Take Me to Church

I highly doubt this has anything to do with being gay. The singer is a guy, and he has several references to "she" throughout the song so that you know "she" is connected to "my lover." I can see where that is picked up through his attending church and being forced to conform, but you can't deny his references to "she." His lover is a women, plain and simple, and so we must then ask ourselves, what is upsetting him so much about church? Definitely not an easy one to tackle, but there is a very atypical reason for his beliefs.

I have heard this song before, and I don't typically like its message too much, nor do I think it's a strong message, or deep. I find it a rather shallow comparison between conformity and true love, because although it's a comparison between the two, it's a rather atypical comparison (I will get into this as I continue writing).

"My lover's got humor, she's the giggle at a funeral" references nonconformity to the original church manners and pragmatics, since laughing at a funeral isn't something that is agreeable or accepted in society. It may happen, but it isn't typical church mannerisms. The artist uses this example to initially bring us to his disapproval of the church doctrines.

The artist is obviously disapproving of the church. He says "Every Sunday's getting more bleak" and "I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies, I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife." The artist doesn't believe in the church because he feels that the church tells everyone not to sin, yet sin is unavoidable.

The artist feels a lust toward his lover that he cannot stop. His references to her are "I should've worshipped her sooner, If the Heavens ever did speak. She is the last true mouthpiece." He worships his lover, even though idolizing someone other than God is a sin. Yet, he cannot avoid this lust and attachment to his love, because love is too strong. The artist is in a dilemma about his true love: should he worship her who "tells [him] 'worship in the bedroom'" or should he worship the church?

The author uses oxymorons like "There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin." This reference represents the sin of their lust together, but the same lust that gives the love, and that they cannot avoid. Essentially, the artist is saying that their humand love is trumping spiritual love, and he tries to find every way to claim that the church is pulling him away from his true love ("I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knives").

The references to "deathless death" represents his willingness to die without the fulfillment of love. Very hard to explain, but the oxymoron is referencing his current state- love lust or love God? He loves his lover more than he loves God, and he cannot deny this. This is the dilemma he finds himself in.

The reference to paganism "If I'm a pagan of the good times, my lover's the sunlight" is an example of using another religion to state the same point: that his human love is stronger than his spiritual love, no matter how hard he tries to conform. And he's mad because the church doesn't agree with him loving someone human more than God, and he feels there should be guidance. No one is guiding him spiritually, so he follows his lust, unable to conform to the church doctrines. He's somewhere in the middle. He wants to conform, but he wants his love even more, and he's dissatisfied with the church because it cannot grant him God and lust together. He'd rather sacrifice to his pagan "goddess" than conform to God's word, which is one of the biggest sins that is unavoidable in his eyes.