Latest revision as of 18:31, 20 August 2026

"The Word Becomes Flesh" is the tenth track on Boards of Canada's fifth studio album, Inferno.

Comments[edit]

• The track title is a direct biblical reference to verse 1:14 of the Gospel of John:

"The Word became Flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the on and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

• Narratively, this track could represent rebirth after the passing away which was "Memory Death", backed up by the title itself being a reference to the birth of Jesus Christ, and the sample being about the development of an embryo. The first half of the album, up to "Memory Death", could be viewed as a representation of death, and the 8 other tracks afterward this track the aftermath of a rebirth.
• The drum loop beginning at 0:38 bears a resemblance to the drum loop in the intro of "Skyliner", both in sound and progression.

Samples / Lyrics[edit]

The source of the speech is sampled from Introduction to Development, a 1983 educational film by Vuke, George J. Using time-lapse, close-up photography, and illustrations, this work documents the developmental processes of an amphibian and a bird, covering stages from the fertilized egg to the formation of critical anatomical structures like the nervous system, gut, circulatory system, and heart.

The head of the embryo grows forward and the gut elongates rearward
The neural folds meet in the brain region, but do fuse
At this stage, four pairs of somites, blocks of mesodermal tissue, have formed
(Remarkable development of the embryo in more detail)
As the head of the embryo grows forward
The head fold further undercuts its anterior end
(If we open a fertilized egg that has just been laid, we see the yolk)
The neural folds fuse to form new sets
—terior end develops into a three-part brain
(These rope-like strands, called the chalazae, help to hold the yolk in position)
Early structures of the eye are now prominent
Meanwhile
(The egg passes down the oviduct)
The embryo develops in an equally exciting manner
In this later stage, a small embryo is already visible
(These rope-like strands, called the chalazae)
As a light-colored disk
(Called the blastoderm)
(The blastoderm, the central part of—)
Soon, blood vessels appear outside the embryo
The heart develops and begins to beat
(By repeated cell divisions while the egg— called the chalazae)
The pattern of blood vessels over the egg expands
Supplying the embryo with food and oxygen and removing waste
(Cell division continues and is restricted to the blastoderm)
As the embryo grows, brain, eyes, and other structures develop
(The extensive yolk of the egg does not divide)
Soon, a vigorously beating heart is pumping blood throughout the complex embryo
Which is rapidly developing into a mature organism
(The cells move from both sides of the midline)
(A long thickened area called the primitive streak)
Part of the blastoderm, the area pellucida, is translucent because it is over a liquid
And the white of the egg
—pands, vessels over the yolk expands
Some of the albumen becomes thickened and twisted as the egg passes down the oviduct
(The central part of—)
These rope-like strands, called the chalazae, help to hold the cells in position
The blastoderm at this stage consists of many cells produced by repeated cell divisions
While the egg was still within the organism
(The blastoderm, the area pellucida)
(The central part of—, will completely surround the—, filled cavity)
(Eyes, the midline, stage, develop)
(The head of the embryo grows forward and the gut elongates)
(Visible, the neural folds meet)
(The outer portion, the area opaca, is opaque)
(The cells move from both sides of the midline)
(A long thickened area called the primitive streak)

Trivia[edit]

• The track was used in the end credits of Backrooms by Kane Parsons, a film based on the web series and creepypasta of the same name.^[1] Parsons cites the duo as one of his influences for the film's score.^[2]
  • Notably, "Inferno" and the film were released on the same day: May 29th, 2026. How A24 received early access to the track is unknown.

Videos[edit]

Audio[edit]

See Also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

1. ↑ "Backrooms End Credits Song Is From Boards Of Canada’s New Album", Margaret Farrell, Stereogum, 2026
2. ↑ "Backrooms Director Kane Parsons on the Games, Shows, and YouTubers That Shaped Him", Zack Hauptman, GQ, 2026