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I came across this song yesterday, and have had some trouble understanding several parts of the lyrics, could I have some indications ?

Here are the lyrics (the punctuation is left blank because I am not sure of it, the commas come from the lyrics written in the link above) , followed by my questions :

A storm is loosed upon the sea

whose eye is stained with tears.

A wretch Hell-bound and bent on blood

the makings of the fearful's fears -- What is the meaning of 'makings' here ?

The tide it stole away her grace,

the depths, they wouldn't claim her

A toil begat by father's blood -- what is begat ? I couldn't find it on wordreference, so I assume it has to be some form of a verb i do not know

This path was laid before her

Redemption borne by brigand's blood

A blight upon the darkness

The pact embraced, a road unsought

The Maiden of Death won't be unwrought -- Searching on the internet lead me to believe that wrought is a synonym of forged, but i could not find 'unwrought', and if the meaning here is 'un-forged' i don't really get it

---- Some music ----

Her wrath is known throughout the black -- what is 'the black' ? I thought it might be a metaphor for the night, however that is but a mere guess

The gardens of death she is tending

Vengeance is her only ward I am unsure what 'ward' means here, is it like 'field' ?

Beware the blood red rose's thorn

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  • Note: Saying "that song" implies that people already understand what is being referred to in some way, perhaps in a previous statement. "Q: Have you heard THE song 'Macarena'?" - "A: Yes, I love THAT song!". If you turn on a stereo and let it play you could ask "Have you heard THIS song" until it stops playing, where you'd typically say "Ever heard THAT song before?". Sharing a link is very in-the-moment so would be "this song", yet for humorous exaggeration say "Oh no, I can't believe they played THAT SONG again (shudder)"--as if there is only one song you could be talking about.
    – HostileFork says dont trust SE
    Sep 3, 2014 at 16:29
  • @HostileFork I linked the 'this song' with a hyperlink so that people can see what I am talking about, should I make it clearer ?
    – Hippalectryon
    Sep 3, 2014 at 16:31
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    I know what you meant. But you said 'that song' and not 'this song'. Just for English learning purposes, I was pointing out a shade of meaning you get by putting "that song" on the link. It conveys that the song is somehow of such reputation that we know what you are talking about before it is introduced. We read links before we click on them, and so you wouldn't use "that" in labeling them. The closest example I thought of is how we might talk about music right before we play it vs. after the song has already played, and link labels are considered "before/during".
    – HostileFork says dont trust SE
    Sep 3, 2014 at 16:41

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the makings of the fearful's fears -- What is the meaning of 'makings' here ?

I think makings in this sense is "all the ingredients needed". For example, "She went to the store to buy the makings for a steak dinner."

A toil begat by father's blood

Begat is an archaic word for "gave birth to" used here for poetic purposes.

The Maiden of Death won't be unwrought

Unwrought is a poetic transformation meaning destroyed, or maybe more precisely, unmade.

Her wrath is known throughout the black

"The Black" has the sense of a realm here - maybe the realm of death? I'm unsure what story the song is referencing, so I can't say for certain.

Vengeance is her only ward

Ward has the sense of "protection" here - so maybe shield instead of field. For example, "The amulet was a ward against evil."

As Alan Third mentioned, ward can also mean a thing or person that is protected by a guardian, and that might be a better fit here.

Because lyrics can have many different interpretations, I'm going to open up this answer as a community wiki.

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  • 'Begat is an archaic word for "gave birth to" used here for poetic purposes'. But here it is used followed by by, so what would be the synonym ? Who was given birth to ?
    – Hippalectryon
    Sep 3, 2014 at 16:39
  • "blood begat the toil" would be equivalent to "A toil begat by blood" Birthed is metaphorical in this context - maybe I should have said "created" instead. Begat is used in some English translations of the Bible to record genealogy. For example, Joe begat Jim who begat Sarah, so it made me think of "gave birth to" first.
    – ColleenV
    Sep 3, 2014 at 16:43
  • Begat is the past tense of beget. You are correct about one meaning but there are others which include the simple 'get'; 'acquiring, taking ownership of' and also one that means to create; 'to call forth, to be caused by' and I think it might be that last one. 'A toil begat by father's blood, this path was laid before her' sounds to me like 'Whatever trouble she has now was brought about by some problem regarding her father [possibly literal blood or 'bad blood'], and she has no option but to continue on the path her father has created'.
    – Frank
    Sep 3, 2014 at 17:54
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    A ward can be a person, usually a child, under your protection. In the UK the most common usage would usually be to refer to a child taken from its parents by the authorities as a "ward of the court". I believe that's the meaning meant here.
    – Alan Third
    Sep 3, 2014 at 19:46

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