Time Of The Assassins
By: Beck Hansen

Written by: Beck Hansen

Versions:
  1. Time Of The Assassins (2:46)
    Available on Time Of The Assassins and 1 other release.
    Credits
    Bram Inscore: Bass
    David Campbell: Conductor, String Arrangement
    Joey Waronker: Drums
    Jason Falkner: Guitar
    Beck Hansen: Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals (Background)
    Brian Lebarton: Synthesizer
    Charlotte Gainsbourg: Vocals
  2. Time Of The Assassins (XXXChange remix) (6:08)
    Available on Time Of The Assassins.
    Credits
    XXXChange: Remix
    Charlotte Gainsbourg: Vocals
  3. Time Of The Assassins (Outlines remix) (3:56)
    Available on Time Of The Assassins.
    Credits
    Outlines: Remix
    Charlotte Gainsbourg: Vocals
  4. Time Of The Assassins (Matthew Dear remix) (4:17)
    Available on Time Of The Assassins.
    Credits
    Matthew Dear: Remix
    Charlotte Gainsbourg: Vocals
  5. Time Of The Assassins (Gentlemen Drivers) (5:12)
    Available on Time Of The Assassins.
    Credits
    Gentlemen Drivers: Remix
    Charlotte Gainsbourg: Vocals
    Beck Hansen: Vocals (Background)
 
Lyrics:
Time Of The Assassins [Version (a)]:

I walk in a line, I see where I'm goin'
I turn inside out the days that I've known
I faced it myself and give up the ghost
I turn in my mind what time already knows
In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

I sift through the ash, I look for a sign
I open the wound that keeps me in line
The shoulder that turns, the flame that goes out
The chapter I close - there's no point to it now
In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

And can something change and still feel the same?
The beginning's the end, I start all over again
In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead
Time Of The Assassins (XXXChange remix) [Version (b)]:

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

I walk in a line, I see where I'm going
I turn inside out the days that I've known
I face to myself and give up the ghost
I turn in my mind what time already knows

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

I sift through the ash, I look for a sign
I open the wound that keeps me in line
The shoulder that turns, the flame that goes out
The chapter I close - there's no point to it now

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead
 
Time Of The Assassins (Outlines remix) [Version (c)]:

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

I walk in a line, I see where I'm goin'
I turn inside out the days that I've known
I face to myself and give up the ghost
I turn in my mind what time already knows

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

I sift through the ash, I look for a sign
I open the wound that keeps me in line
The shoulder that turns, the flame that goes out
The chapter I close - there's no point to it now

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

And can something change and still feel the same?
The beginning's the end, I start all over again
And can something change and still feel the same?
The beginning's the end, I start all over again

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead
Time Of The Assassins (Matthew Dear remix) [Version (d)]:

I walk in a line, I see where I'm goin'
I turn inside out the days that I've known
I faced it myself and give up the ghost
I turn in my mind what time already knows
In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

I sift through the ash, I look for a sign
I open the wound that keeps me in line
The shoulder that turns, the flame that goes out
The chapter I close - there's no point to it now
In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

And can something change and still feel the same?
The beginning's the end, I start all over again
In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead
 
Time Of The Assassins (Gentlemen Drivers) [Version (e)]:

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

I walk in a line, I see where I'm goin'
I turn inside out the days that I've known
I face to myself and give up the ghost
I turn in my mind what time already knows

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead

In the time of the assassins, they say hallelujah
It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead
 
The Song:

"Time Of The Assassins" can be found on Charlotte Gainsbourg's album, IRM, which Beck wrote and produced.

The song has a nice build to it, as it rises through the verses to the chorus. Beck and his band fill it out with acoustic guitar and "Movie Theme"-style synthesizers.

The phrase "Time Of The Assassins" seems to come from Arthur Rimbaud's poem "Morning Of Drunkenness," in which the final line is "Behold the time of the assassins." (The first line of that poem also refers to the "atrocious fanfare," but likely has been translated as "horrible fanfare" by other translators.) There is also a reference to the line in Jean-Paul Sartre's Troubled Sleep.

Beck's words don't seem terribly related to "Morning Of Drunkenness," but in both instances the assassins seem to be facing a real moment of triumph. Rimbaud's killers are much more absinthe-soaked than Beck's, but still lead to an epiphany of sorts.

"It doesn't take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead" is the key to the song, and a really great phrase. While it took a miracle to raise Jesus from the dead, what about reviving a broken heart? It does not need that much, perhaps some searching (each line references that) and perhaps a little morning drunkenness.

 
Notes: