Standing On Higher Ground

To the casual listener, this is a song about moral superiority. The narrator stands apart from the world, too independent to be bothered with its violence and betrayal. But make no mistake: this is a song about moral cowardice, about turning away from injustice and refusing to get involved.

He will not speak the truth; he avoids it. He sees no evil and wants no part of justice. He turns away from violence and the suffering of others. He thinks that by doing no wrong, he is still innocent, and does not have to exist in this world.

The chorus is his desperate affirmation that he is above all the drama around him, that somehow his innocence is still intact, but whether he truly believes that or not is an open question.

Good thoughts all around. Like Ferret, the Gaudi album is an APP album that has continued to grow and grow upon me. Some of the songs here (La Sagrada Familia & Higher Ground in particular) are in the upper echelon of this legendary band. As to the meaning of Higher Ground, Obnox did a WONDERFUL job explaining the essence of the song. However, to fully understand it you must connect the dots. This album is a tribute to the GENIUS of Antonio Gaudi. The only modern architect/engineer who was designing and building through SACRED GEOMETERY, which is based in the ultimate truth of humanity, the Golden Mean. Thus, he was NOT LOVED by the ruling elites, the Church, the status quo. Gaudi threatened to revolutionize not only architecture and engineering, but the way mankind approached all problems. Like Nikola Tesla, he was a genius who was firmly controlled and limited by the elites so that their societal offerings (Oil, gas, cement, steel, etc) would continue under their"profit over life" monopolies.

Thus, the song is written from the perspective of all those (which is most of us upon this war torn planet today) who KNOW BETTER, who understand that all of society, capitalism is just a rigged game where the rich getter richer by controlling the masses. So what to do? Speak out and get your head bashed in like the other "troublemakers"???

I feel the blow But I don't speak And I have to close my eyes Pretending I'm asleep Well I see the tears But I don't cry As long as I do no wrong I don't need an alibi

However, there is a STEEP cost to living a life of Fear, of obedience to a violent master. It starts as a lack of empathy, but eventually becomes a loss of the ability to Love. This was the conundrum for both Tesla and Gaudi, and is the classic problem for you and I...what do we do when we see Govt's & Corporations conspiring w/ the Bankers on Wall Street to steal TRILLIONS of $$$ from the whole world? Blowing up the global economy and bankrupting entire nations and then GETTING AWAY WITH IT??? WE allowed the bailout out this scum of humanity, bankrupting ourselves while allowing political scum to receive BILLIONS in hidden payments for their treasonous actions.

We KNOW better. We know the game going on around us, but we stay silent (just like in the movie, Network) hoping that we will survive and that "they" will leave us alone to watch TV and hide in the darkness. Just look at the INSANE "official" accounts to the JFK assassination and 9/11. But if you speak out against either of these RIDICULOUS fantasies concocted by the NAZIs who run our governments, you're a Kook, a Nut, a Freak, a Conspiracy Theorist.

Tesla and Gaudi stayed true to themselves and the truth, and thus were marginalized then, and throughout history, even though our world should be utterly DOMINATED by their genius and inventions...it's not. We are being forced to live in a PALE alternative to the brilliance and light of these two men. And now with the monsters that actually run the U.S. terrorizing every "Brown" country on this planet, WE (you and I) are now on the brink of utter destruction once again (e.g. Hilary Clinton's plan for a "no-fly" zone over Iran). So what are we going to do? Let our individual brilliance shine out like Gaudi and Tesla to change the world, or will we become the character in this song...meekly just trying to survive, and not "stir the water"...what's it going to be???

This is one of my favorite Parson songs

Yes, this is a great Parsons song. Overall, the "Gaudi" album seemed very weak. However, upon further listening, I've come to appreciate the quality of some of the songs.

Good song. Maybe the lyrics mean something along the line of that song by 'Ten Year's After' - "I'd love to change the world, but I don't know what to do - so I'll leave it up to you..." For example: "I have to close my eyes, pretending I'm asleep." Another example: "I see the tears but I don't cry as long as I do no wrong I don't need an alibi"