| Steppenwolf – Ride With Me Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This song deserves a special place in geekdom. As I see it, the lyrics allude quite clearly Sophocles' Oedipus trilogy, specifically to the play "Oedipus at Colonus". "Mama's home philosophy / Makes everyone a freak but me" refers to wife/mother Jocasta's repeated denials that her husband Oedipus is actually her son. "Though I'm starving in the streets / And can't predict the future" refer to Oedipus' impoverished state as the action of "Oedipus at Colonus" unfolds, and provide a contrast to Tiresias, the blind prophet from the first play "Oedipus Rex". The following lines "Who's the sanest of us all / Is he with me or one of them" also refer to Tiresias: in "Oedipus Rex", Oedipus clashes with Tiresias, believing him to conspire with Creon to take away his throne, although Tiresias is really just trying to help Oedipus realize the truth. "Can I have my vision back?" refers to Oedipus' having blinded himself when he realized the truth about killing his father and marrying his mother (and causing Jocasta's suicide). "I'll live outside your city walls / You don't have to be afraid / Until I come together" refers to the principal conflict in "Oedipus at Colonus". In the play, Oedipus arrives at Colonus and is confronted by townspeople who first warn him he is trespassing on ground sacred to the Furies, and who then try to banish him from their city when they discover his identity. In a climactic scene, Oedipus curses his two sons and his uncle Creon. The play ends with Oedipus' death, which seals the curse. "Ride with me, baby / Til the end of the day" refers to Antigone, Oedipus' faithful daughter, who leads the blind Oedipus throughout the action in "Oedipus at Colonus". Note that "til the end of the day" is an allusion to the Greek practice of fitting the action of a play into a single day. Also, the reference earlier in the song "wearing masks that turn to skin" is probably an allusion to the Greek practice of having actors wear masks. All in all, a fabulous transcription of classic literature into modern form. BBB |
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