This would be my favorite song from Violator if that's possible to have from this album, since the whole album is excellent. I thought the halo in reverse was the irony of an "innocent" person who is really putting on a front and they aren't so innocent. To me it is that a person is ready to suffer for their lover regardless of what he/she does to them...cheating, not being their for them, mental torture etc .. in the end the result is self gratification of the end. Both sides will get something out of the "not so good" relationship.
I've always been puzzled by the concept of "Halo in Reverse", so it was very interesting to read interpretations on this. I like the idea of a halo at the other end of the body, as a chain to ones ankles. The lyric was obviously dear to Martin as he decided to name the whole song after it. That in itself is interesting.
The word 'shackles' (on meaning "anything that serves to prevent freedom of procedure, thought") in the beginning of this terrific song already show what it's all about.
You wear guilt like shackles on your feet - Because of the mistake you made, you know you're wrong and it's notable
Like a halo in reverse - Angels wear halo's a devil would be wearing one in reverse in spite of God, which is the relation of a crime to attractiveness
I can feel, The discomfort in your seat", And in your head it's worse - The discomfort is obvious to the viewer, and it presumes that it only can be worse on the inside.
There's a pain, A famine in your heart, An aching to be free - A starving in the person's heart for love I suppose from someone else or a desire to be free of their lies withheld
And "when our worlds they fall apart" When the walls come tumbling in Though we may deserve it It will be worth it - When the relationship falls apart or the truth comes out it all will fit to place and eventually it will be for the best
Can't you see, All love's luxuries, Are here for you and me - Luxuries is used as sarcasm of the problem's failed relationships of love
Bring your chains, Your lips of tragedy, And fall into my arms - The desire for "I'm sorry story" with all the guilt to be told
The song is about infidelity, a couple where a person who is most likely cheating on their partner and their partner knows it. This eventually destroys the relationship (world falls apart),. This person really wants out of the relationship they feel guilty and confess about the infidelity or they come clean and are very sorry about it, but the end of it brings so much pleasure that it's justified (it will be worth it).
The other way to look at it can be that he's trying to convince her about the 'truth' of his conviction that they can do whatever they want for having pleasure ("All love's luxuries / Are here for you and me"), however she's quite hesitant for believing in his words and I think it's basically because she's a very devoted religious person. Therefore her mind is living a permanent & terrible conflict ("The discomfort in your seat / And in your head it's worse") since every time she has tried to correspond to his expectations she feels terribly guilty , despite she doesn't take herself as a 'blessed' person at all, on the contrary she probably sees herself as a unforgivable sinner all the time("You wear guilt / Like shackles on your feet / Like a halo in reverse"). Nevertheless, on its chorus he tells her that no matter how apocalyptic their fate can be, they deserve to live their love intensely.
"Bring your chains
Your lips of tragedy
And fall into my arms"
Well, he seems to give up to erase her 'brainwash' on this last verse, but he'll never give up her anyway...
This interpretation is more compatible to the story in the video for this song, where she's happier with Martin, even thou Dave is more obvious choice for her...
This interpretation is more compatible to the story in the video for this song, where she's happier with Martin, even thou Dave is more obvious choice for her...
This album comes to be one of the top albums ever for me. I'm still sure it's the most upbeat album you'll ever hear, but you only have to look at groups like Linkin Park, Hurts, Portishead, Rammstein, and Moby to realize the impact of Violator to this day.
References:
Also have to mention that this song has a lot to do with the term halo effect in psychology where the term "halo in reverse" is a part of it.
The halo effect or halo error is a cognitive bias in which one's judgments of a person’s character can be influenced by one's overall impression of him or her. It can be found in a range of situations from the courtroom to the classroom and in everyday interactions. The halo effect was given its name by psychologist Edward Thorndike; subsequent researchers have studied it in relation to attractiveness and its bearing on the judicial and educational systems.
Halo error The correlation in the halo effect experiment was concluded to be a halo error. The halo error showed that the persons relied mainly on general perception of certain characteristics that determined the results of their answers.
A person’s attractiveness has also been found to produce a halo effect. Attractiveness provides a valuable aspect of the halo effect to consider because of its multifaceted nature; attractiveness may be influenced by several specific traits. These perceptions of attractiveness may affect judgments tied to personality traits. Physical attributes contribute to perceptions of attractiveness (i.e. weight, hair, eye color). For example, someone that is perceived as attractive, due in part to physical traits, may be more likely to be perceived as kind or intelligent. The role of attractiveness in producing the halo effect has been illustrated through a number of studies. Recent research, for example, has revealed that attractiveness may affect perceptions tied to life success and personality.In this study, attractiveness was correlated with weight, indicating that attractiveness itself may be influenced by various specific traits. Included in the personality variables were trustworthiness and friendliness. People perceived as being more attractive were more likely to be perceived as trustworthy and friendly. What this suggests is that perceptions of attractiveness may influence a variety of other traits, which supports the concept of the halo effect.
Halo in Reverse
The relation of a crime to attractiveness is also subject to the halo effect. A study presented two hypothetical crimes: a burglary and a swindle. The burglary involved a woman illegally obtaining a key and stealing $2,200; the swindle involved a woman manipulating a man to invest $2,200 in a nonexistent corporation. The results showed that when the offense was not related to attractiveness (as in the burglary) the unattractive defendant was punished more severely than the attractive one. However, when the offense was related to attractiveness (the swindle), the attractive defendant was punished more severely than the unattractive one. The study imputes that the usual leniency given to the attractive woman (as a result of the halo effect) was negated or reversed when the nature of the crime involved her looks.
