Avenged Sevenfold Fan Explains Meaning of New Song ‘Nobody’ Based on Philosopher Writings
Now that Avenged Sevenfold have unveiled "Nobody," the first single from their upcoming eighth studio album Life Is But a Dream, fans are trying to interpret the lyrics and theorize what the song is about. One individual has actually explained the meaning of the song based on philosophical writings by French writer Albert Camus.
Though no one in the band has gone into detail about the song "Nobody" just yet, they did provide a note on the pre-order page for Life Is But a Dream on their website, which describes the record as "a journey through an existential crisis; a very personal exploration into the meaning, purpose and value of human existence with the anxiety of death always looming."
According to a fan on Reddit, "Nobody" is about as existential as it gets (read the full lyrics here). They claimed to have read most works by Camus, who wrote the novella The Stranger among many others, and whose work often centered on the idea of absurdism — the idea that there is no meaning of life, so it's "absurd" for people to try and find one [via Owlcation].
"'Nobody' tells the journey of a person realizing they are not just a 'person,' they are not just a product of 'human existence,' they are everything. Everything you ever see, feel, hear, experience; all of it is only ever seen from your own point of view. You will never experience any part of living through another. You are everything. You are everything you will ever know. Everything in the universe is you," the fan wrote in the Reddit post.
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They explained that the lyrics "This is 'I am all' as 'I am none'" indicate the subject in the song has realized they are "everything in the world."
"He is not a face. He is not a personality. He isn't a human living life, working his job, etc. etc., he is everything in the world. For as he is everything, he is Nobody. 'I'm a man without a head' is saying he is a man that he no longer confines himself to a face. He is Nobody because he knows he is the universe. He is not a face, with a name, and a hairstyle, he is all. Human beings are caught in a constant attempt to derive meaning from a meaningless world. The one singing in the song has realized this. He is Nobody, because he is embracing the absurdity of the human life."
See the full post here.
Life Is But a Dream will be out June 2 and can be pre-ordered here. Avenged Sevenfold have two headlining performances scheduled for this year so far, one in Los Angeles (June 9) and one in New York City (June 23). Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 17 at 10AM local time. Get yours here.