submissions
| Village People – YMCA Lyrics
| 4 years ago
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If a singing group of men dressed in flamboyant outfits invite you to stay at the local YMCA... maybe crash at a friend's place instead. |
submissions
| Led Zeppelin – In My Time of Dying Lyrics
| 5 years ago
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The lyrics are biblical - and have appeared in many Gospel songs over the decades. Eventually they made their way into Blues songs, which was very typical in those early days - songs of torment, pleading, begging forgiveness, "gettin' done wrong", etc.. In My Time of Dying is a classic example of this. Many Blues artists performed the song, but the earliest, best known recording was by Blind Willie Johnson. This is the version Zeppelin drew their inspiration from. As mentioned in other comments, it is indeed about dying. Specifically, the protagonist is begging to be let into heaven - perhaps not being completely truthful that he "never did no harm, never did no wrong" and that he must have "done somebody some good". He's begging for Jesus to be his support, that if his wings fail him, to provide another pair. He begs St. Peter - often identified as the keeper of Heaven's keys to let him in. In spirituals, Gabriel's Horn signals the return of Christ. It's a safe assumption that he simply wants to be united with Jesus - as the climax of the song features a cry out directly to him. No matter where you fall on the faith spectrum, it's a pretty beautiful and powerful song about a dying man trying to come to terms with what awaits him... |
submissions
| Black Sabbath – God Is Dead? Lyrics
| 8 years ago
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@Ganondoxon - You're right about that context of Nietzsche's statement. I may not have been entirely clear on that in what I mentioned for his "If God is dead.." remarks. I don't like speaking in generalities, but considering Nietzsche's anti-theistic leanings, it's probably a safe assumption he wasn't a believer :) - I think @FreshOwnageon was more succinct in saying "If God is dead, everything is permitted" - which would seem to be more in line with certain philosophy and not necessarily the meaning of this song (which is more about a basic question of God's existence). With a reference to society, if God is dead, it would point to morality being dead as well. To many, an absent, missing, or nonexistent God means we only have nature and survival of the fittest, which does not provide right, wrong, an answer to life's meaning, love, and much more. |
submissions
| Black Sabbath – God Is Dead? Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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My understanding, from listening and what I've read, is that it a reference to the work of German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. In which, he discusses the concept of God as it relates to morality. If God is dead, then morality has no meaning. Specific to this song, it seems to be more of a torment or struggle to know the truth. In one part, the lyrics state, "I don't believe that God is dead"...then going on to repeat, "God is dead...God is dead". The Nietzsche reference is similar to Trent Reznor's (NIN's) song 'Heresy" - While "Heresy" is more of an atheistic exclamation, "God Is Dead?" is clearly more of a question, and not necessarily dismissive of God's existence. |
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