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The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Turn the Bells" by the artist "White Lies"

White Lies' "Turn the Bells" paints a picture of a desolate, somber world steeped in loss and uncertainty. The lyrics are laden with contrasts and metaphors, conveying a sense of both unease and hope.

The empty market, trembling awnings, and whistling wind speak of abandonment and decay. Nature, however, persists: fish "break the water's skin," symbolizing the fragility of the world and the constant motion despite stagnation in human life.

The image of a child with freezing fingers in the water evokes coldness and vulnerability. "A cloud is just a ripple in the water," "shadows like a veil," "ice patches instead of tears" – these comparisons emphasize the ephemeral, ghostly nature of what is happening.

Further on, religious motifs appear: "oil in the font," "casualties of flattery," "drum rolls in the caves" – creating a sense of ritual, a premonition of change. "Patrons show their real faces" – a hint of hypocrisy and hidden motives.

The chorus, "You'll find your better friends... I'll turn the bells," is a beacon of hope in this bleak world. The ringing of bells symbolizes change, a new stage. Perhaps it is a call for unity, to find support in each other in the face of uncertainty.

Images of storm clouds, the sunset's bargain with time, the crunching of beads like bones – all maintain an atmosphere of anxiety. "Poor hovels collect cheap crystal" – a metaphor for wasted efforts, the illusion of values.

Sandalwood trees with "bark the color of dried blood" and "crescent smiles" are an image of ominous beauty, reminiscent of transience and the inevitability of the end.

Bikers on the lake shore with smoke like a "wall-eyed mistake" and spirits in the water torn apart by the current are symbols of the fleeting nature of life, the tragedy of fate.

The repetition of the chorus at the end emphasizes the importance of unity and hope for the best in this complex and incomprehensible world.

The market-place has nothing to sell

Left alone its awnings shiver

Wind whistles through the wood

Fish teeth snapping in a river

Peaks puncture the sky

Like a child's icy toes

Dipped in a stream

That a few of us know

And the cloud just a ripple?

A shock from the impact?

Shadows on the streets

Look like veils at morning

Ice blots in the stone cracks

Where tears must have fallen

Oil by the bucket feeds flares to the heavens

Offerings of incense, small bills and lemons

Drumbeats in the caves

And heartbeats in the huts

Protectors unveiled

For the first time in months

You find some best friends,

We'll hold each other

And I'll turn the bells

I'll turn the bells [2x]

The storm clouds pass and everything's for sale

The chattering of rapids,

And bartering of sunset

Beads crunch like bones

Through fingers and knuckles

Poor hans pick cheap quartz

In the quarries and cliff-edge

A group od sandalwood trees

With clotted blood coloured bark

Candle-lit teeth

Half-moon smiles in the dark

The biker gangs smoking

On the edge of the lake

The smoke like white horses

A white-eyed mistake

There's spirits in the water

Like photos in a box

They're torn by the current

And crushed by the rocks

You find some best friends,

We'll hold each other

And I'll turn the bells

I'll turn the bells [4x]

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