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Portrait (He Knew) Lyrics
He had a thousand ideas, you might have heard his name
He lived alone with his vision
Not looking for fortune or fame
Never said too much to speak of
He was off on another plane
The words that he said were a mystery
Nobody's sure he was sane
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view, Oh where was he going to
He was in search of an answer
The nature of what we are
He was trying to do it a new way
He was bright as a star
But nobody understood him
"His numbers are not the way"
He's lost in the deepest enigma
Which no one's unraveled today
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view, Oh where was he going to
And he tried, but before he could tell us he died
When he left us the people cried,
Oh where was he going to?
He had a different idea
A glimpse of the master plan
He could see into the future
A true visionary man
But there's something he never told us
It died when he went away
If only he could have been with us
No telling what he might say
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
But he knew, you could tell by the picture he drew
It was totally something new,
Oh where was he going to?
He lived alone with his vision
Not looking for fortune or fame
Never said too much to speak of
He was off on another plane
The words that he said were a mystery
Nobody's sure he was sane
No one could see his view, Oh where was he going to
The nature of what we are
He was trying to do it a new way
He was bright as a star
But nobody understood him
"His numbers are not the way"
He's lost in the deepest enigma
Which no one's unraveled today
No one could see his view, Oh where was he going to
And he tried, but before he could tell us he died
When he left us the people cried,
Oh where was he going to?
A glimpse of the master plan
He could see into the future
A true visionary man
But there's something he never told us
It died when he went away
If only he could have been with us
No telling what he might say
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
But he knew, you could tell by the picture he drew
It was totally something new,
Oh where was he going to?
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Definately Einstien. Livgren said so himself. He wrote Ballads to Einstien and Hughes and put them back to back on the Album Point of Know Return. Kickass album, one of those where you can listen from beginning to end without coming across a bad song.
Show me the quote - You're obviously a Kerry Livgren specialist, and you have the whole web to search... I need to see HIM SAY THAT. Not a blog post by somebody else, or a quote from some other - person.
Show me the quote - You're obviously a Kerry Livgren specialist, and you have the whole web to search... I need to see HIM SAY THAT. Not a blog post by somebody else, or a quote from some other - person.
I live in Kansas, and I'm old enough to have followed the band all around the 4 state area, seen dozens of shows, and - well, that's enough. If I told you that he told me HIMSELF that Nikola Tesla was one of his Heroes, you would argue with me about that, so - until then, suffice it...
I live in Kansas, and I'm old enough to have followed the band all around the 4 state area, seen dozens of shows, and - well, that's enough. If I told you that he told me HIMSELF that Nikola Tesla was one of his Heroes, you would argue with me about that, so - until then, suffice it to say I think I know I'm right. You think you know you're right (I hope, otherwise you've not done your due diligence and properly researched this topic) - so We'll end the conversation here.
I would, just as a side note, suggest you do a topical search on Nikola Tesla - NOT wikipedia, that is all 'blogsense' and 'fact checked' - and learn about the man. I guarantee that if you do, you will be glad. His story is very sad - his patents were stolen, and even though he INVENTED alternating current (A/C), he died penniless in a hotel room, while the men he made billionaires Suppressed his discoveries - mostly the ones about OverUnity or Free Energy - because it didn't have a 'meter' on it, and they couldn't make any money that way. Look up JP Morgan, Westinghouse, Edison - all of them were complicit in ruining him, but he never fought back. Oh, and he lived on the 42nd floor of the hotel, by the way.
Peace!!
First, this song is written by Livgren and Walsh, with both writing the lyrics. So, we can't really know, unless they clarify for us, who is responsible for what part. This song has never seemed like it's really about Einstein, so it was no surprise to me that Livgren "updated" it on his Prime Mover album to be about Jesus, with some select lines modified. For example, the only change in the lines here ("He had a different idea / A glimpse of the master plan / He could see into the future / A true visionary man") is "the Master knew the Plan." It is obvious that in his later work, Livgren is Protestant-certain he has finally found the truth (or, more exactly, returned to his youthful religion because he felt he found nothing better). Other lines are modified as well, of course.
This song was always about Jesus, but under the collaboration with Walsh, who has his share of religious references despite not moving the direction of Livgren and Dave Hope in Kansas, and maybe to avoid "controversy" of being branded Christian rock at the time, they "muted" the fact. All the places that qualify or question the divine truth of Jesus in the first version are "corrected" in the later version.
Moreover, Einstein certainly did not know and could not see into the future. He was wrong about quantum physics in his own day and the cosmological constant later. None of this makes sense about Einstein: "And he tried, but before he could tell us he died When he left us the people cried Where was he going to?"
In the original, Jesus is just a man, a true visionary man who was trying something new, but not the Son of God yet in Livgren's or Livgren's & Walsh's estimation. In the redo, Livgren plainly makes it that the song is about Jesus.
[Edit: left out a word]
@Talastra Absolutely correct, I've always thought it was about Jesus, THANK YOU for referencing the Prime Mover album, I never knew he updated the lyrics, and "The Master knew the plan " isn't the only updated lyric. It's about JESUS. :)
@Talastra Absolutely correct, I've always thought it was about Jesus, THANK YOU for referencing the Prime Mover album, I never knew he updated the lyrics, and "The Master knew the plan " isn't the only updated lyric. It's about JESUS. :)
Alot of Livegren's music was on face value about earthly things such as Albert Einstein's life, war, etc. However, he was a very religious person at points in his life though, if i remember correctly, he did go through a phase where he questioned many religions and which ones were right and wrong for him and why...much of his music is an expression of this period and despite face value alot of it has deeper meanings about religions (not neccessarily christian...see Incommudro- Hymn to Atman) that he put in both intentionally and unintentionally....also if i remember correctly he did say this song was about the life of albert einstein....but he never said it was NOT about Jesus either
I never knew who it was about. It could be Einstein. That'd make sense. Nobody really understood him, and "portrait" of course could mean not only just a portrait of his life, but also it could represent something. Like his work or something. And nobody's really unraveled it today, because, well, we still don't get it. Some of the lines sound like they could be about Jesus, I guess, but mostly not. It COULD be about DaVinci if you wanted it to be. Actually - it could be about most anyone you wanted it to be. And we can leave it so.
It is about Nostrodamous (however you spell his name)
It is about Nostrodamous (however you spell his name)
@Pippin the Mercury It is about Einstein. This is per Livgren's official autobiography, so it probably can be counted as accurate.
@Pippin the Mercury It is about Einstein. This is per Livgren's official autobiography, so it probably can be counted as accurate.
He later rewrote the song about Christ for his post-Kansas band, AD. I didn't much care for that version, particularly because I find the original to be as perfect of a progressive rocker as there ever was.
He later rewrote the song about Christ for his post-Kansas band, AD. I didn't much care for that version, particularly because I find the original to be as perfect of a progressive rocker as there ever was.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Hmmm, since Kerry Livgren was a deeply religous man, I althoughs felt that many of his songs were about Jesus. This one, as well as Nobody's Home.
This one is about Nostrodamus (can't spell it) Livgren later,on a solo album, rewrote it as a portrait of Christ.
This one is about Nostrodamus (can't spell it) Livgren later,on a solo album, rewrote it as a portrait of Christ.
I dunno, I think Leonardo da Vinci. The song is called "Portrait" after all.
I thought of Da Vinci too, i even made a poster where i pasted these lyrics next to a printout of Da Vinci's self-portrait.
i don't think this song is about Jesus, becuse the person in this song is looking for the answers and searching. Jesus already had all the answers, that is why he came to earth. And Jesus did not "live alone with his vision", he preached to many and spoke in a clear, easily understood manner, not "The words that he said were a mystery".
as for the person being Einstein, the mention of 'numbers' seems to support this theory, but what was the picture that he drew? Da Vinci was an artist, so it could be any of his works(i think the portrait was his self-portrait).
@findsomepeace You are writing from the standpoint that accepts the divinity of Jesus. Livgren doubted, and was collaborating with Walsh on the song anyway; they're not just Livgren's lyrics. On his own, he produces the version on Prime Mover, and the lyrics there reflect the kind of changes you say should be here were it about Jesus. The song was written from the standpoint of someone not yet fully a believer.
@findsomepeace You are writing from the standpoint that accepts the divinity of Jesus. Livgren doubted, and was collaborating with Walsh on the song anyway; they're not just Livgren's lyrics. On his own, he produces the version on Prime Mover, and the lyrics there reflect the kind of changes you say should be here were it about Jesus. The song was written from the standpoint of someone not yet fully a believer.
Classic album. The song is about Einstien, though. Portrait means like... "portrait of Einstien's life" instead of just picture.
Growing up, Nostradamus was the obvious guess of who this song would have been about...or someone like him. But I think the song is really about you, me, each individual one of us.
Regardless, it's a great song.
Actually, it was about some obscure Eastern mystic that Kerry Livgren became interested in during his search for truth and meaning. He tells the story plainly in his autobiography, "Seeds of Change". He later rewrote the lyrics, and rerecorded it after he realized the person he was searching for was Jesus.