| The Weepies – World Spins Madly On Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| Addiction/distraction reality, a lot of things happen while we are drunk or high. Probably what we wanted in the first place. This is the middle of the Coronavirus isolation. We want it to spin on, and get over with, but there is loss. We miss relationship, opportunity, fun, interaction, suffering, death…and the day is gone, I sleep... and the world spins madly on. | |
| Jethro Tull – Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of a New Day) Lyrics | 11 years ago |
|
Ok, this is a complex one, and lyrics are always individualized (and it sounds like Ian Anderson wanted it that way) but that is the power of music and…. My thoughts are as follows: We all start from scratch and need to learn fundamentals of being in the world. (and if we don’t, things don’t go so well) Learning those fundamental is definitely more difficult without family/love but we all are part of humanity/society and have the potential of picking up on them never-the-less. If we are lucky to live long enough, be seekers of truth, and keep our ears tuned to hear eternal messages, we come to a day when we might suddenly jettison ourselves “a million generations” beyond the subtle or even overt expectations we experienced in our development about what others thought we were/are supposed to be. That is an incredibly precious and fragile point of life. It is only us and whatever Spirit we bring with us (not even our spouses/parents/children or whoever is most precious and loved). We are completely “alone” with our meaning and choices in the world. This is the essence of freedom and individuality. I want to reflect on this briefly. This realization of ownership of one’s life doesn’t befall everyone, or it at least takes time, experience, sometimes tragedy or some other “lightening strike” of faith to help us see it. I fear some never even have the opportunity to experience it, but it is precious indeed to suddenly understand that i, and only I, can live my life the way I want it to be lived. In other words, no one can or should live my life for me. They simply don’t have the same agenda, insight, motivation or understanding to do so. but…. The very next step involves the ultimate risk and hence the reference to skating away “on thin ice.” To me the analogy is perfect because, for anyone who has experienced ice skating, it is magic. It is about as close as humanly possible to frictionless movement. It assumes however, enough ice to support us. The alternative is of course, disasterously breaking through the ice, into icy waters, where others may or not rescue us, and we may or may not live. The second verse is equally compelling because it juxtaposes the person skating away from the ones left on the shore. It implores the one taking the risk and ownership of life to make peace, as much as possible, (ala the Desiderata) with everyone they are leaving. The lyrics even, on some level, make peace themselves because those left behind are doing what needs to be done. Beautiful. Now, beyond the shore and beyond those people we’ve left behind, we are confronted with our Spirituality. I believe, as other writers have commented that we all carry a fundamental “emptiness” in the shape of God, and thus, our reflex is to pray to unite with that thing we inadequately call “God” and continue to listen for messages about how we fit into “the passion play” or that thing, beyond us that is divinely intended. The next words are somewhat more obtuse but my interpretation of “the circle line” is the periphery of experience or distance from our zone of comfort. “As we cross the circle line” to me means to go beyond anything that was comfortable before into uncharted territory and the “sun setting” is someplace far beyond that comfort zone. The “creaking” of the ice still references the danger. (I have a hard time incorporating the “wall” honestly.) The “silver splinters fly” seems that we are going so fast away from our circle of comfort that our skates kick up beautiful splinters that are reflected in that (now) setting sun. The very conclusion seems to be another, deeper, reference to the intensity and waves of a sense of ownership over one’s life. He warns, or harkens us, to the experience of it feeling “too real” or “here and now” or “in the present tense.” He then, one more time, juxtaposes those that only watch, vs. really experience life (audience vs. on stage) I apologize for getting so esoteric, but this is really a tremendously brilliant rendition of our person struggles with life and even the initial recording of the typical breakfast bowl sound remind us that this is a daily enterprise. Brent R. Coyle, M.D. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.