The Moor Lyrics - Opeth

I think by saying that the antagonist is a moor is looking a bit too deeply into the lyrics, but you have the right idea. First, this album is played out like a story, with each song being a "chapter" of some kind. The story is about an outcast who returns to the village that expelled him for not sharing their faith. Not to say he's atheist or satanic (their are other religions) but he does not share the faith of the people in the village. The entire song is him narrating his purpose for returning to the village.

Now about "The Moor." Let's look at the literal translation of what a "moor" is.


A tract of open uncultivated upland; a heath (thanks to Google for the definition).

Our protagonist is entering the village from across a moor, hoping to not really be noticed. Why is he at the village? To reconnect and hopefully have another chance with a woman named Melinda whom he is in love with.


To make this comment as lengthy as possible, let's break the song down (go ahead and continue with the rest of the album. Don't mind me from here on out).

The sigh of summer upon my return
Fifteen alike since I was here
Bathed in deep fog, blurring my trail
Snuffing the first morning rays

Weary from what might have been ages
Still calm with my mind at peace
Would I prosper or fall, drain the past
The lapse of the moment took it's turn"

^^^Enter our protagonist, outside of the village, with a moor between him (I'll get more into that later). He's recollecting on what it took him to get here. He is more sure of himself. He feels stronger. And it took him 15 years (if anyone has a better explanation for that, please chime in). He is tired and weary and drained. His journey after being outcast was long and hard. But he now knows himself and what he wants.

I was foul and tainted, devoid of faith
Wearing my death-mask at birth
The hands of God, decrepit and thin
Cold caress and then nothing
I was taken away from my plight
A treason bestowed to the crowd
Branded a jonah with fevered blood
Ungodly freak, defiler

Pale touch, writhing in the embers
Damp mud burning in my eyes
All the faces turned away
And all would sneer at my demise

Outcast with dogmas forged below
Seared and beaten, banished from where I was born
No mercy would help me on my way
In the pouring rain nothing is the same

Vows in ashes
I pledge myself to no-one
Seethed and spiteful
All shudder at the call of my name
If you'll bear with me
You'll fear of me"

^^^This is our protagonist going into the past, explaining what happened to him, and why he feels such hatred and scorn for the place (and likely the people as well). At the last bit there, "If you'll bear with me, You'll fear of me," he is saying how he sees himself as a monster, and anyone who gets close to him will see him the same way as well.

"There is no forgiveness in these eyes
For any of you but one
Dispel the mist for now
Melinda is the reason why I've come

(MELINDA...)

She is waterdrops over the pyre
A thistle in my hands
Stained and torn, aged and brown
Virtous shell with kindred innocense"

^^^THIS is why he is here. Melinda is a woman whom he has loved in the past, and he wants another chance with her. He has no business with anyone else but her, and he is preparing himself for that. The last four lines here tell his emotions towards Melinda. He finds her beautiful and terrible at the same time; this attraction he has for her causes him pain. Again, back to him being a monster, he knows that she wouldn't want him because of what he is or what he is like.

"I awoke from the miasma
Passing swiftly through the moor
This is here, waters stir
And in the distance all that was lost
If you'll bear with me
You'll fear of me
You'd never leave me to
A fate with you"

^^^Now what is a "miasma?" Google tells us that a miasma is "an oppressive or unpleasant atmosphere that surrounds or emanates from something." He's finally given himself the strength to break through this spell of pain and hopelessness that this place instills upon him. He charges through "The Moor" and into the village, again reminding himself that he is a monster, and Melinda won't want him. But he is still willing to try.

Actually it's not about a satanic or atheist guy. The Moors are a muslim group from nw Africa and southeast spain, so the song is about how he's been persecuted for being a moor his entire life and being an outcast. He's come back to see Melinda, his childhood love who he hasn't seen in 15 years. Just before "She is waterdrops over the pyre..." the song goes into deathmetal mode, that + the lyrics mean that he's remembering how he was hated by everyone in the town

My guess is the guy - one for whom is condemned in the pits of darkness and pure evil since birth - is returning to the one he loves, known as Melinda. The townspeople (all being of the light and pure faithfulness of the lord I'm guessing) are fearful of his presence, and curse him with their peepers. The mood of the song means he's obviosly pissed off at what has happened to him, being banished from his home and now coming to his love who's surrounded by other's alike his birthplace. Although, despite his nature and hate for many, once upon a time he fell in love with Melinda, and he's hoping for forgiveness as he knows she's kind and young an sweet on her soul.

In short, it's a story about a man of darknes after a lady of the light.