save yourself a penny for the ferryman?

Question

this is from nightwishes song planet hell what does it mean

Answer 1

"The ferryman" refers to Charon the ferryman in Greek mythology. ("Save yourself a penny for the ferryman": tradition dict... [see link]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Hell

Planet Hell

Denying the lying
A million children fighting
For lives in strife
For hope beyond the horizon

A dead world
A dark path
Not even crossroads to choose from
All the bloodred
Carpets before me
Behold this fair creation of God

My only wish to leave behind
All the days of the Earth
An everyday hell of my kingdom come

The first rock thrown again
Welcome to hell, little Saint
Mother Gaia in slaughter
Welcome to paradise, Soldier

My first cry neverending
All life is to fear for life
You fool, you wanderer
You challenged the gods and lost

Save yourself a penny for the ferryman
Save yourself and let them suffer
In hope
In love
This world ain`t ready for The Ark

Save yourself a penny for the ferryman
Save yourself and let them suffer
In hope
In love
Mankind works in mysterious ways

Welcome down to my Plant Hell

Save yourself a penny for the ferryman
Save yourself and let them suffer
In hope
In love
This world ain`t ready for The Ark

Save yourself a penny for the ferryman
Save yourself and let them suffer
In hope
In love
Mankind works in mysterious ways
http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/nightwish/once.html

Answer 2

It comes from an old belief in which people thought that when you died a ferryman would ferry you across the waters into the land of the dead, but he would only do it if you paid him a penny. They believed that if you didn't have a penny then you were doomed to walk the space between life and death forever. Quite a morbid belief really, but its why it used to be popular to put pennies over the eyes of the dead. One for the ferryman and the other 'just in case'

Answer 3

In some beliefs of Greek or Rome, there was the belief that when one died, a person placed coins on the dead person's eyes to hold the lids down and for payment to the ferryman that took the departed's soul across the River Styx. I believe that is how it went. If a person arrived at the shore without payment, he would wander forever unable to cross over.

Answer 4

In Greek mythology, you had to have a copper coin to give Charon - the ferryman of souls to get across the River Styx into Hades domain otherwise your soul stood waiting on the banks for eternity. So basically it's saying to get to hell you need a copper coin (the penny).

Answer 5

The ferryman from the river of Styx which is the transportation to the underworld or after life when you die.
Look up "The River Styx" of Egyptian mythology or religion


Sorry, I do not know why I said Egyptian I meant Greek Mythology or religion. I was answering a question on Egyptian gods I think before I came to your question - sorry :(

Answer 6

Many believe that a peny should be placed over the eyes of the deceased before they are buried to ensure their safe passage through the after life, it was thought that a ferryman would take them to the other side, and if they had no money in which to pay him they would not arrive there in peace.

Answer 7

In Greek myths, Charon was the only one who could cross the grim River Styx to reach the realm of Hades. A soul had to pay him for a ride in his ferryboat. If the soul had no money, he was stranded forever alone on the shore of the Styx. The coins were obols, not pennies, for pennies did not exist for centuries after this myth appeared. An obols was placed upon each eyelid of the dead person. The song is wrong, for one needs two obols, not one penny.

Answer 8

the idea goes that when you die, your soul needs to be 'ferry-ed' from this shore to the other shore(Heaven/Hades/eternal rest?)... and the ferryman, who guides the boat you ride in, MUST be paid for the work he does.....so you should be buried with a penny to pay the ferryman... some times they put coins on the eyes of the deceased for the same reason....

Answer 9

the ride across the river styx costs 1 coin, payable to the skeletal ferryman that provides passage.

Answer 10

It refers to the journey one must take to the netherworld. In Greek mythology, one enters a long downward tunnel, encounters a river down which one must be transported by the boatman who serves the god of the underworld. Some time in the past, it became traditional to suggest a cash tip for the boatman, such as one was expected to pay a cash tip to one's executioner before the dude chopped of one's head. (That was to ensure he didn't "accidentally" miss and have to take several whacks to get the job done). You wanted the boatman to transport you directly to the underworld and not "accidentally" stray off course to where there were monsters capable of handing you a fate worse than death - so you made it worth his while to steer his boat straight and true.