“Become The Storm” ended its bridge with the words “I leave myself behind.” “Chainsaw Lullaby” shows what a farewell like that can sound like: like a lullaby.
It is the most unsettling idea on the record. To hear it right, you need to know from the start who this lullaby is being sung to.
Who the Lullaby Is For
The first verse takes words from two well-known lullabies: “Hush little baby, don’t say a word…” and “Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop…”
But the “baby” in this song is not a child. The pre-chorus says so outright: “Close your eyes… say goodbye… / To everything you used to be…”
The outro leaves no doubt: “Hush little baby… / now the old me is dead…” The lullaby is sung to the old self.
A Brand New World
“Daddy’s gonna buy you a brand new world… / But first I’m gonna burn the one we had…”
A traditional lullaby promises a gift. The promise here is the same; only the condition is different: the old world has to go first.
The verse ends with the line “When the old life breaks, the new one won’t stop…”
Goodnight, Failures
The second verse ends with a string of farewells: “Goodnight my failures, goodnight my fears… / Goodnight to all those wasted years…”
Here the lullaby does exactly what lullabies do: it puts something to sleep. Only what it puts to sleep is what you never want to wake again.
Earlier in the same verse: “House of cards built on pretty lies…”
Finally Free
The bridge: “Sleep tight… little broken child… / I’m killing what you were…” It has to be read the way the lyric frames it — “what you were.” Not somebody else, but who you used to be.
And then: “One last breath… of who I used to be… / Then I rise… finally free…”
The last chorus: “Watch the old world fucking die!” It is the first of five tracks on the record with the [E] badge. And the outro ends with the words “welcome to my head…” — this whole lullaby takes place inside the head.
You can hear the track on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
In the next post I will write about “Gods In The Mirror” — about the god you looked for outside, looking back at you from the mirror.
Thank you for being here.
Adam Smentoch Creator of the Dust Anthem project
