It’s a call to younger generations to “change your mind” from worrying (tossing and turning means worrying) about their own personal desires/dreams (because they won’t last) … and instead use their “short while” on earth to love and leave the world better … and thereby enter heaven. Someone mentioned a Buddhist theme, but the emphasis of the Buddha was not much on leaving the world a better place, but rather on exiting the world. This song is far more of a Jewish-Christian message given that both of those wisdom traditions have a strong emphasis on making the world better. One of the biggest symbols in Christianty is the white dove, which is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the love that flows back and forth between God and Christ - and also the flow of love between God/Jesus and humanity. Also in many places the Bible says “God is love.” So the lyrics of: will you carry “love with you. Will you ride the great white bird into heaven?” is probably a reference to the holy spirit. Google “holy spirit” and click on Images and almost 100% are of white doves. Likewise, both Judaism and Christianity emphasis that God expects us to make the world better, and convey that it affects whether we’ll get into heaven. It’s not the sole determinant, but it’s a factor. One example of many is in the passage about helping “the least of these,” Jesus says that those who don’t help people in the greatest need, they won’t access heaven. The Old Testament (Jewish sections before Jesus came) have similar themes. Likewise, in Buddhism a person can only reach heaven through their own efforts and without divine help, and we must spend countless lives doing tons of meditation to work off all of our karma and to develop enough virtues to eventually reach heaven. But Christianity conveys that we can get there sooner and easier with God’s help (love’s help), and we can’t do it on our own. So “riding” another being into heaven is the opposite of what the Buddha taught, and matches exactly with Christian teaching. The theme of not becoming attached to things is part of both Buddhism and Christianity. Cat’s parents were originally Greek Orthodox, but he was raised Catholic. They only attended church some of the time, so the family wasn’t very religious. But besides church, Cat said he also studied Christianity to some degree in school. So he would have been well aware of the meaning of a white dove. He did also do some reading about Buddhism, and that shows up in a few of his songs. But I don’t think this is really one of them. On the same album he has a song named “Jesus” in which he talks about both Jesus and Buddha. He wrote this album a few years before he became Muslim, and said it was before he even considered Islam or read any texts of Islam. So that didn’t influence Oh Very Young or any of his well-known songs. He stopped singing soon after his conversion.

The lyrics of "The Pan Within" by The Waterboys invite the listener on a journey of self-discovery and introspection. The imagery of going beneath the skin suggests delving deep into one's innermost thoughts and emotions. The reference to Pan, a Greek god associated with nature, wilderness, and fertility, hints at finding a connection to the natural world and one's own primal instincts. The repetitive refrain of "close your eyes, breathe slow we'll begin" creates a sense of guided meditation, as if the singer is leading the listener on a spiritual exploration. The mention of swinging hips and losing one's head adds a physical element to the journey, as if encouraging the listener to let go of inhibitions and surrender to the experience. The lyrics also touch on themes of love, desire, and surrender. The mention of lovers, thieves, fools, and pretenders suggests that everyone is on their own journey of self-discovery, and that by surrendering to the process, one can find their true self. The idea of sanctifying the night and finding pleasure in the wind and stars further emphasizes the spiritual and sensual nature of the journey. Overall, "The Pan Within" is a poetic and introspective song that encourages listeners to explore their innermost selves and find a connection to the natural world and their own primal instincts. It is a call to surrender to the journey of self-discovery and embrace the depths of one's own being.

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He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.

Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?