The Fire (Remains)

The Fire (Remains)
For so long have my teeth held my tongue from a venomous voice (From a venomous voice)
But the poison has passed from my lips to my hands, an incendiary ploy
(And Hell will open up its flue) I bare my soul through the flames before me
(And you will witness what the fire can undo)

Far from the ash, I will be born again
Where every debt is repaid
Nothing left to keep me out of paradise
As portraits of the past fade away

The id dots the i’s of antiquity
While the ego, of late, has held sway
Too foolish to stray past the line, but too weary to stay
Too weary to stay

Far too long have I waited to witness the balances bend (The balances bend)
In the favor of wrongs being remedied, wickedness coming to an end

Far from the ash, I will be born again
Where every debt is repaid
Nothing left to keep me out of paradise
As portraits of the past fade away

Far beyond the act, I will be whole again
A phoenix out of the flame
I’m burying that menace in a memory
A funeral held in my name

The ritual pyre’s sending smoke to the sky
As the building continues to burn
The wrath in the ruin, the pain in the grave
As the lies are retired to the urn
But we can’t keep the embers from catching
The truth from destroying us all
Do I die as the martyr or miscreant? I’ll make the call
I’ll make the call

Far from the ash, I will be born again
Where every debt is repaid
Nothing left to keep me out of paradise
As portraits of the past fade away

Far beyond the act, I will be whole again
A phoenix out of the flame
I’m burying that menace in my memory
A funeral held in my name
Held in my name

🌲🌲🌲

What happens?
Learning of the death of Ms Leading, and understanding instantly that TP&P killed her, Hunter does not break down, but takes vengeance upon TP&P. Hunter burns down the Church and the Dime. He recognises that the truth of his actions and identity will come out, as will that of TP&P, but feels he can explain himself and be properly venerated. Hunter leaves the scene. Cityfolk angrily come upon the remains of the Church.

What’s in a name?
‘The Fire (Remains)’ — The other half of the whammy. Same concepts as described in The Flame, but this time focused on Hunter’s part of the equation, with him finally taking the action of vengeance/destruction of evil by burning down the Dime. With that, the purpose of Hunter’s life as given in Battesimo Del Fuoco is fulfilled, while symbolically avenging Ms Terri.

Whose viewpoint?
Hunter.

🌲🌲🌲

>0:00 – 0:19 Sad Melpomene Cont.
Transitions out of The Flame while also suggesting the event of Hunter learning about Ms Leading’s death. Wonder if Hunter heard the news through a third party or if he physically came upon her corpse to find out? Either way, he recognises that this ‘accident’ was not an ‘accident’, but a murder committed by TP&P.

>For so long have my teeth held my tongue from a venomous voice (From a venomous voice)
Which we can see here, since he’s furious. Looks like Mr. Usher’s plan didn’t ‘work’ — far from break Hunter into confusion and despair, it’s just infuriated him and reinforced to him that this self-affirmed, violent, vengeful course he’s been flirting with is correct.

Since he is able to read the murder as being TP&P’s work, we can figure that TP&P’s motive in killing Ms Leading is transparent to Hunter. He can tell the death was an attempt to punish and demoralise him so that he would not resist TP&P. This has been TP&P’s approach towards Hunter this whole time, trying to punish, demoralise, and guilt him as a bad person, so it’s not crazy that Hunter would click onto it.

‘For so long have my teeth held my tongue from a venomous voice’ -> anyway the line. Really nice one.

‘Teeth held my tongue’ evokes Cauda; ‘we’re biting our tongues / (biding our time)’; Hunter has been hesitant to act against TP&P even though they have been obviously growing nearer and nearer towards large, messy, and inevitable conflict. Hunter can frame this hesitation as him waiting for the right moment to strike, but it’s moreso that he’s been scared to buck the status quo and kick off open hostility.

‘Held my tongue from a venomous voice’ -> Drawing the tongue motif from HHMHT; In hesitating and restraining himself from committing to open hostility, he has not been being true to himself or his inner desires. He has wanted to viciously condemn and destroy TP&P, publicly and openly, for a long time.

‘Venomous voice’ -> Alludes to Hunter’s desire to divulge the truth about TP&P; his desire that TP&P be ruined and unveiled, but also the more general aspect of Hunter being hobbled from acting with (openly expressing) hostility at all.

>But the poison has passed from my lips to my hands, an incendiary ploy
Hunter’s hostility has shifted from the realms of ideas, desires, or wishes into action. With great surety, he assembles what he needs and sets out to burn down the Dime. (Or the Church. I can’t tell which one he lights first, if he only lights one and the flames spread to the other of their own accord, or if he lights both).

Hearkening HHMHT with the hands motif again; being used in the ‘action’ sense here.

Hearkens Gloria with ‘an incendiary ploy’ (’Found in a flood of incendiary plans’); the plan of arson conceived in Gloria is now being actioned.

>(And Hell will open up its flue) I bare my soul through the flames before me
Hunter sets the building alight, basking to admire the flame as it grows.

‘(And Hell will open up its flue)’ -> Points to the literal element of the viciousness of this fire, sending up thick black hellish smoke as the building burns. Might be indicating that the first building to burn is the Dime, if Dime = Hell and it is casting up smoke? And likely carries the element of ‘venting’, Hunter is venting his pent-up fury and hatred by destroying the building.

‘I bare my soul through the flames before me’ -> Setting fire to the Dime is Hunter’s destiny. I mean, for Hunter it’s more like, seeing the flames rise and consume the building is the greatest expression of his beliefs and desires possible, an announcement that he is not capitulating to TP&P or to fear anymore — achieved by his utter, cleansing destruction of the evil of the Dime, something he has desired to destroy from the moment he found out it could be hurting Ms Terri (1878).

See, Hunter’s fundamental self is defined by Ms Terri’s ‘flame’ and the resultant ‘fire’ he is. It was by trying to burn the Dime that she was able to briefly escape and raise Hunter, who probably would’ve been, (and definitely would’ve been, if you follow the Hunter and Son are twins theory), taken from her otherwise. But even when she fails to destroy her old life and connection to sin, she still chooses to keep Hunter away from corruption and raise him in a world of safety and innocence, because of her absolute and selfless love for him. This love for/from Ms Terri is what ultimately became the core of Hunter’s character, his deepest value, and his strongest desire.

These flames, which do away with the evil that brought so much suffering to so many people, don’t just finish Ms Terri’s business, they venerate everything that she stood for. Further, it expresses his vengeance for Ms Leading, as he loves Ms Leading, desires her memory honoured, and the one who harmed her destroyed. These are sentiments of deep positivity and love that fundamentally underlie the destruction, and in all are the meaning of Hunter’s character, distilled into this one moment.

>(And you will witness what the fire can undo)
Hunter means to destroy TP&P so thoroughly that he will never have any influence again and never be able to harm others again. He wants to make all of TP&P’s deeds and accomplishments up to this point meaningless. That includes his reopening of the Dime and his subversion of Hunter.

While literally undoing the accomplishments of TP&P by taking away his possessions and power, it also represents the exoneration of Hunter, and his complete absolution for the sins he has committed to now. We saw Hunter make dumber and dumber decisions and grow more and more corrupt, away from his core values, as the acts went on — but this action is a complete disavowal of those sins and of those decisions, shifting Hunter into a force committed to righteous integrity and truth.

Previous line emphasises ‘the flame’; the love of Ms Terri and Ms Leading (and people suffering from TP&P’s wiles in general like the congregation) that fuels Hunter to this, this line emphasises ‘the fire’; demonstration of Hunter’s actual strength and wrath re: vengeful destruction/aggression, which TP&P underestimated.

>Far from the ash, I will be born again / Where every debt is repaid / Nothing left to keep me out of paradise / As portraits of the past fade away
Love this!

Hunter intends to shed his ‘Son’ persona and ‘Mayor’ role and adopt a new life far from the City, (probably looking to go back to the Lake with his family), having left no loose ends and resolved his affairs here with the swift and absolute destruction of the evils that entangled him. It is a call for absolution that allows Hunter to cast away his sins and pursue virtue. Again, it follows Hunter’s typical life pattern of killing his present self to pursue a new course, but the new course this time would be one properly fuelled with a clear vision, clear conscience, and knowledge that the force behind him is finally positive. Riding his own infant wave.

Metaphorically, it’s also alluding to how Hunter will die, but how his son exists to carry the torch against evil and this time completely destroy it, so Hunter has fulfilled everything he could or needs to. Probably hinting at some Act VI stuff.

‘Portraits of the past fade away’ -> Love this. Get the image of this referring to the Dime’s destruction (the entire plotline that arises from Ms Terri, into Ms Leading, so this deep fundamental stuff for Hunter, but presents these open and boundless prospects for the future now that this absolute tumour is gone). Also guessing that Hunter’s memory and deeds will slowly be forgotten as his son comes into prominence.

>The id dots the i’s of antiquity / While the ego, of late, has held sway
Super brainy fancy phrasing. Really straightforward though once you look at it

‘The id dots the I’s of antiquity’ -> Hunter was egregiously impulsive and reactive from Acts I-IV; it’s just kinda his nature. Singling out his flaw of being horrible at thinking before kneejerking into whatever seems like an immediate good idea or solution.

‘While the ego, of late, has held sway’ -> But now during Act V he’s become more composed and in control of himself, with a sense of forethought and consequence driving his actions. Underlines how this burning of the Dime is not just Hunter stupidly kneejerking again, or that he’s taking a reflexive action without having considered the implications of it, he is extremely aware of what this action represents and what its consequences would be.

>Too foolish to stray past the line, but too weary to stay
‘The line’ = Resisting TP&P.

Hunter’s ‘id’ or basic dumdum comfort desires animal senses couldn’t impel him to take this action. It’s too chaotic and dangerous and scary and carries too much escalation to be his kneejerk response to getting out of this situation; if he was running on id, he probably would run away again (hence foolish).

But he’s not running on id, he’s running on his more developed faculty of ego, hence why weariness is able to predominate over those stupid basic gut desires. He is so absolutely done with TP&P’s antics that it’s more important to wipe him out than play around with him anymore.

>Far too long have I waited to witness the balances bend (The balances bend) / In the favor of wrongs being remedied, wickedness coming to an end
Hunter has waited, and hoped, for good to naturally triumph against evil. He senses that it ultimately would but recognises now that his approach towards that was too passive; he’s done with just waiting and he’s glad that he stopped. Now he can actually see good as it wins.

Love the inflection on ‘wickedness coming to an end’. Get wrecked TP&P!

>Chorus Repetition
Stronger this time! He’s into it!

GO HUNTER!! GET THAT GOOD END! YOU’RE KILLING IT!

>Far beyond the act, I will be whole again / A phoenix out of the flame / I’m burying that menace in a memory / A funeral held in my name
Really strong and interesting lines. Basically carry the sentiment of the previous verse, of Hunter’s glorious and fiery rebirth into his exalted true self, but feel like they’re alluding to Act VI/meta stuff potentially.

‘Far beyond the act’ -> The act of pretending to be the Son, ie Hunter’s true self will shine and thrive now that he’s doing away with that persona, but the emphasis on ‘act’ draws automatic attention to act in the sense of the Acts. I have no idea what that read could be implying outside of vague potential ‘Act VI’ stuff or character-creator stuff akin to the Oracles or Blood of the Rose where Casey’s voice for Hunter is being rewarded for sticking through with this whole thing for so long (again can’t really speculate on that without getting presumptuous).

‘I’m burying that menace in a memory’ -> That menace = TP&P. He will no longer have any active relevance or influence on the world.

‘A funeral held in my name’ -> Probably not for TP&P, but for the end of all the suffering he has caused. A funeral for Ms Terri, Ms Leading, other Dime victims, etcetc but also Hunter himself that paradoxically also marks the point of his biggest rebirth. ‘That entire chapter of events is over’ basically, with Hunter alone being able to move forward.

>The ritual pyre’s sending smoke to the sky / As the building continues to burn / The wrath in the ruin, the pain in the grave / As the lies are retired to the urn
The Dime is almost totally burned down now, and certainly burned beyond repair. Hunter considers the sight and what it means.

‘The ritual pyre’ -> Hunter set this fire in large part to honour Ms Leading. Like, among all the other symbolic gestures of it, this was one of the more proximal, immediate, and important ones. It’s revenge for her death and veneration of her memory, as her body is literally inside the building to let the flames cremate her.

Which gives me like one of the biggest questions I have… are the Church and Dime separate buildings? Because even if they’re linked to each other, or in close proximity, or one operates out of the back of the other, if the Dime can get renovated or have doors that you can just walk up to (Bitter Suite I), it implies there’s a street entrance and there’s not just hookers streaming in and out of the Church to go pick up callers all the time. Right? The descriptions we’ve got of it from City Escape and Smiling Swine also have that implication of it being a literal whorehouse and not just upstairs in the Church or something. (A 3+ story church with windows you can jump out of… eh?)

So if they’re not, which building is Ms Leading’s body in? The Church or the Dime? Did Hunter put her body there specifically for burning, ie did he transport it, or was it already there and TP&P murdered her either at the Church or the Dime? If the Dime is the building Hunter burned first, it implies that’s where her body is now, because…

(’As the lies are retired to the urn’ twigs at me too though, as I’d think the Church would be the locus of TP&P’s lies more than the Dime, so the line would be pointing to the Church burning also, but…) (Lyric video on The Revival does strongly suggest to the Dime operating out of a building connected to the Church through a back-entrance/’The puzzling facade steers pure from the divine’).

>But we can’t keep the embers from catching
…the flames are spreading now to the other building. In this read, that would be the Church.

The burning of the Church escalates the Dime’s arson into a matter of public concern. The conflict is growing beyond Hunter’s first approximations, but he’s been resolved the whole time for this to get messy. Basically, the consequences of the Church’s burning moreso than the Dime’s forces the underbelly of what’s going on in the City to come to light.

>The truth from destroying us all
In antagonising TP&P and hinting the connection between his dual identities, Hunter knows he will also be revealed as an identity thief and his public persona will be shattered.

>Do I die as the martyr or miscreant? I’ll make the call
Hunter feels he must divulge the truth so as to explain why he conducted the Church/Dime burning, and why it was a justified thing. A ‘right side of history’ kind of deal, he knows public opinion here can easily take TP&P’s side and condemn him, because on the face of it he did burn the Church down for no discernible reason, but if he explains that actually he had a lot of excellent reasons and just gutted one of the City’s biggest problems, it makes his painful position as fake-mayor more empathiseable and tragic, though he could still stand to get some kind of penalty for y’know arson.

Foreshadowing that this isn’t just a metaphorical ‘death’ this time; Hunter will literally die and come to be remembered as one of these things. (Might be Act VI stuff).

>3:30 – 4:08 Instrumental
No clue but sounds important. Might include Hunter leaving the scene of the arson?

>Chorus Repetitions
Same as before, so confident; Hunter, knowing he has done the right thing and has the force of good on his side, feels he will be able to explain himself and pursue a brighter future now that the lies and the sin of the past are done away with.

>4:49 – 4:59 Instrumental
Neat; Unsure

>4:50 – 5:21 Ambiance
We have the crackling of the Church burning down and an angry mob forming outside it, belligerent and outraged that someone has burned down the Church!

The Flame (Is Gone) | Act V | The March