'll rot

This is interesting because it revisits the intro adds to it by showing the fuel for the fresh fire and then declaring the victory displayed in the chorus. The fuel is the truth and freedom that come with God’s love and that love is what brings to light the beautiful lies that will one day rot.

Overall, to me, this is a very well written song. I so wish the chorus felt like it progressed more but that is such a hard thing to accomplish. There are some other issues that could have been more fleshed out but some of that is addressed with the setup from Vanity.

Hopefully this has inspired you to look a little deeper into some of your favorite songs and Think Before You Sing.

 

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