Vermilion (song)

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"Vermilion"

Single by Slipknot
from the album Vol. 3: the Subliminal Verses
Released	October 16, 2004
Format	CD single
Genre	Alternative metal
Length	16:41
Label	Roadrunner Records
Chart positions
#17 (US Modern Rock) #14 (Mainstream Rock Tracks)
Slipknot singles chronology
"Duality" (2003)	"Vermilion" (2004)	"Before I Forget" (2004)

"Vermilion" is a single released by the band Slipknot. One idea about the meaning of the song is that it is sung from a stalker's point of view. One other is that it's a song about unrequited love. Another is simply a lost love song, perhaps about a dead love. Maybe the song is a song sung from a suicidal person, due to love loss.

It should also be noted that the song is more of a 2 part story than a self contained piece. Vermilion Pt I, has a much heavier sound and its lyrics contain a much more psychotic and obsessive vibe than its counterpart Vermilion Pt II. However a key lyric, "she isn't real" is used in both songs eluding to the dual nature of unrequited love, one being obsessive, the other melancholy. This concept is furthered with the two respective videos.

[edit] Track Listings

"Vermilion" (Single Mix) - 4:16
"Scream" - 4:32
"Danger - Keep Away" (Full-Length Version) - 7:53

[edit] The Music Video

In Vermilion Pt I, it shows a girl living a tortured life in a crowded city. She walks around in contortions and twists as people walk by in a blur, not noticing her pain at all. The only time she gets noticed is when she wears a Maggot Mask (a mask specially designed for fans of the band to wear) which makes the members of the band appear and dance with the girl. The video ends with the girl screaming and tearing her hair out in utter anguish. The Vermilion Pt. 2 video shows the same girl, now in a field peacefully sleeping, the wind begins to lift her and sway her around back and forth, eventually the viewer realizes the girl is dead; in contrast the girl is in a much more peaceful state than she was when alive.

[edit] Trivia

The lyrics in Vermilion have been heavily influenced by the concepts of German philosopher Frederich Nietzsche and French philosopher Rene Descartes. "I'm a slave, and I am a master" refers to Nietzsche's master-slave morality theory, while "I exist through my name" and "She isn't real, I can't make her real" refers to Cartesian dualism.

This song is also one of the few Slipknot songs to contain all members playing.

Slipknot