Katatonia - Code Against The Code (Lyrical Breakdown)

Money growing on a tree

The cold you have come to find

There's the saying, "money doesn't grow on trees" - well, in this case, it does. Someone has A LOT of excess money, money they don't need.

There's also the saying "cold hard cash", which describes money as something that can override ethical concerns and doubts. Like, a person will do almost anything if they're paid enough for it. Their moral judgement is blurred. They act colder than they would if there was no monetary gain.

Money going through the wire

The cold you have come to find

You once were the one who had it

You once were the one who had it

"Money going through the wire" sounds to me like money transfering from a bank account to another. If you only have cash, the amount you have is more tangible. You can see how much you have and how much you spend. Unlike when the money is on an account, then it's easier to lose track of it and either become greedy for more than you need or to spend more than you were supposed to. 

And then the person might be cold in a more tangible way - they might have no money for heating, might not have money for a house, perhaps they have no people to keep them warm their, because their cold behavior as a rich person drove everyone away.  

The code against the code

I think "the code" means one's sense of morality, or other set of values they live by. Greed can be "the code". "It's just business" might be "the code". But might as well it might be "family first" or "love conquers all" or anything else, really.

This person's "code" has turned against them. It backfired. Them being so cold to the world and holding money to such a high value made them lose it all.  

Wait, so much to discover

Wait across the borderline

So much to discover

Wait across

Except, these lines make me question my theory... They didn't lose the money. They "only" lost their sense of morality and humanity, and all the people close to them.

They went across the borderline, "crossed the line". Went too far.

And there's lots of room there, how far away from the borderline you can go. How evil you can be, basically.

Soul thinned out

His soul is thinned out and eventually ceases to exist.  

All the filth that soiled your, baby

 There's a comma between "-- your, baby". In both Google and Spotify. So I assume it's meant to be there.

So, the sentence "All the filth that soiled your" refers to the soul. The soul is thinned out and filthy.

Spit it out when they're coming for you

I picture an angry mob coming for the person, for being so immoral. But it's probably more metaphorical than concrete. People have had enough of the person's cold ways and are coming after them, demanding a punishment and answers. And the narrator is telling the person to "spit it out", meaning the remains of their soul. I imagine the soul contains both the last ounce of humanity they have left but also "filth" = lots of evil. The truth. Eveything that made them human and everything that made them lose their humanity. 

Lowers hair

"Lowers hair"... Could be bowing your head, but also, while the person does that, their hair covers their face. As if they're ashamed of what they've done. It could be that they are, but it might as well be that they're just pretending...