| Glen Phillips – Thank You Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Glen is a devout Reform Jew, but he also practices a lot of Eastern religions. This is a beautiful song . I can't really say much more. Singing "Open Me" over and over again is a common enough way to pray. I'm an Eastern Orthodox Christian who includes this song among the very few blatantly religious rock songs that don't simply suck. So much religious music is pure and utter crap, and this isn't. He keeps it simple, and as a result the message is powerful. The image of the Wasteland is especially important. One does not find God in a church or Synagogue. He or she find him when they have usually suffered greatly first. It's the 40 days in the desert, which is so important to Christian imagery. Glen is one of my favorite singers. He gets a little sappy at times, but he mostly writes poetic powerful music. Here he simply sings a love song to God. |
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| Toad the Wet Sprocket – Fly From Heaven Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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This song pisses me off. Glen Phillips is one of the few singers out there that writes good religious music. But, he's way off base in this song... Paul was, quite simply, a God inspirited Apostle who wrote 1/3rd of the New Testament. Thanks to his writings, he granted relative equality to men and women (he didn't write Timothy and Titus, by the way) and protected women more than any single act, ever. But, I think he was probably not a very likable man. He's so hard to exegete. That's because he says so very much in a short time sometimes, then suddenly is talking about covering heads and other things that we scratch our heads at today. Paul did swagger, because he was God's own messenger. He was unapologetic about being an apostle, though he insisted he was least of the Apostles. Peter and James wanted to keep the new church Jewish. Glen Phillips is a reform Jew, so his opinion is not surprising in this song. Paul muscled in and told them that insisting that Greeks cut off a bit of their penis to prove they were followers of the Way was simply laughable. He stood up to them, rightly so. He was born a Jew and died a Jew, though. He didn't think of himself as a Christian. He thought of himself as a Jew who has seen and heard Jesus the Messiah speak to him. And his message was that Jesus's message was for everyone, not just for Jews. To be fair, Glen was very young when he wrote this song, and probably simply hasn't really read Paul, like sat down and read Galatians. Paul sure as hell made people nervous. He was suggesting that Jews go from being a small community of believers to actively allowing all people to become one with Jesus. I love Glen Phillips religious music in general, and I actually like this song, I just think his lyrics are highly flawed. He frankly is falling into the trap many people do with Paul - that he's hard to understand, that he is arrogant, that he was sexist and didn't try to abolish slavery. Of course, he names Junia as an Apostle in Romans and half the people he greets in his letters are women that were his students and friends. "There is not male or female, just us in Christ" Enough said. Paul did not take Jesus's message and pervert it. He absolutely worshiped Jesus. He is one of the greatest saints in the Orthodox Church and any other church. The 23 year old Glen Phillips is simply doing an old hat in this song: let's attack Paul for ruining Jesus's message. In the end, he reconciled with Peter and James. James wrote his important book for those who too Pauline doctrine to an extreme, of course. The real conflict was actually Peter vs. Paul, not Paul vs. James. Peter was supposed to be in charge and he kept falling back into sin, over and over. But, that is beyond the scope of this. Anyone interested in Paul is encouraged to read commentaries by men like N.T. Wright and Richard Rohr (both very "liberal" preachers). They both adore Paul, and they kindly explain why in their respect books about him. |
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| Bruce Springsteen – Devils & Dust Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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This is a really broad song that can mean a lot to a lot of people. The "take a God filled soul" part is what is interesting. Here is someone who is religious, who has done all this praying, all his Bible reading or confession or whatever. Yet, he feels at the end. It could be a priest whose secret lover or wife (if he were Anglican or Orthodox) died. It does not have to be about a soldier. The wonderful thing about the Boss is how almost all his songs mean so much to different people. The song "American Skin (41 Shots)" was about whom? The police who each day have to make that horrible call IF it was a wallet or a gun? I don't know if he was sure or is even sure himself what his songs mean. Like all the great poets he gives even the most personal of songs like "Born to Run" a broad meaning that I used to identify with "Born to Run" to the point of obsessing, being a "bad boy" and taking off in my '67 Dodge Dart. So, what is he getting at here? This is a man at the breaking point. He has a gun. He might be suicidal, or he might be homicidal. I think he is probably one or the other. Yet, it does sound military when he uses the words "every woman and every man" lyrics, a common thing politicians say about the military..although it is interesting that "women" is first. Who is Bobby? Bobby can be a woman's name for Roberta. Usually it is spelled "Bobbi", but who knows? It could be his buddy in the trenches. It could be him talking to he gay lover who just died. The one thing I do know is this song has religious overtones, like almost all of Bruce's songs. "Devils and Dust" feels like an empty field in Kansas, empty field in the heart and soul, a man pushed past the point of his breaking point, even though he though his religion would somehow protect him. So much for the power of prayer, this man reflects. We do know he has a gun in his hand, but even that can be metaphorical or symbolic. All I know is this man is deeply religious and his religion has utterly failed him, and now his mind and soul are simply empty, empty, empty as can be. I've had a few days like that. I do think religious people can relate to this song better, as we have experienced when it seems like the whole idea of the "power of prayer" is just utter bullshit, and life is a joke, and not worth living anymore. A deeply religious man might literally believe he is filled with devils. Most Orthodox and Catholic traditions still teach about invisible spiritual warfare. He is obviously losing this warfare. Just because a war is going on and the artist is a known social activist doesn't mean his poetry means the same to all people. People have guns for all kinds of reasons. But, this is dark and deep poetry, and this was his best album since Nebraska hands down. And, Nebraska was his best album, hands down. It's a shame that men like Springsteen and Neil Young and Dylan like noise so much...just my opinion. |
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