| Bob Dylan – Gates of Eden Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Impressive analysis. We all know now that Dylan is incredibly well-read so it would only make sense that he would work from Milton's vision when singing of Eden. This is the best explanation I've seen yet. | |
| Cage the Elephant – Soil To The Sun Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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To anyone who has read the Bible, the motifs are very familiar. The falling sun or stars, the bloody moon, and the resurrection and judgment of the dead are all described in the context of the Last Judgment. This is the final event to happen before the earth and the universe are renewed. However the key to this song is what is spoken of but never described. This is the second layer of the vision. Since it is a transcendent thing, only its effects can be described, not itself. Its effects on the world are the apocalyptic visions, and its effects on the dreamer come in the form of a consuming joy. It is described in the only way it can be described, as a "thought" that "breathes" and "moves like fire." It is possible to see the effects in the first verse and not understand their cause. The dreamer, though, is one who understands. He sings "I've been touched by the light and I know what I saw." The transcendent is not a mere idea, like freedom, but a being compared with which everything else is reduced to nothing. Or as the Bible puts it, "Our God is a consuming fire." |
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| U2 – Until The End Of The World Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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It's interesting that this song is sung from Judas' perspective. There may or may not be hope for Judas. Jesus said of him, "The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." Although the betrayal was part of God's plan, Judas bore the responsibility for his actions. But the song is also talking about us. If Jesus died, as he claimed, for the sins of the world, then each of us bears responsibility for his death. We all say that we respect the man Jesus Christ, but our actions betray our words. Honest hate is better than deceitful respect. When we honor Christ and then act wrongly, we give Him the kiss of betrayal. Those of us who go to church and take the Sacrament can even relate to the first verse, eating and drinking with Christ--then going and selling him out. Jesus promises that those of us who come to him in repentance--no matter how many times we've betrayed him--will find forgiveness, because that's what he died to win for us. "I reach out to the one I tried to destroy" because all along he was doing it to forgive me. |
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