'Children Of Cain'

[The Empirical Guy]

There's some cool thoughts on the lyrical content of the song here. I did mention a musical parallel for this in the review thread but thought I'd stick the video in here for a comparison... tell me you can't hear a similarity here:

[A Better Messiah]

Also, and I'm sure that I'm pointing out the obvious here, but "Children Of Cain" could almost represent "God's" view of the human race as told by a human. He is looking at humanity with disdain for their hypocrisy and what they have done in his name, using Manson (or whatever reflection of himself he may be speaking through) as his voice. Clearly the point of view is written from a human, almost an Adam Kadmon figure depicting the path of the rebellion which they have led, using first person statements such as "Us children of Cain." It's as if it is one soul looking inward at his own figure (as well as those around him, collectively) from an external viewpoint. "Don't assume that I'm always with you/It's just where my mortal body happens to be." Manson is a man with divine knowledge, (basing this off of "mortal body") an oracle , if you will. This also parallels the Macbeth influence, as well as that with the album as a message from the future sent to the Marilyn Manson of 1996.

Related: The song "The Gardener" is about a relationship in which you attempt to raise somebody to lean towards your direction, but you cannot make them who you are. "This is your world in which we will grow/ And we will grow to hate you." I think that song could very much be from a literal Godhead's (not the band,silly!!) point of view, rather than that of some intermediary figure.

[S.D.]

Musically, Children Of Cain reminds me of Seven Years In Tibet by David Bowie.

[brian219]

Children of Cain isn't a term that originated with Manson. It commonly refers to either the lineage from Cain to Tubal-Cain (who is a major symbolic figure in Freemasonry) or any person or group who adopts a stance of rebellion against what is commonly perceived as good.

The term "Sons of God" is very mysterious and often debated. One common explanation is that it refers to descendants of Seth (who served as a replacement for the slain Abel) and that "daughters of men" refers to Cains descendants. Since the Sons of God married the daughters of men it could be said that both lineages were mixed into one tangled line and escaped the destruction of the flood. If as I suspect "the first flower after the flood" refers to first "flower of evil" to pop up from Noah's descendants, it may refer to the pseudo-historical figure of Nimrod, whose name some scholars claim means "the rebel," although some identify him with Ninus or even Hammurabi.

Back to "Children of Cain," it would seem Manson is mostly calling upon Baudelaire's poem "Abel et Caïn" from Fleurs du mal. The original French uses alternating couplets addressing the descendant of Abel and the descendants of Cain:

Ah! race d'Abel, ta charogne
Engraissera le sol fumant!

Race de Caïn, ta besogne
N'est pas faite suffisamment;

Race d'Abel, voici ta honte:
Le fer est vaincu par l'épieu!

Race de Caïn, au ciel monte,
Et sur la terre jette Dieu!

Most English translations render Race de Cain as "Race of Cain" or "Tribe of Cain," but Children of Cain is perfectly synonymous, especially in the context of the biblical context, where "sons" and "daughters" are used in much the same way to indicate simply "descendants." Notable is that in the final couplet Baudelaire instructs the descendants of Cain to "ascend to heaven, And cast God down upon the earth" (Aggeler's translation).

It's a very common motif, especially in European literature. Even U2 got in on the act on In God's Country backon their 1987 album The Joshua Tree:

Naked flame
She stands with a naked flame
I stand with the sons of Cain
Burned by the fire of love

Also, of note is that Cain was believed by Judeo-Christianity to be the first murdrer, so it's possible that murderers on this album is also a reference to the children of Cain.

Born Villain almost seems like a call to arms to all those who have a gripe with the Christian God to help help the Cain figure put a diamond bullet into his 404 error face and cast him down to the earth, breaking the same ground that Lucifer did when he fell. A 404 error is when you get a "page does not exist" message and therefore refers "to a god that doesn't exist" (or at least that his face is nonexistent). I'll go ahead and cite "we're on a bullet and we're heading straight into god," in case that wasn't picked up on already.

[Gloominatus]

That verse is quite good, and considering I'm not crazy about this song musically, your little interpretation drew my attention to the lyrics which are substantially better than most of what he's put down for this record. For what it's worth, I think your interpretation is accurate.

As far as the word play with Bridget Bardot goes, I do wonder if that's a homonym for this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo

I thought the same thing when listening to the line referencing Bridget Bardot. Yes, it's the Bardo Thodol, and he's referring to be being trapped in a transitory state. Goes well with the other Eastern spirituality references on the record, like the trigrams.

[Manson15Marilyn]

I did note some vague biblical references. And this song does seem to be less internal than most songs on the album, and more like Hey, Cruel World...

I can see how its a song about our society.

[johncraze]

Digged all the biblical references you guys posted, really interesting read.

I was reading Alice Through the Looking Glass ( And what she found there), and in Chapter VII: "It's My Own Invention". The clumsy White Knight who always falls upon his head from his horse over and over again says to Alice:

"What does it matter where my body happens to be?,‘My mind goes on working all the same. In fact, the more head downwards I am, the more I keep inventing new things"

This phrase automatically reminded me of the " Don't assume I'm always with you, it is just where my mortal body happens to be" lyric. And in consideration Manson is a deep Alice in Wonderland, and Lewis Carroll fan, such connection doesn't seem farfetched to me.

So perhaps the mentioned lyric is a reafirmation of the statements he has made that Born Villain is entirely about him, and about no one else. In the sense of how free his essence can be, wondering everywhere to new places and ideas, uncharted, unlimited, the source of endless creative energy that has been guiding through this new creation. Making this era different to the two before it, because it marks the presence of a fierce and unbound Manson.

[Adonai]

On this verse, I have the feeling,might be wrong, that manson talks about the old tastement and it's stories .We will find the phrase "sweet as honey" in the old tastement, to be more precise it is in the psalms,psalm 119.Here in the verse the prophet David(or whomever wrote this) says about God's words:

I just noticed:

"So take your little black book
I see the way that you look in to it
I’ll eat it and I’ll cut my tongue
And all the pages you spread,
Sweet as honey you said
But I’m choking on your bitter stories"

is practically ripped directly from Bible Revelations Chapter 10: Versus 9-10. I noticed it while I was working and thought I would share. It doesn't appear that anyone has mentioned it yet, I only skimmed this thread though so someone might have already pointed it out. ANYWAYS, check it out:

10:8-9 "And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth." "And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey."

(John is told to eat the little book, and when he does, it becomes sweet in his mouth (Ps. 119:103; Jeremiah 15:16) but bitter in his belly. The act of eating represents the understanding and appropriation of prophetic revelation. The message is "sweet" because at last the kingdoms promises are about to be fulfilled. It is bitter because it can only be accomplished through more judgment and tribulation.

In Ezekiel chapters 2 & 3, we see that physical Israel refused the New Testament and its teaching of Jesus. This sweetness is the beautiful message received, but the bitterness is the disappointment when they refuse the message. This bitterness is the terrible judgment, as well.)


10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

The act of eating the book (scroll) symbolizes the absorbing and assimilating God's Holy Word.

When John consumed the book, the words that were written were sweet as honey. (very pleasing)

But for those who would be tormented in hell for the rest of eternity which was about to happen, John then tasted the bitterness as He knew God was about to take back the earth which was rightfully His, and be exalted, honored and glorified as He deserved. John realized the terrible punishment that was about to be given to unrepentant unbelievers and that caused the sweet taste to turn to bitterness.

[NapalmHeart]

C. O. CAIN

[me_andre]