Frances the mute explained...

For anybody interested in The Mars volta nobody can quite look past the brilliant lyrics witten in many languages and using rare words...This also make it abit hard to understand the stories of their albums but once you get them its just fantastic!

Anyways i just want to make shure that everybody understands the cornerstones of the story of Vismund Cygnus.

Ok first of all..all the songs (5 in all) represent the story of 5 diffrent persons...

The album opens with the brilliant Cygnus...vismund cygnus that is the main guy that is in search for his mother, frances. There are many theories what the story goes like but most people seem to agree on the basics wich im going to present.

First of all Frances seem to be some kind of prostitute and a drug addict. And is murdered by priests or something while she is pregnant with Cygnus... Anyways Cygnus seem to go on a quest to avenge  his mothers death.

There are quite so many refrences in the song Cygnus Vismund cygnus and it tells alot of the story forexample the songs first spanish words is quite simple and goes like this:

Niño preparate Child, prepare yourself
Que vas sufrir You're going to suffer
Niño preparate Child, prepare yourself
Salte veneno Get out the venom
Niño preparate Child, prepare yourself
Salte de aqui Get out of here
Niño preparate Child, prepare yourself
Labios temblando Trembling lips
Niño preparate Child, prepare yourself
Salte veneno Get out the venom
Niño preparate Child, prepare yourself
Salte de aqui Get out of here
Niño preparate Child, prepare yourself
Brincan los cuerpos The bodies get excited/jump around
Vas a sufrir You're going to suffer

This seems to be said by the man that murder frances and then get out the venom means cygnus.

There are many other hints of this in this song like forexample:

Now this train don’t lie
An abortion that survived
A lineage of
Bastard mastacation
All the severed proof

There was no cradle
I can taste it
I can’t remember these lakes of blood
Wrapped in a blanket there swets a cut.

I don't want to get in detail what everything means in this song but anyways De rabi naci means from rage i was born so you get the idea.( By the way The Mars Volta likes to use strange names that has hidden meanings in them...so vismund cygnus seems to be meaning something in the line of a swan.) There are also many refernces to him as a bird in the song. (Although there is also some theories in the connection with cygnus in rush's albums i dont quite buyt that.)

The widow is quite a short song but it seems to tell the story of Cygnus as a drug dealer. While the story itself is told by the widow wich seems to be frances herself...I dont quite understand this  But i think Cygnus belivies that she is dead and that he sells her drugs and although she recognices him she does not want to tell him that she is his mother..(Hence frances the mute?) I think its a bit strange and perhaps a bit unlogical but hey if i have figured it all out it would not be any fun.

The next song L'via l'viaquez tells the story about Frances sister L'via that hides from the church or whatever because she watched the priest "kill" Frances and has changed her last name to viaquez

Thankfully cedrics spanish lyrics are not so hard to understand as the english ones and goes like this.

L’ Via, hija de Miranda (L'Via, daugher of Miranda)
Tu apellido se cambió (Your last name was changed)
L’ Via sin ojos me quieres dar (L'Via without eyes, you want to give me)
Una historia sin mi madre (A story without my mother)
Solo tengo que decirte (I only have to tell you)
El dolor de noche dice (The pain of night says)
Solo se quedo el vestido (Only the dress was left behind)
Le lave la sangre (I washed the blood)

L’ Via, no dejes de descansar (L'Via, don't stop to rest)
En la calle caminas (On the street you walk)
Quien te va a perseguir (Who is going to follow you?)
L’ Via, te quieren matar (L'Via, they want to kill you)
Dientes de machete (Teeth of machete)
Cabeza de gallo (Head of cock)

L’ Via, durmiendo en paz (L'Via, resting in peace)
Abre los ojos (Open your eyes)
Todo cambiará (Everything will change)
L’ Via, sonado de venganza (L'Via, sounding of vengeance)
Y yo te juro (And I swear to you)
Lo van a pagar (They are going to pay)

Solo tengo (I only have)
Una hora (One hour)
Y me duermo (And I sleep)
Terminado (Finished)
Por veinte y cinco (Through twenty-five)
Años pasaron (Years that passed)
Siguen los cuerpos (The bodies continue)
Aqui temblando (Trembling here)
Tome la sangre (I drank the blood)
Comi el cuerpo (I ate the body)
Mis lagrimas (My tears)
Quiebra el espejo (Break the mirror)

Now this seems to be cygnus that speaks to L'via or perhaps she feels guilty for just standing there while they beat up her sister. I drank the blood i ate the body it obviously refering to this church ritual with jesus blood and body.  It is perhaps the simplest song to get once you understand the lyrics so i dont want to make much time on it because now it is getting kinda tricky with

Miranda that ghost just isnt holy anymore.

The forth song tells the story of Miranda wich as said before is the mother of Frances and L'via and she seems to want to tell cygnus what happened but is afraid of the church and does not like him dealing with drugs. It is perhaps the least interesting song story wise of the album.

Now for the grand track Cassandra Gemmini that is almost impossible to get, and i dont want to interpet it word by word. But it seems this story is all going up in Cygnus head and he kills alot of innocent people because he is angry for something "that never happened" So he seems to kills all his friends...and when he finally realizes that the widow is really his mother and that she is alive and that what he has done is wrong he commits suicide by a overdose

No there’s no light, no there’s no time
You ain’t got nothing, your life was just a lie.

Blah that was just what i cared to explain Cassandra also seems to be some kind of fantasy character that Cygnus has going up in his head. Also the number 25 is repeted alot in this album and there are many hidden connections to do with birds or swans...Quite strange really but a fantastic and interesting story that will never stop facinating me.

 

 

 

 

 

Well it was kinda a bit of a short interpetation but if anybody wonder about some of the meanings of the lyrics or the meaning of some parts of the song just post them and i can see if i can get any sense out of them.

Yes and btw Frances is either raped or paid by a catholic priest and she gets pregnant. The church want frances to take an abortion to cover it all up. The priests threatend Frances wich does not want to have an abortion and L'via is watching as they beat her up (possible to kill the baby or whatever) The priests noticed L'via and they try to follow her but she manges to escape and presumes Frances is killed since she never hears from her again.

Now this is what cygnus is told also and i assume he uses drugs too since he is a drug dealer, so he creates a fantasy world of his own and finally ends up killing somebody innocent before he understands it all.

The moral i think was something like that family is not necessary the ones that you are binded by blood but the ones that care for you or something like that...Hope this can clear some things up.

Ah and also Cassandra Gemmini seems to mean something to do with a twin i know that i should be Gemini but it is perhaps written wrong to point out so that Cassandra is not a real person and is only made up in Cygnus head?

Edited by maidenrulez

I know I love their clothes.  They wear girl's pants...great band though.

fm0210 wrote: I wonder where they found the name and surname l'via l'viaquez, which aren't Spanish. Maybe Viaquez in fact is 'Vasquez'...

are they not of spanish or latino origin then?  cedric does like to make up words, such as Amputecture (amputate and architecture)

So it seems this is a complete story ! Thanks for the tips !
But what about the "last song" called "Frances the mute" ? Does it bring any explanation ?
and the fact that the sory ends as it began (same theme "sarcophagi") ?

I've got something about "cassandra gemmini" : according to greek mythology (in the war of Troy), Cassandra was a prophetess living in Troy whose predictions were never believed (even if they were true). After the war she became concubine of the greek hero Agamemnon and gave him twins ("gemini" is latine for twins), but Agamemnon's wife killed them (I won't give details here)...this has surely something to do with the explanation of the Mars Volta's work ? Is it possible that L'via and Miranda were twins or something like that ?

.....

You have just opened my eyes. All this time I haven't had an idea in hell what it meant. I thought they were just crazy acid abusers, but I think it makes sence now.

L'via, in spanish, has no meaning. The real name is Elvia.

I'm sorry to say that I am not really a lyrics person. I regard the voice in the same way as a musical instrument and therefore should fit into the piece likewise. FTM still does nothing for me and I can't see what all the fuss is about.

maidenrulez wrote: limeyrob wrote: I'm sorry to say that I am not really a lyrics person. I regard the voice in the same way as a musical instrument and therefore should fit into the piece likewise. FTM still does nothing for me and I can't see what all the fuss is about. Ah well lyrics is also abit important if forexample Jon anderson sung the lyrics for britney spears on roundabout it would not have gotten that good.

Yea, I agree. A great band must need good lyrics, but IMO The Mars Volta is not my cup of tea. But I have to say, lyrically they are really good, but not the best though.

Musically, I completely object though..

Edited by King of Loss