| R.E.M. – Belong. Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Since writing the above comment, I have found REM's music video for the song. It's clear to me that the intent is political - repression of freedom in a closed society, the victory of the downtrodden and the mother's identification with the liberated. So modifying the comment above, I believe the mother's collapse is the moral imperative to sacrifice her comfort for the struggle... I believe she intends to join the "creatures" (again, the word creature is a dehumanization of the protestors by the regime), but it's not clear that she leaves the child behind. So it could either be: 1. Belong, here, as I never could (and she leaves), or: 2. Belong in the new place or new world that we're creating |
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| Dave Matthews Band – The Maker Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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(silly UI... one wrong click and I have two partial posts I can't delete)... here we go again First, as to Dave's or Daniel's respective religious orientations - it isn't necessary to be a believer to understand (or appreciate) Christian symbolism and themes. I don't think Dave is a Christian, I take him at his word as an agnostic. That said, I have two reads on this: 1. It's about the passion of Jesus Christ a. Jesus began his ministry through baptism by Jean-Baptiste (in the deep water, symbolizing the grave) b. This could be spoken in the ecstasy of martyrdom (standing arms open ~ upon the cross) (body bent & broken) (doubt & fear - "Father, why hast thou forsaken me?") (yielding to clarity and visions - angels, divine justice) (hands of the Maker - "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit") (was John the Apostle at the crucifixion?) c. Christ as the symbol of righteous justice (the flaming sword etc.) (homeless daughters with broken wings... fallen angels? not very clear) This is a perspective of Christ as a man who came through his experiences to a belief in his divinity and ultimate understanding of his purpose. 2. It's a crisis of faith and indictment of the Christian religion in a (former?) believer's history of faith a. Lost & seeking (arms open, feeling lost and unfeeling) (staring into the black water... pre-baptism? again, reference to the grave) b. Salvation (baptism) (feeling of oneness and understanding in the hands of the maker) c. Questioning & doubt (homeless daughters with broken wings = people of the faith whom God allows to suffer) (East of Eden is a tragic Steinbeck novel, with Cain/Abel references) There is an interesting distinction between being a stranger in the *eyes* of the maker but not a stranger in the *hands* of the maker. This could be read to reject belief in God's love (personal interest in each and every person), but a recognition of God's imputed actions (often capricious or seemingly unjust). In any case, a melancholy and thoughtful song. A great song. |
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| Dave Matthews Band – The Maker Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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First, as to Dave's or Daniel's respective religious orientations - it isn't necessary to be a believer to understand (or appreciate) Christian symbolism and themes. I don't think Dave is a Christian, I take him at his word as an agnostic. That said, I have two reads on this: 1. It's about the passion of Jesus Christ a. Jesus began his ministry through baptism by Jean-Baptiste (in the deep water, symbolizing the grave) |
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| R.E.M. – Belong. Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Here's my read: The mother is one of the "creatures" and unlike the others she eluded captivity and has settled into a domestic life. The repetitive line "those creatures jumped the barricades and have headed for the sea, sea" is from the newspaper / radio, it echoes in her head and signals to her that the illusion is over... it's time for her people to return to their home. She anticipates the freedom and the end of the lie. Her comforts to the child and the collapse of her world are a moral conflict: she must leave the child behind and hopes that unlike her, the child can belong there. "Creatures" is seen from the point of view of the society she lives in - they could be anything from literal monsters (a la Lovecraft?) to a foreign people or subculture who are dehumanized (think of the Jews under Nazi Germany). |
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