Through tunnel vision watch him rant and rave
He says there's life beyond the grave
He lost his slice of the eternal cake
Well, God's in His Heaven and He's on the take

That's nice (that's nice) that's neat (that's neat)
It's bitter and it's sweet, is it trick and treat
You're talkin' fast but you're preaching feast - now

Bits and pieces I remember slightly, it was a long time ago
We'd have our hot and holy conversations
And solve the problems of the drunken world

Now a clerical collar chokes at your convictions
You strangle slowly for the old addiction
It's Heaven's army and you're so professional
But listen closely to this closed confessional

That's nice (that's nice), it's neat (it's neat)
It's bitter and sweet, is it trick and treat
You're talkin' fast but you're preaching feast now

We'd take a recipe for religion
And bring it to the theological kitchen
Mix it up to make our own concoction
Believed in God but you'd shake a fist at him

And Ray, does it seem holy, hey Ray-ay, does it seem hard
And Ray-ay, it isn't that easy - now-ow

Oh-hoh-hoh, oh-hoh-hoh, oh-hoh-hoh
Oh-hoh-hoh, oh-hoh-hoh, oh-hoh-hoh

You said you spoke to God and asked a question
You were wonderin' what's the use of it all
He said everybody does what they want to
Provided that it's true, that's all

He said, hey Big G you said there's my problem
I'm not so sure 'bout what's true
He said I'll let you in on my big secret, Ray
The final truth is - there is no truth, and

Na-na-na-na, bop shoo wop shoo wop
Na-na-na-na, Oh-hey-yeah
Na-na-na-na, bop shoo wop shoo wop-ac


Lyrics submitted by Random18

Nice 'n' Neat song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

2 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    It's not about a con man. It's about a Catholic priest questioning his calling. The line "But listen closely to this closed confessional" is a dead giveaway for this recovering Catholic.

    Danieletcon October 03, 2022   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
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.
Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.