All The Fools Sailed Away

That's because it's actually people that suck. Dio's actually quite ace, and proved w/ Dehumanizer that he can write damned fine non-fantasy lyrics as well.

Futrality about nailed it. Though realating to Dios other work, its anyone who doesnt follow societies rules. they are hunted, tamed and and reinstated. Dio saw the people suffering. I think thats why he wrote this song

I think I kinda agree with futrality and the guy that commented him (dioisthebeast)as of rather then the church its the mass. And Ronnie J. Dio has sang other songs about society, Rock N Roll is about how we should not let others tell us what to listen to and just stick to our music and nothing else. So yeah, its basicly telling us to do things our way. Although I dont compleatly agree with dioisthebeast or futrality I must say that they get the basic idea of the song.

And the child with no sin I really believe is the ones in this world that are the good people, who choose the right thing and how they are looked down in society. For example I hate players, I dont want to be a player, and i want to kick any guys a** who i see playing a girl because that makes the s*** of the world and they have no respect, and i get looked down on for sticking with one girlfriend.

I choose not to smoke weed, I get looked down on

The good people are not really welcomed to much.

in todays S*** society not even Jesus would be to welcomed into this world because good people who do good things are looked down upon wich im kinda relating to what they are saying. People today if they met him would probably say stuff like he is weak, a wimp and anything else you can think of that people might relate to people who stand out and do the right thing.

Ronnie himself states (when introducing the song at the Miljoona Rock Festival Finland 2006) that the song is about "people believing all the crap that government tells them, and all the crap people around them tell them. You know what happens to them? All the fools sail away"...

I wonder if its so philosophical at all. "Rainbow in the Dark the Dark" was about a football game after all. Has anyone considered that this song might be about erotic dancers? "we bring you beautiful...we teach you sin." "We are your one great chance for a miracle or we will disappear never to be seen again." They tend to travel around until they find a life in a place they want to stay in. Usually after meeting someone...

LOL, "they take your diamonds and then give you steel" almost too perverse for words...

The thing that makes me consider this as a possible meaning is the song title, how does that fit into the religious perspective. "and all the fools sailed away". Could the fools be the ones chasing after a dancer? Or are the fools the ones that thought them to be too dishonest/sinful/shameful to chase after? thereby losing their chance at a miracle, a girl they could never get anywhere else?

I've been trying to look at the words to this song in various ways over the last couple days. It's been an interesting exercise. I believe that this song is actually about how religion does the opposite to us than what it preaches.

"There's perfect harmony In the rising and the falling of the sea"

These relatively few words are drawing attention to the fact that nature is awesome. The infinite complexities within all it's processes are not only awe inspiring, but beautiful. We are a product of and are part of nature at the same time. Nature is our creator.

Up until the first chorus the song basically covers the idea that we are imperfect, both bad and good at the same time. We are self aware and have to deal with the idea of dying and what happens after, therefore, the promise of eternal life is very appealing.

"We are the innocent, We are the damned" - we are imperfect

"one great chance for a miracle, or we will disappear"- we are drawn to embracing religion in order to ensure eternal life in heaven.

The chorus, basically a repitition of the title "All the fools sailed away" represents people that have embraced religion and accepted the bible as the word of god and how we should live. "Sailing away" here ties into the first line of the song that also dealt with the ocean. The "ocean" is actually nature and "sailing away" is indicating that while we are still surrounded by nature and in contact with it constantly, we are now going to expend time and energy studying the bible (sailing away) for answers to life. "Sailing away" also represents the obscuring of the signifigance and majestry of nature by focusing on religion.

"They'll take your diamonds And then give you steel"

The obvious reference to the line above would be to wars over religion, but I now think this line goes deeper than that. Diamonds are natural and steel is man-made. Religion takes your "diamonds" (puts us above all other creatures) and gives us "steel" (replaces our creator "Nature" with a manmade one, "God") So here we are again enforcing the idea of religion doing the oposite of what its seen as. It removes us from nature by putting us with a man-made creator that has created us in his image, and above all other creatures. Leading us astray from the creator, nature.

"But doors are never open To the child without a trace of sin"

So here we are at the last line of the song, religion will accept us (sinners) with open arms but rejects Jesus (child without a trace of sin)????????

We are the only creatures in nature capable of being "sinners", therefore, the rest of nature can be represented as Jesus (child without a trace of sin) in this last line. Looked at through this interpretation of the song "All the fools sailed away", religion now appears to only accept those capable of evil and rejects those who are inherently good.

Backwards.

Thoughts my ass, I asked Ronnie about his lyrics, we are the innocent, we are the damned, we are caught in the middle of the madness, hunted by the lion and the lamb.

His response was simple.

Jesus is both the lion and the lamb. (the bible tells us)

Jesus is the lamb of salvation, he is also the lion of the tribe of Judah with sharp teeth.

If you accept Jesus before you die he is the Lamb of God who saves you. If you do not accept Jesus before you die he will become the Lion who tears you apart and sends you to hell.

When I asked Ronnie if this is what he thinks he said, I do not know what to think. That is what I read in the Bible.

RIP Ronnie, I hope you know the Lamb of God!

REMEMBER DIO WAS CATHOLIC; this song is directly about sin. he reveals the entire idea of this song at the end.. it's not about "persecution" of people's or some crazy ideology or whatever.. ITS ABOUT: THE DOORS WILL NEVER OPEN TO A CHILD WITHOUT AND OUNCE OF SIN.. THAT DOOR, IS THE DOOR TO HELL... SAIL AWAY TO FIND OUT WHATS IN THOSE DOORS AND YOULL NEVER COME BACK TO THE GARDEN OF EDEN, IT REGARDING THE APPLE OF EVE.. listen to the song, remember the "dio hand sign" is made from his catholic grandmother (who he said he would never taint the image of) she would make the sign at him to mean I'm watching; he points it up to mean: "God is watching." -RR

And people say Dio's lyrics suck?! Fuck that, Dio is a very smart man who can write a damn good lyric. It's only cynical fuckwit critics that bad mouth him.

Actually this song is about the persecution of pagans, gypsy s, witches, etc., and for that matter every other religion by the church.

There's perfect harmony in the rising and the falling of the sea.- The pagans (I use the term loosely) look to nature instead of the church.

And as we sail along I never fail to be astounded by the things well do for promises and a song. - Is it not astounding that people burned others alive in the name of religion, which is the promise of salvation and eternal life.

We are the innocent, we are the damned. -These people innocent. But, they got caught in the middle of the battle of good and evil, "the lion and the lamb."

We bring you fantasy we bring you pain. - Not too sure but perhaps an allusion to the ideas of these religion. Or possibly stories and folklore.

We're your one great chance for a miracle or we will disappear never to be seen again. - They know that the church is not the true religion. The truth comes from within, not from a priest. And if the church wins and these people disappear that knowledge is lost forever. The miracle would be mankind knowing he is not damned, and realizing how beautiful we could be as a society.

We bring you beautiful, we teach you sin. - Makeup and sacred sexuality. Makeup is of "pagan" origins. Sacred sexuality is definitely frowned upon by the church.

Same thing with the miracle....we do need one.

We are the innocent, we cut we bleed. - Easy, they're people too, not monsters, demons or evil people. As some would have us believe.

They'll take your diamonds and give you steel. - They'll take your inner peace and give you weapons to fight for them. Think about the crusades.

You'll be caught in the middle of the madness, lost like them and part of all the pain they feel. - You'll be caught up in the middle of all the crap the church has pushed onto mankind. Lost like them, never knowing the truth, and feeling all the pain that comes from not finding it.

They say you're beautiful and they'll always let you in. - The doors are always open at the church right?

The doors are never open to the child without a trace of sin. - This could mean Jesus, but I think there's something deeper there.