One of Rome’s greatest generals, Scipio Africanus, led the army that destroyed Carthage. It is said that in the middle of the fighting, as the city was overrun and mass-slaughter happened around him, he became so moved by the brutality of his actions that he shed tears.

People gathered in Temples for shelter during Carthage’s final moments. Their gods wouldn’t save them.

The destruction of Carthage was a terrible tragedy and followed a long siege Once the Romans broke through, they simply went door-to-door, slaughtering all inside or setting fire to buildings that wouldn’t open up for them.

“The heavens below” a quirky way of describing how “on cloud nine” they feel together. However, they are ignorant of the horrible fate the Roman Republic is about to reap upon them.

We’ve had temple puns, fishing puns… Now it’s time for ARCHERY PUNS! This is much more sexually charged than the previous verse, displaying the progression of the relationship.

Note how all of these choices of wordplay relate to activities common in the ancient world.

All the mindgames take some of your carefree feelings of infatuation away, don’t they? “Chiselling” is a bit of an abstract word to use as an adjective here, but it loops back around to the first line of the verse and the setting of a stone temple.

Fishing puns are fun. Hook, line, sinker!

This is describing the back-and-forth and toying with each other at the start of a budding relationship.

Like many civilisations of classical antiquity, the Carthaginians left us crumbling buildings as their mark on the world.

The concept behind the song is a historical one – this is a love song, of sorts, set during the fall of Carthage at the end of the Punic Wars.

Ask people on the street what they know about the people of Carthage, and so complete was their extermination by the Romans that 99% won’t know a single thing. Putting a love story over this terrible genocide just seemed like the best way to make it relate to the listener.