| Sturgill Simpson – Turtles All The Way Down Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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A quote from Sturgill himself: "...I would urge anyone that gets hung up on the song being about drugs to give another listen ... to me "Turtles" is about giving your heart to love and treating everyone with compassion and respect no matter what you do or don't believe. The cosmic turtle is from a much quoted story found in publications throughout modern physics and philosophy, even ancient theology, that now essentially serves as a comedic picture or expression of a much grander idea." Taken from an interview he did with NPR (https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2014/04/17/304075384/god-drugs-and-lizard-aliens-yep-its-country-music) The word "Turtle" refers to the "World Turtle" seen in various mythologies found in China, India, and indigenous North American cultures. The World Turtle is thought to carry the world on its back. The phrase "Turtles All the Way Down" is a sort of challenge or slight to the idea that this could be possible. It's basically saying, "if the world is on the back of a giant turtle, then that turtle must on the back of another giant turtle", and so forth, infinitely. It directly challenges the idea of an "unmoved mover": "If God created existence, then who created God?" I've seen Jesus play with flames in a lake of fire that I was standing in Met the devil in Seattle and spent 9 months inside the lion's den Met Buddha yet another time and he showed me a glowing light within But I swear that God is there every time I glare in the eyes of my best friend Says my son it's all been done and someday your gonna wake up old and gray So go and try to have some fun showing warmth to everyone You meet and greet and cheat along the way There's a gateway in our mind that leads somewhere out there beyond this plane Where reptile aliens made of light cut you open and pull out all your pain Tell me how you make illegal something that we all make in our brain Some say you might go crazy but then again it might make you go sane Sturgill's 'meetings' with Jesus, the devil, and reptile aliens could largely be chalked up to drug use, as I'm sure he would admit. He sees "God" in the eyes of his best friend. His best friend is very likely referring to his wife. Seeing "God" in her eyes is him seeing love, or his reason for existence. One could easily interpret that Sturgill sees God to be love, and beyond that, no one really has a clue why we're all here. He also mentions his distaste with the illegality of certain drugs, specifically DMT, which is produced naturally in the brain, specifically when you sleep. Every time I take a look inside inside that old and fabled book I'm blinded and reminded of the pain caused by some old man in the sky Marijuana, LSD, Psilocybin, and DMT They all changed the way I see But love's the only thing that ever saved my life Here Sturgill's "fabled book" is the bible, and the "old man in the sky" is God. Although he is likely referring to the Christian God here, the overarching message of the song leads us to believe that his criticism is not of any specific religion. The "pain" being caused could be referring to the punishments of God in Leviticus, other pieces of the text he found 'harsh', or just the existence of modern day "evil" that God "allows" to exist. He also does not seem to regret his drug use, instead he mentions that they gave him a different perspective on things; but ultimately love is what 'saved' him. Sturgill has also mentioned that he is not an atheist and even has Jesus' name tattooed on his body; however, the lyrics of this song show that he strays from the traditional christian belief system, especially regarding evangelism. This lyric directly contradicts the idea that Sturgill holds any sort of traditional Christian belief: So don't waste your mind on nursery rhymes Or fairy tales of blood and wine It's turtles all the way down the line The song is trying to tell you that Love comes first. |
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