Salute The Sanguine

Ville Valo's song 'Salute The Sanguine' is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of love, loss, and the inherent beauty found within darkness. The term 'sanguine' traditionally means optimistic or positive, especially in a difficult situation, but it also relates to blood, which Valo uses to symbolize the deep, often painful emotions that come with love and loss. The song's lyrics are rich with gothic imagery and metaphors, creating a vivid picture of a love that is both ferocious and beautiful, yet tinged with sorrow and longing.

The opening lines, 'Death, come blow me a kiss / Through this cathedral of cards,' set the tone for the song, invoking a sense of fragility and impermanence. The 'cathedral of cards' suggests a delicate structure that could collapse at any moment, much like the precarious nature of human emotions. Valo's plea to 'decrypt the cipher / Written in the blood of my heart' speaks to the complexity of understanding one's own feelings and the pain that often accompanies deep emotional experiences.

Throughout the song, Valo repeatedly salutes the sanguine, acknowledging the beauty in the pain and the strength found in vulnerability. Lines like 'Ferociously beautiful, you are' and 'No heart bleeds in vain' highlight the duality of love and suffering, suggesting that even in the darkest moments, there is a fierce beauty to be found. The imagery of 'dreams in black and blue' and 'heartbeats a morse of doom' further emphasizes the theme of finding light within the shadows, as Valo embraces the melancholic aspects of love and life.

In 'Salute The Sanguine,' Ville Valo masterfully blends gothic romanticism with raw emotion, creating a song that resonates deeply with those who have experienced the complexities of love and loss. The lyrics invite listeners to find beauty in their own scars and to salute the sanguine aspects of their lives, recognizing that even in pain, there is a profound and ferocious beauty to be celebrated.