To me the lyrics “ I made loving you a blood sport” means that you went into the relationship knowing that most likely you would get hurt but you did it anyways because of passion. It’s a metaphor comparing to how like for example a mma or football player risk life and limb because they are also passionate for the sport. It’s past tense, so this is in retrospect. A mourning of a lost love. I absolutely adore this band. Thank you for taking the time to react to this beautiful song!
Thanks for the awesome thoughts! I agree with what you’ve said. Just wanted to add thoughts of my own here. I understand a bloodsport as being a competition where literal bloodshed adds to the excitement and is the major goal of the sport (unlike an organized team sport). The goal is to hurt your opponent to win and that is it. There is no other objective. The one hurt most loses. This is why he can’t win. He’s the one hurt the most, but he’s also trying to hurt them as well because it’s a bloodsport. So, I agree he is mourning in retrospect and I wanted to add onto the bloodsport thing because I think it is great lyric. On the surface, it seems to mean he knows he will get hurt in the relationship and that’s why it’s a bloodsport. Sounds sweet. Like he is so passionate that he is willing to endure the pain to pursue this love of his. However, i think the usage of bloodsport also highlights that his behavior is also to blame. Bloodsports are usually an individual thing, so I also take it as he turned love into an individual competition where the goal is to hurt the other person. So, I think this is continuing his theme of a toxic relationship, or one that eventually went sour. However, I think Vessel must have also done some nasty things during the relationship to be able call it a bloodsport. Maybe he even started the behavior, but now he can’t win because he was hurt the most. I’ve listened to their albums non-stop since the beginning of the year (every day pretty much) and am loving how everyone has their own input 😊
@@glazedgazes Thank you for your insight on these lyrics. I love when I hear new things that can expand my love for Sleep Token. I also listen every day and catch new things all the time. It’s one the many things I love most! The Sleep Token army is a strong one! Worship 💙
When he says "Out there, stuck in the quantum pattern, tangled with words I never said, you say 'it doesn't matter'." It feels like analyzing some sort of cosmic tapestry, a way in which things must exist, a succumbing to fate wherein the vessel we know now could not exist without the alchemy of that moment dividing paired souls.
This was my introduction to sleep Token and it still stands as my favorite song by them. The lyrics cut deep, you can hear and feel the emotion in vessel's voice. One of the most beautiful ballads of all time Imo. Thank you for the amazing reaction. 🙏😃
Blood sport is a sport where the fight ends only when one party is either dead or too wounded to possibly continue. A metaphor for quite extremely toxic relationship, all raw emotion but no one will walk away as a more stable or healthier person.
He puts so much emotion into that performance. I'm blown away. You would really like The love you want. It should be on top 40 radio in regular rotation.
Tough relationships are a recurring theme on Sleep Token songs and looking how eloquently he can describe and act the scenes I'm fairly confident Vessel has such in his personal history. You can *hear* how he still hurts. In case of this song and in context of Sleep Token in general I read this to have been a relationship he continued to go back way past when it was healthy anymore because memory of some precious and beautiful past moments made him to. He *knew* those moments would not come back, but could not make himself stop trying.
While I was starting to get into Sleep Token. This was the song that sealed it for me. The rawness if his voice. The cleverness of the lyrics. The simplicity of just a piano and a voice. As far as Blood Sport. I think of the basis for Mortal Kombat. A Jean Claude movie from the 80s. Of the same name, Bloodsport. Where you have to fight to stay alive. He'll fight until his last breath to keep that love alive. He knows he messed up. He knows that it was good until that moment. So he'll fight harder, against himself, to get that feeling back. It's tragic, it's brutal, it's beautiful.
If you read more into the trilogy the relationship with Sleep was not a good one, wasn't healthy, almost destroyed them both. So your reference to the movie Bloodsport is dead on!! Every day was a fight for survival and in the end Vessel leaves Sleep and came out the winner with all this fame but doesn't really want it.
This song is literally in my top 10 by them (I prefer the album version, btw). Blood sports are "sports" where animals (like dogs or roosters) being mistreated while people watching. With this concept i think that everything is said. Other great songs are Granite, Chokehold, The Offering (this is absolutely marvelous), Jaws, Hypnosis, Alkaline, Thread the needle,...
Off the new record the tracks ascenionism, rain, take me back to eden, and euclid are phenomenal songs to react to. The whole album is a masterpiece but those songs are so good.
“Blood sport” means an aggressive or violent sport. Like UFC is a “blood sport.” But back in ancient times sports used to be much more violent. Vessel is describing this relationship as an aggressive and toxic relationship basically.
If you like this stuff (and yes, ST are amazing), you need to discover a bloke by the name of Devin Townsend, if you haven't already. Start with his one-take version of 'Kingdom' from 'EMG Live', then move onto the live version of 'Grace' from the Retinal Circus show, then 'Deadhead' from the Royal Albert Hall. Thank me later....
Blood sport, to me, references violent sports in which both parties won't walk away unscathed. The intended purpose of the sport being to draw blood, hence its name. This song, to me, is a man knowing he is in a relationship that in its own way is one of these "blood sports" but he knows he can't commit to hurting the other person the way they hurt him, hence "i can't win." He also mentions that the "atoms stopped fusing" meaning that this relationship will not produce fusion, as atoms sometimes do under pressure. He keeps coming back to the toxic and awful environment hoping it will change, but it never does. It never will.
I guess you just have to react to a bunch of Sleep Token so you can add them to your play list. Possibly you could throw in the 2 covers of Sleep Token by Will Ramos of Lorna Shore (mostly clean covers by the man of a 1000 demon voices).
Specifically a blood sport is a literal sport that causes injury intentionally, such as bareknuckle boxing, animal fighting, etc. So he's saying, I've made loving you into a masochistic game, seeking the pain. Also, I call that thing he does on "somewhere" a roar, and a pained one at that.
Sleep Token are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're going to get. If you want softer Sleep Token songs, check out "Alkaline", "The Night Does Not Belong to God", "Are You Really Okay?", "Aqua Regia".
For these growl/fry parts. It's much more simple technique than that, it's pain. As a vocalist with a similar vocal range, I am confident to say that to reach these notes when I sing this song, I have to yell. No fancy screaming technique was used by Vessel when he recorded this song, he just yell's beautifuly.
You should do “Fall for Me” It was a single off of their album from 2021 (I think). It’s such a good vocal performance that they released a single with no background instruments, just let Vessel’s voice be the main attraction. Unbelievable song.
Oh god this song is so theatrical and so intense that got me crying most of the time when I listening to it,if you like this Sleep Token style there's a deluxe version of they first full length album Sundowning with a solo piano covers versión of I wanna dance with somebody by Whitney Houston,When the party it's over by Billie Eilish or Hey ya by Andre 3000
I think by “I made loving you a blood sport” means that he’s turned their love into brutal fight and the sum of it is a destructive path he can’t recover from. It’s a rough piece lyrically…
The first time I’ve seen this version of blood sport was actually at four in the morning last night after studying for my calc and physics finals haha the coincidence is real
You go into something thinking its gonna be this wonderful thing..but its not..but you still believe in it and try to no avail..but u havent had enough bc u believe it could be this great thing and it will work out..u dont want to get away bc of that..but you should, js
As someone who has experienced it. Allow me to shine a light on what I made loving you a bloodsport means. It means even though you made it very clear that you hate my guts and wish me nothing but ill will. I still love you and I cannot stop!
Blood sport - A blood sport is the name given to practices such as hunting, fishing, hare coursing, badger baiting and animal fights (cockfighting, dog fighting, etc.), which either cause bloodshed or result in the death of an animal(s) for 'sport'.
I made loving you a fight till the death, so to speak. No matter how bad it got, he was all in… perhaps having left himself and his needs and boundaries long ago. Now completely dependant on this partner. Becoming necessary for him to be whole and therefor perhaps intertwined with his survival. That’s how I see it :)
This song hits real deep.. he flies??. (they soar into the universe... ) this band has thr holy sh** vibe.. all they songs... enjoy this Rachel.. sleep token is amazing... so much real life stuff for me.. I feel his pain
A "bloodsport" in the traditional sense would be something more akin to the Gladiatorial games. A "sport" where one will kill the other in competition.
Bloodsport is usually a sport of violence like most martial arts. Now the way I feel he's referring to it in the song is like he and his lover constantly argue and fight and he still loves her more than anything even if the relationship is toxic he won't give up hence “and I can't win”.
You literally can’t go wrong with any of their music, but if you want songs with a nice mix of a beautiful and haunting and emotional I’d recommend The Love You Want, Sugar, Jaws, DYWTYLM, Ascensionism, Take Me Back To Eden, High Water, Missing Limbs, The Night Does Not Belong to God, I could go on forever lol
I absolutely love Blood Sport, one of my favorite songs (specifically this version) always tell people who get into sleep token to check this out. Next up; Missing Limbs.
I am definitely down for more sleep token. Aqua Regia would be great for your next listen because again, it is way different from the other 2 that you have heard already.
Vessel is of of the greatest voices out there today in any genre! The music video of theirs song called The Love You Want is beautiful, a must if you want to hear more ST.
I really love this song. 1st time I heard I broke down to tears as a man and just relating to the lyrics so much. Love vessels lyricism and he made a masterpiece ❤
To me, a blood sport is a game without regard/consequence to the injury of the opponent. So this song says, "I am choosing to love you anyway, despite the risk of being very hurt, and knowing you don't love me back."
