| The Beatles – Across the Universe Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Yeah, I agree. That was really nice. | |
| The Beatles – Across the Universe Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Haha, yes! I love the enthusiasm. | |
| The Beatles – Across the Universe Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Wow, i just read MindsTheatrre's post from below right after i posted this. Looks like he's elaborating on my pools/waves comment way before I ever posted it. That's strange to me. Next time I should read ahead, yes? But this whole forum is like looking at puzzle pieces isn't it? | |
| The Beatles – Across the Universe Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think that's spot on. Very nice. I like how you bring out the themes of spectacular bliss in one's surrounding that can be felt in the fuller realization of love: "Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing Through my open views inciting and inviting me." This relates once again with the lines about opening your mind and senses and letting the world in. "Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns” is another metaphor of the way he feels the love of the world surrounding him. Also, you point out how important it is to realize that "Nothing's going to change my world" can be easily misinterpreted as arrogance or maybe even a false sense of invincibility. There are so many subtleties in these lyrics. I like how he describes "pools of sorrow" compared to "waves of joy", as if it indicate the stagnant, lingering, and accumulating aspects of sorrow, versus the transient, fleeting, recurring nature of joyful experience. |
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| The Beatles – Across the Universe Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Nice. I totally agree. I think the message is profound and succinct. He is describing bliss and transcendence. Drugs may have played a part in the Beatles' interest in expanding consciousness, but this is about pure practices, spiritual devotion and meditation. | |
| Devotchka – How It Ends Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Also I think that seeing a song interpreted in a variety of ways can deepen a person's appreciation for the message. That's why this forum is here, right? What about the people who saw Everything is Illuminated? | |
| Devotchka – How It Ends Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| With respect, I think anyone can interpret it, regardless of where they first heard it. You just have to weigh the bias you received by seeing it in a given context. Plus, the commercial only plays a fraction of the song... But I do agree with you that I don't think it's specifically about war. | |
| Devotchka – How It Ends Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I first saw the lyrics to this song today after watching the Gears of War 2 commercial and finding myself mesmerized by how grim and spooky it was. I think there is definitely an apocalyptic element to this song that ties in closely with the awareness of the inevitability of death. The weight and fear associated with this awareness comes through in the dark and eerie introduction to the song, the isolated instrumentals, generally dreary tones and wailing, etc. in the song. I think this song also offers a redeeming balance to the sadness it portrays. The trials and responsibilities of facing the transitory world we live in can be ominous, but also quite liberating and exciting as we begin to take responsibility and ownership of our free will. We become conscious of our efforts to inject meaning into the world and to derive satisfaction from our own sense of being. Our response to the existential crisis need not necessarily depress us or enlighten us. It’s up to the individual. The experience of authoring one’s life under both the inescapable burden and profound opportunity that life presents is one of constant balance between these competing emotional realities. For example, “Just ask and you’ll receive beyond your wildest dreams” represents hope and reminds us of the profound potential for greatness and fulfillment that resides in everyone. Yet there is still a strong and threatening warning of responsibility: “You know what you’ve got to do”, and “They all depend on you”, and “No escape from the slave catcher’s songs”. This contrast reminds me a lot of Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky”. It seems that belief and faith are also central to the song’s message. Our belief systems and intentions directly influence our actions, behavior, and ultimately our ‘end’ or ‘destiny’ in the world. Therefore our belief or ‘knowing’ serves quite directly in creating our ‘end’ in this life. This is the same theme of self-actualization and realizing your full potential through intention that the documentary/book “The Secret” talks about. I see this being closely related to the meaning of the chorus: “You already know how this will end”. In addition to free will, I think that a hopeful statement is being made regarding death, and that regardless of it’s impending arrival, we can choose to believe that death brings new life, and that death is in fact just a new beginning. I think the beauty and excited energy in the music at the end of chorus bears this new beginning out well (right after “You already know how this will end”). Right when we hear the word ‘end’ the instrumentals kick in very wonderfully and dramatically (this happens to be my favorite part of the song), portraying an upstart to activity or the birth of something new, suggesting that the ending is just the beginning. |
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| Devotchka – How It Ends Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I first saw the lyrics to this song today after watching the Gears of War 2 commercial and finding myself mesmerized by how grim and spooky it was. I think there is definitely an apocalyptic element to this song that ties in closely with the awareness of the inevitability of death. The weight and fear associated with this awareness comes through in the dark and eerie introduction to the song, the isolated instrumentals, generally dreary tones and wailing, etc. in the song. I think this song also offers a redeeming balance to the sadness it portrays. The trials and responsibilities of facing the transitory world we live in can be ominous, but also quite liberating and exciting as we begin to take responsibility and ownership of our free will. We become conscious of our efforts to inject meaning into the world and to derive satisfaction from our own sense of being. Our response to the existential crisis need not necessarily depress us or enlighten us. It’s up to the individual. The experience of authoring one’s life under both the inescapable burden and profound opportunity that life presents is one of constant balance between these competing emotional realities. For example, “Just ask and you’ll receive beyond your wildest dreams” represents hope and reminds us of the profound potential for greatness and fulfillment that resides in everyone. Yet there is still a strong and threatening warning of responsibility: “You know what you’ve got to do”, and “They all depend on you”, and “No escape from the slave catcher’s songs”. This contrast reminds me a lot of Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky”. It seems that belief and faith are also central to the song’s message. Our belief systems and intentions directly influence our actions, behavior, and ultimately our ‘end’ or ‘destiny’ in the world. Therefore our belief or ‘knowing’ serves quite directly in creating our ‘end’ in this life. This is the same theme of self-actualization and realizing your full potential through intention that the documentary/book “The Secret” talks about. I see this being closely related to the meaning of the chorus: “You already know how this will end”. In addition to free will, I think that a hopeful statement is being made regarding death, and that regardless of it’s impending arrival, we can choose to believe that death brings new life, and that death is in fact just a new beginning. I think the beauty and excited energy in the music at the end of chorus bears this new beginning out well (right after “You already know how this will end”). Right when we hear the word ‘end’ the instrumentals kick in very wonderfully and dramatically (this happens to be my favorite part of the song), portraying an upstart to activity or the birth of something new, suggesting that the ending is just the beginning. |
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