Pantera - Cemetery Gates

Pantera - Cemetery Gates - Meaning of the song

"Cemetery Gates" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Pantera. The song is the fifth track from the 1990 album Cowboys from Hell, the band's fifth record and second with lead singer Phil Anselmo. The song, the longest in Pantera's discography, showcases Anselmo's vocal ability and range, concluding with screaming high notes answered by Dimebag Darrell on guitar in a trade-off.

The song's lyrics lament the death of a female lover, as well as the possibility of dying or committing suicide and meeting her in the afterlife.

The song's inspiration came from a variety of sources, according to Phil Anselmo. In a 1991 interview, he revealed that the song was written in memory of his close friends who had committed suicide. In an Ustream.tv live Q&A, he also revealed that "In my group of friends, there was a friend who died in NOLA, and it had a huge impact. I didn't want the lyrics to be overly personal when I composed them because that might be trite. I also needed to ensure that the words did not detract from the song, as it was one of our greatest."

Cemetery Gates - Lyrics

Reverend, reverend Is this some conspiracy? Crucified for no sins An image beneath me Lost within our plans for life It all seems so unreal I'm a man cut in half in this world Left in my misery Reverend. He turned to me Without a tear in his eyes Nothing new for him to see I didn't ask him why I will remember The love our souls had sworn to make Now I watch the falling rain All my mind can see Now is your Well, I guess You took my youth And gave it all away Like the birth of a new-found joy This love would end in rage And when she died I couldn't cry The pride was in my soul You left me incomplete All alone as the memories now unfold Believe the word I will unlock my door And pass the cemetery gates Sometimes when I'm alone I wonder aloud If you're watching over me Some place far abound I must reverse my life I can't live in the past Then set my soul free Belong to me at last Through all those complex years I thought I was alone I didn't care to look around And make this world my own And when she died I should've cried And spared myself some pain You left me incomplete All alone as the memories still remain The way we were The chance to save my soul And my concern is now in vain Believe the word I will unlock my door And pass the cemetery gates The way we were The chance to save my soul And my concern is now in vain Believe the word I will unlock my door And pass the cemetery gates! Gates! Gates!

Pantera - Cemetery Gates - Live