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John Saw That Number Lyrics
Old John the baptist, old John divine
Leather harness round his line
His meat was locust and honey
Wild honey lord, wild honey
John saw that number
Way in the middle of the air
Cryin' holy, holy to the Lord
Old John the baptist, old John divine
Frogs and snakes are gonna get John this time
God told the angel "go see about John"
So he flew from the pit with the moon round his waist
Gathered wind in his fists so the stars round his wrists
Cryin' holy, holy to the lord
Read the revelations, you'll find him there
Third chapter, fourth verse where he said unto me
"There's a beast that rose out of the sea"
Ten crowns, ten crowns
On his horns write "blasphemy"
John couldn't read it (John couldn't read it)
Get on repeat it
John couldn't read it
Holy, holy to the Lord
There was a man, a Pharisee
Who came by night to meet him
Said "I know thy teacher came from God
'Cause no man can do such miracles
Without the lord to entreat him"
God told the angel "go see about John"
So he flew from the pit with the moon round his waist
Gathered wind in his fists and the stars round his wrists
Cryin' holy, holy to the Lord
Holy, holy to the Lord
Holy, holy to the Lord...
Leather harness round his line
His meat was locust and honey
Wild honey lord, wild honey
Way in the middle of the air
Cryin' holy, holy to the Lord
Frogs and snakes are gonna get John this time
God told the angel "go see about John"
So he flew from the pit with the moon round his waist
Gathered wind in his fists so the stars round his wrists
Cryin' holy, holy to the lord
Third chapter, fourth verse where he said unto me
"There's a beast that rose out of the sea"
Ten crowns, ten crowns
On his horns write "blasphemy"
John couldn't read it (John couldn't read it)
Get on repeat it
John couldn't read it
Holy, holy to the Lord
Who came by night to meet him
Said "I know thy teacher came from God
'Cause no man can do such miracles
Without the lord to entreat him"
God told the angel "go see about John"
So he flew from the pit with the moon round his waist
Gathered wind in his fists and the stars round his wrists
Cryin' holy, holy to the Lord
Holy, holy to the Lord
Holy, holy to the Lord...
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Writer
Neko Case
Duration
4:06
Submitted by
delial On Mar 07, 2006
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I'm not christian at all but this song makes me wat to dance
Ok, so I've done a bunch of research about this because I really wanted to understand this awesome song. When she mentions John the Baptist, she isn't talking about the same John who sees "that number." She actually is talking about John the Baptist, who was executed. She is saying that this John (who is the author of the Book of Revelation) might end up with the same gruesome fate if he isn't careful. But, he gets saved when God sends the angel to help him foresee the end of the world. What he sees is a seven-headed sea monster with ten crowns, which represents Satan and the number 666.
What I'm not clear on is the underlying thoughts about the Book of Revelation. It may or may not be satirical, but what I found is at least who and what I think Neko was singing about.
Great song, but I wonder if she realizes that "John the Baptist" and John the Evangelist (who saw that number) are two different people.
Does anyone think this is a satire? I was surprised at first by the seemingly religious nature of this song, but describing John with "horns" makes me think otherwise. Maybe she's criticizing people's blind faith in their leaders?
The horns are on the beast, not on John. Also, I think it's hilarious that she took an old gospel song about John of Patmos and thought it was John the Baptist. The original song didn't have the intro about John the Baptist.
I agree with 123456910, see "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" which is about blindly putting faith and following religious leaders.
According to an interview the sound is inspired by the kid singing a capella in the movie Latcho Drom and the lyrics are from the bible.
What interview does she say this in? I watched Latcho Drom the same day I saw her play this!
What interview does she say this in? I watched Latcho Drom the same day I saw her play this!
As the introduction suggests, the song is about two individuals, John the Baptist and John Divine (aka John the seer, the revelator, the Apostle)
The first paragraph is about John the Apostle who is believed to be the author of Revelation. The second, the man who interacts with the pharisee, is John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, the one who ate locust and wild honey.
It makes a comparison between these two Johns. Both of these men are beloved of God, Holy to the Lord. God sends his angel to protect them. They have the favor of God.
I am guessing the song is based on an old spiritual?
I used to love this song, I still enjoy the music and melody and her voice, but having recently been saved I have learned that the lyrics are just wrong. She has confused John the Baptist with John the Revelator, and I very much doubt that there was enough thought put into it that she was speculating that John the Revelator might suffer the same fate as John the Baptist, as was suggested above.
From her lyrics:
read the revelations, you'll find him there third chapter, fourth verse where he said unto me: "there's a beast that rose out of the sea,"
The problem with this is that the quote comes from Revelations Chapter 13, verse 1 - not chapter 3, verse 4. This is so blatantly wrong it makes me think she had little care for correctly referring to the scripture. James tells us that the teachers are held to a higher standard and judged more strictly, Neko should be careful because she inadvertantly is teaching (incorrectly) with her lyrics.
I really wish she had been more careful and that I could feel about the song as I did before I learned of the errors.
@icculus0307 ...WOW...it is so incredibly SAD that you are willing (or...more accurately...foolishly EAGER) to alter the original, genuine, and innate JOY that this tune once evoked from you simply because it doesn't staunchly adhere to the specifics of your newfound faith...You have now UNASHAMINGLY "JUDGED" the author (the perfectly CLEVER Neko Case) by highlighting a possible reference ERROR (SERIOUSLY?!?... nobody fu*ing gives a sht about the switching of some chapter and verse numbers!!...probably made the song "flow" better anyways) and by denouncing the integrity of her words....But, I guess that's pretty much where the religion and the Bible almost ALWAYS...
@icculus0307 ...WOW...it is so incredibly SAD that you are willing (or...more accurately...foolishly EAGER) to alter the original, genuine, and innate JOY that this tune once evoked from you simply because it doesn't staunchly adhere to the specifics of your newfound faith...You have now UNASHAMINGLY "JUDGED" the author (the perfectly CLEVER Neko Case) by highlighting a possible reference ERROR (SERIOUSLY?!?... nobody fu*ing gives a sht about the switching of some chapter and verse numbers!!...probably made the song "flow" better anyways) and by denouncing the integrity of her words....But, I guess that's pretty much where the religion and the Bible almost ALWAYS end up taking you people...back to the JUDGEMENT OF OTHERS...Like I said, SAD
@icculus0307 Hi RIGHT2armbears, thank you for commenting! The error is not a possible error, it is a very clear lyrical error: The song refers to the beast that rose out of the sea as found in Revelation 3:4, but that verse actually says "Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. " It is in Revelation 13:1 where we find the beast, it says "The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the...
@icculus0307 Hi RIGHT2armbears, thank you for commenting! The error is not a possible error, it is a very clear lyrical error: The song refers to the beast that rose out of the sea as found in Revelation 3:4, but that verse actually says "Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. " It is in Revelation 13:1 where we find the beast, it says "The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name." Please keep your perspective, this is the SongMeanings site, where it is perfectly appropriate to point out things about the song lyrics that might be problematic. Indeed, It is a beautifully melodic song and I love the guitar work Neko does and I love how the song flows, but lyrically (again, this is SongMeanings.com) the entire song is about specific biblical figures and events, and some of those are just plain incorrect. Please look at your post and ask yourself if you are judging me for bringing up a problem with the SongMeaning (Yes, this is SongMeanings.com). Also, while you are at it, I hope you realize that you also managed to judge the entire Christian religion for being... (drumroll) judgemental.
@icculus0307 the song is about two individuals. She mentions both in the intro. It presumes a familiarity with these biblical figures and is dense with allusions to the text. I don't think Case is confused here. I am guessing the song is based on a traditional spiritual.
@icculus0307 the song is about two individuals. She mentions both in the intro. It presumes a familiarity with these biblical figures and is dense with allusions to the text. I don't think Case is confused here. I am guessing the song is based on a traditional spiritual.
@icculus0307 Matt there are still problems, for example the Pharisee who came at night to meet him was Nicodemus and he actually came to meet Jesus, not John. Look at John chapter 3, right in the first verse it clears this up.
@icculus0307 Matt there are still problems, for example the Pharisee who came at night to meet him was Nicodemus and he actually came to meet Jesus, not John. Look at John chapter 3, right in the first verse it clears this up.
I don't agree that the lyrics are talking about two different Johns at all, but even if there were two different Johns in the story and we agree that the song is dense with allusion it still doesn't answer that Revelation 3:4 has nothing to do with anything going on in the song.
I don't agree that the lyrics are talking about two different Johns at all, but even if there were two different Johns in the story and we agree that the song is dense with allusion it still doesn't answer that Revelation 3:4 has nothing to do with anything going on in the song.
Sadly my guess is Revelation 13:1 (where...
Sadly my guess is Revelation 13:1 (where we do see the beast described in the song) doesn't have the same rhythmic quality and so she changed the reference. But it makes me wonder if maybe she was referencing a different book's chapter 3 verse 4 (I looked at John 3:4 and it doesn't seem to apply). I am interested to know if you feel otherwise on that one.
If the song gets people interested in what happened in the Bible and leads them to discover Jesus than that is awesome, but the text contains errors and wrong references which can also lead people to confusion, and well God was pretty clear about getting the details right.
This song is about schizophrenia.