Cowardice

"**Cowardice"** is track eleven on the **Hungry Lights** studio album "**Three Gods & Me**." Remember that this is a **summary**, not the entire story! It is like 10% of what is actually going on—just the skeleton. It is a rough translation of what is **literally** going on in the lyrics. There is also a **figurative** story that is taking place at the same time which goes much deeper and does not involve the fictional character Prill, but that is up to you to find :) It is much easier to discover the hidden meaning when you grasp a decent understanding of the literal meaning first. These are your puzzle pieces, and I highly suggest you study them before pursuing the next albums in the sequence, otherwise emotion and information will be lost, therefore connections will be missed!

## Story

"**Cowardice**" is the frightening climax of "**Three Gods & Me**." Right off the bat, we hear an ominous guitar riff set in, then Reflaugh asks Prill for the prize money he won from defeating The Three Gods, and he says that if he can have it, he will call it even, and Prill can go home to his family. Prill got his wish. He was free, he was famous, he had redeemed himself from the failures in the previous two albums...

The first two verses, Prill expresses that he has definitely changed, but that the line between right and wrong is "blurry." As the song progresses, he says he has grown *crooked*, that he *has plans of his own* (possibly ones subtly revealed in "**Blueprint**") despite the way out the universe has given him. Then we get to the foreshadowing, pure evil, villainous scatting, a short boast of confidence, then silence.

Justin said that in that moment of silence, Prill murders Reflaugh. The line "*Look how my conscience was cleared!*" and the ones that follow it back this up. This action here is representative of Prill reaching the brink—the point of no return. He has finally taken a real dip into the insanity that has been building up from "**The Awry Ascent**" to now, and he LOVES it. This moment is the highlight of his entire life... but it quickly fades.

The recurring chorus hits, and this time it is different. Prill looks *inside* himself, finds nothing, decides to be realistic, and he pulls out "the spear." He is free. Knowing that there are still two full albums until the end of Prill's adventure... what do you think will happen next? We can only speculate until the fourth album, "**Mudoo Ra**" makes its appearance.

## Lyrics

Every time I disgraced,

I felt like I was on top of the world

A flash in the pan had laid me

Right where I wanted to be

Suffering’s never enough

‘Cause surely my soul was as sharp as my teeth

I’m in between right and wrong—a blurry line

A change happened to me...

I’ve grown crooked up the fence,

 ‘Cause I couldn’t pick a side

I didn’t follow the outset

The waves forebode a storm was coming for me

But I had plans of my own

-A couple of cards stashed deep in my sleeve

I’ve grown crooked up the fence

‘Cause I couldn’t pick a side

Don’t I feel strange…

‘Twas coming along

-My great design

It had come…

And who was I not to believe?

Yah dahdahdah dah-

Daah dahdah dahdah

Yah dahdahdah dum

I’d been blessed

No more that weak, pathetic twig on the fence

How would it feel to prove you wrong?

Let’s wait and see…

Look how my conscience was cleared!

There’s no more bothering

No chirping nonsense on my shoulder

All whispers melted to sighs

And you fell silent,

Speaking nothing of my insurrection

I was glad to finally be rid of

All you piquing beggars

You had bound me safely to the tightrope

I was kept from making the dive

My dear, at the bottom I found solace

Seeking what I once thought the end

Caught in the triumph,

I saw myself brighter than ever before

And the chaos and wonder inside my head?

O’ I couldn’t hear anymore!

I flourished, the fever I had was gone

-A plashet of oil and tar

The outside now echoed my victory

I shined like a star!

*Then I made to look inside myself,*

*And I found nothing I could value*

*So I took my head down from the clouds*

*And I pulled out that spear*