| Sufjan Stevens – Abraham Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Regarding "efurste"s belief that this song means more than the words imply, on this album, and in many of Sufjan Steven's songs, the lyrics are meant to be taken at face value. I think it's just a simple rendering of the story, like "Transfiguration". For a more weighted version of the story, try Leonard Cohen's "Abraham and Isaac." However, I like this one better. It's simple and sweet. Regarding "anxiouschristian"s assertion that Mt. Moriah (where this story took place) was where Jesus was crucified, that is not correct. According to tradition (no one really knows where Mt. Moriah is) the Jewish Temple (now the Muslim Dome of the Rock) was built on Mt. Moriah right where Isaac was almost sacrificed. However, there is an equally cool tradition regarding the location of the Crucifixion. The mountain was called "Golgotha", the "Hill of the Skull," which (again, according to tradition) was the burial place of Adam. In many ancient paintings and icons of the crucifixion you will find a small skull under the cross. That is Adam. Further, the wood used to make the cross (yet again, according to tradition) came from the Tree of Life. Adam sent Seth, his third son, to Eden to get some fruit from the Tree of Life so he wouldn't die. But, when Seth returned, the Adam was already dead. He planted the fruit in Adam's mouth and from it grew a new tree which would eventually be used for Jesus' Cross. Thus, the instrument of death was literally and figuratively the Tree of Life. Are you bored yet? :-) |
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| Colin Meloy – Cherry Tree Carol Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I wish they would do some more. We're in dire need of some decent Christmas songs by contemporary artists. Regardless, I love this song. If you do a search for the "Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew" and read chapter 20, you'll see the inspiration for the lyrics. | |
| Mediaeval Baebes – Erthe Upon Erthe Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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It's a bit easier to understand the song with the lyrics translated into modern English: Earth has been miraculously created out of earth Earth has attained a high position on earth out of nothing Earth has fixed all his thoughts On trying to raise earth to heaven on earth Earth wants to be an earthly king But earth doesn't have a clue how on earth to go about it When earth breeds earth and brings his reward home Earth and earth will have to bid each other a tragic farewell Remember, o man, that you are ashes And into ashes you will return Earth conquers castles and towers on earth Then says earth to the earth, "All of this belongs to us" When earth has built up his defences on earth That is when earth will really get his come-uppance from earth Remember, o man, that you are ashes And into ashes you will return Earth is piled up on earth like dirt on dirt He who swans around the earth, glittering like gold As though earth won't really have to return to earth Will soon find earth indeed becoming earth again, no matter how much he tries to fight it I really wonder why earth loves earth Or why earth should toil and work for earth's sake Because when earth is brought to the earth of his grave Earth back in the earth will stink to high heaven Remember, o man, that you are ashes And into ashes you will return Remember, o man, that you are ashes And into ashes you will return The fascinating thing about this song is the play on words and the juxtaposition of the song itself with the Ash Wednesday prayer "Remember, O man, that you are ashes and into ashed you will return." The word "earth" sometimes refers to the dirt or the planet and sometimes to a man, who is made out of dirt (or ashes.) It talks about how the earth-man tries to conquer the entire Earth, that from which he was made. And when he does, he dies. The Earth he conquered conquers him and he stinks to high heaven. Presumably, the earth-man should have fixed his mind not on trying to raise Earth to heaven, but his thoughts and soul to heaven, although that is not stated in the song. Or, perhaps it just means, "You're going to die anyway, so why try to do anything important." It reminds me of another poem about Erthe and the poem "Ozymandias" which I will post here: Erþe toc of erþe erþe wyþ woh Erþe oþer erþe to þe erþe droh Erþe leyde erþe in erþene þroh þo heuede erþe of erþe erþe ynoh This translates, roughly, to: Earth took earth from earth with woe, earth dragged other earth to the earth; earth put earth into an earthen chest. Then earth had enough earth from earth. Of 'that which is of the earth' [a person] being taken from the earth [the world of men] and buried in the earth [in a grave] Ozymandias: I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things, The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains: round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away. |
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| Toad the Wet Sprocket – Pray Your Gods Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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The OT "eye for an eye" type gods WAS Jesus (at least according to Jesus). I don't know if TtWS is supposed to be a Christian band, but I see the lyrics as a juxtaposition between the God who lays Himself on the altar for His people, and the pagan gods who demand a sacrifice or payment in order to earn their love. However, I could also see TtWS lumping the Christian God in with all the others and saying that only he, the singer, gives his love freely. |
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| Tom Waits – Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen) Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I also love the line "lost my St. Christopher now that I kissed her." St. Christopher is (in the West) the patron saint of travellers. I think what Waits means is that when he kissed "her," his wandering days were over. This makes a nice juxtaposition with the "Waltzing Matilda" theme which is about being a roving bandit of sorts. | |
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