Hallowed Be Thy Name lyrics

The meaning behind the song "hallowed be thy name" is the acceptance of life and death.

"I'm waiting
In my cold cell
When the bell
Begins to chime
Reflecting on
My past life
And it doesn't have
Much time
'Cause at 5 o'clock
They take me
To the Gallows pole
The sands of time
For me
Are running low"

Is the introduction of the song.. it sets the scene & mood of the song. "i'm waiting in my cold cell" is just saying that the person in question is in jail & its cold (not physically, but in the way that he knows whats goin to happen). He goes on to sing "reflecting on my past life & it doesnt have much time" he is saying that his life is just about over and there isnt much left in it. 5 o'clock was the usual time for executions so you can assume from that & the "gallows pole" which is the hanging post. so this is set in the old times.

"When
The priest comes
To read me
The last rites
I take a look
Through the bars
At the last sights
Of a world
That has gone
Very wrong for me

Can it be that
There's some
Sort of error
Hard to stop
The
Surmounting terror
Is it really the end
Of some crazy dream"

is about the last few moments before he is marched out of his cell..

the priest came to read his last rights- which is done after the last dinner of the person in question.. he reads a list of things *blah blah blah* and is ended with a "may god be with you, amen".. As this is done, he is looking through the bars, just phasing in and out of listening. He reminisces over his life.. He is beginning to accept the fact that he is leaving this world. He then freaks out about the gallows and is hoping there is some sort of error..

"Somebody please
Tell me
That I'm dreaming
It's not so easy
To stop
From screaming
The words escape me
When I try to speak
Tears flow
But why am I crying
After all
I'm not afraid
Of dying
Don't I believe
That there
Never is an end"

He wishes he was dreaming and he doesnt want to believe his life is nearly over. He is screaming and he mentions that its hard not to scream, but he cant talk because the words escape him. He is literally speechless... He begins to cry, because its getting closer, but then tells himself not to cry, because life doesnt end after this and he isnt afraid of dying, he has FINALLY accepted that he was going to die and he cant get out of it.

"As the guards
March me out
To the courtyard
Somebody cries
From a cell
"God be with you"
If there's a God
Then why has
He let me go?

As I walk
All my life
Drifts before me
Though the end
Is near
I'm not sorry
Catch my soul
It's willing
To fly away"

He is walking to the gallows and somebody yells out from another cell "god be with you" and he says "if there is a god, then why has he let me go?" as if he is losing faith in the one last thing that was going to comfort him. He is a proud man and isnt going to let it get him down in his last moments, his life flashes before him as he walks, he isnt sorry and doesnt regret what he's done in his life. When he dies, his soul is going to fly free, so they can have his body..

"Mark my words
Believe
My soul lives on
Don't worry now
That I have gone
I've gone beyond
To see the truth

When you know
That your time
Is close at han
Maybe
Then you'll begin
To understand
Life down here
Is just
A strange illusion"

He is talking from the grave at this point, he says that even though he is gone, his soul is flying free and that he is always going to be there. He's gone beyond life to see the truth about life after death. When you know your time is getting close, you know that its your time- your body knows it etc. You'll begin to understand what the meaning of life is, so just lie down and take it. But down here its a strange illusion, its not the same as life below..