In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Is there no sign of light as we stand in the darkness?
Watching the sun arise
Is there no sign of life as we gaze at the waters?
Into the strangers eyes
And who are we to criticize or scorn the things that they do?
For we shall seek and we shall find Ammonia Avenue
If we call for the proof and we question the answers
Only the doubt will grow
Are we blind to the truth or a sign to believe in?
Only the wise will know
And word by word they handed down the light that shines today
And those who came at first to scoff, remained behind to pray
Yes those who came at first to scoff, remained behind to pray
When you can't hear the rhyme and you can't see the reason
Why should the hope remain?
For a man will be tired and his soul will grow weary
Living his life in vain
And who are we to justify the right in all we do?
Until we seek until we find Ammonia Avenue
Through all the doubt somehow they knew
And stone by stone they built it high
Until the sun broke through
A ray of hope, a shining light Ammonia Avenue
Watching the sun arise
Is there no sign of life as we gaze at the waters?
Into the strangers eyes
And who are we to criticize or scorn the things that they do?
For we shall seek and we shall find Ammonia Avenue
If we call for the proof and we question the answers
Only the doubt will grow
Are we blind to the truth or a sign to believe in?
Only the wise will know
And word by word they handed down the light that shines today
And those who came at first to scoff, remained behind to pray
Yes those who came at first to scoff, remained behind to pray
When you can't hear the rhyme and you can't see the reason
Why should the hope remain?
For a man will be tired and his soul will grow weary
Living his life in vain
And who are we to justify the right in all we do?
Until we seek until we find Ammonia Avenue
Through all the doubt somehow they knew
And stone by stone they built it high
Until the sun broke through
A ray of hope, a shining light Ammonia Avenue
Lyrics submitted by Ice
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This is a very religious song, and one of Parsons' best.
The first stanza is a reference to how we are lost without a view of God. We're just standing in darkness, waiting for the sun to rise.
These unreligious people critizice the religious and come to scoff, but in the end, they find Ammonia Avenue (something religious, I'm not sure what) and learn to pray.
And then it talks about questioning God (call for proof and question the answers), which only leads to doubt. This emphasizes blind faith.
They handed down the light that shines today refers to people generally being the same religion as their parents. It could also refer to oral tradition.
However, then we see that blind faith leads to living one's life in vain, which is just as bad as living an unreligious life.
Then the people, tired of living their lives in vain, build a tower (Tower of Babel, anyone). While the song leaves this open, we can assume that it gets torn down. However, we do not truly know, which allows this song to be seen as both in favor of or against religion.
Again, a great song. And actually, religion isn't really the opposite of asking questions. Judaism, for sure, and maybe other religions, too, greatly encourage it.
@inpraiseoffolly I suggest that you consider dual meanings -- literal and Judeo-Christian -- for the first stanza. As there literally is a sign of light at sunrise, the "sign of light" is not literal, it is the "sign of hope" in contrast to the despairing "darkness" of night. For Jews and Christians, light and darkness can also refer to life with and without God, respectively -- salvation or no salvation. Secondly, unless the stranger is dead, there is literally a sign of life in the stranger's eyes. So, "sign of life" means vitality, that a life includes more than the drudgery to sustain existence.<br /> <br /> At the end of the song, Ammonia Avenue offers hope to mankind, provides a means for people to do more than to work for survival thereby offer a mean for salvation from despair. To the extent that science and technology can improve life and enable a vital existence beyond mere survival, the whole song is about how Ammonia Avenue is something like a religion as it can provide "yes" to the questions in the first stanza and provide a "ray of hope" to manklind.<br /> <br /> I also suggest that you get the meaning of the song by replacing the words "Ammonia Avenue" with something like "A Christian Venue". From there you should perceive that context for Ammonia Avenue is not science but that of faith, which is the basis for religion. The short form is that Ammonia Avenue is the belief that science and technology will improve life for all mankind by complementing religion to offer the same potential for hope and salvation from despair that religions promise to provide.