| Fatboy Slim – Demons Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This song - lyrically one of Cook's finest - seems to me to have two overlapping meanings. The first is a drug reference. "All of your demons will wither away / Ecstasy comes and they will not stay" reflects Norman Cook's controversial claim that the drug MDMA (Ecstasy) cured his depression (i.e. banished his emotional demons). The second meaning seems to me quite deep, spiritual and mystical (though not necessarily 'religious'). The word 'ecstasy' in its non-drug usage is derived from a Greek word meaning 'to stand outside oneself'. This refers to a state of spiritual enlightenment in which a person 'steps out' of their 'ego' (or blind 'lower self') to experience a broader perception of things in which one's 'demons' (negative perceptions leading to emotional distress) 'wither away', leaving a state of joy and bliss. Macy Gray's 'preacher' (perhaps Cook himself through his music?) sounds more like a spiritual guide than a traditional clergyman, offering a 'way' in which one could personally experience 'ecstasy' and overcome one's 'demons' - an intensely personal process in which one must look inward, or 'give one's heart a listen'. As for the connection: Shamans and mystics have been using music, rhythm, drums, dance and psychedelics for thousands of years in order to describe the kind of ecstatic states described here. The experience in which "all my love's electrifying' is common to both mystics (e.g. Walt Whitman's 'body electric') and users of MDMA. An experience of love or connectedness is also common to both. It is therefore not surprising to me that a spiritual dimension would enter into such drug-fuelled electronica. Enough deep thoughts - the message here is to absorb yourself in the music, dance, experience, connect, and feel alive. (But go easy on the brain-frying!) |
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