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"
Makes you feel much older, sublime the blind parade
It wrecks me how they justify their acts
Of war, they assemble, they pray
Take good care of what the priests say
'After death it's so much fun'
Little sheep, don't let your feet stray
Happiness is easy
(Joy be written on the Earth)
(And the sky above)
(Jesus, star that shines so bright)
(Gather us in love)
Guilt upon their shoulders, how well the cause evades
Infecting your religions, claiming pacts
It's easy to shoulder the blame
Happiness is easy
(Little ships of Galilee)
Happiness is easy
(Standing on the sea)
Happiness is easy
(Jesus tried to love us all)
Happiness is easy
(Be a friend to me)
Try to teach my children
To recognise excuse before it acts
From love and conviction to pray
Take good care of what the priests say:
"After death it's so much fun"
Little sheep, don't let your feet stray
Happiness is easy
(Little ships of Galilee)
(Standing on the sea)
(Jesus tried to love us all)
(Be a friend to me)
(Little ships of Galilee)
(Standing on the sea)
(Jesus tried to love us all)
(Be a friend to me)
(Joy be written upon the Earth)
(And the sky above)
(Jesus, star that shines so bright)
(Gather us in love)
(Gather us in love)
It wrecks me how they justify their acts
Of war, they assemble, they pray
Take good care of what the priests say
'After death it's so much fun'
Little sheep, don't let your feet stray
Happiness is easy
(Joy be written on the Earth)
(And the sky above)
(Jesus, star that shines so bright)
(Gather us in love)
Guilt upon their shoulders, how well the cause evades
Infecting your religions, claiming pacts
It's easy to shoulder the blame
Happiness is easy
(Little ships of Galilee)
Happiness is easy
(Standing on the sea)
Happiness is easy
(Jesus tried to love us all)
Happiness is easy
(Be a friend to me)
Try to teach my children
To recognise excuse before it acts
From love and conviction to pray
Take good care of what the priests say:
"After death it's so much fun"
Little sheep, don't let your feet stray
Happiness is easy
(Little ships of Galilee)
(Standing on the sea)
(Jesus tried to love us all)
(Be a friend to me)
(Little ships of Galilee)
(Standing on the sea)
(Jesus tried to love us all)
(Be a friend to me)
(Joy be written upon the Earth)
(And the sky above)
(Jesus, star that shines so bright)
(Gather us in love)
(Gather us in love)
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Great version of a great song,
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Wow dude clearly you did not read the lyrics very closely cause no one could be that stupid. You do realize that people can be ironic in what they say and write to emphasize a point, right?
Anyway I agree with Kol. Beautiful lyrics that are, and see if you can follow me here nagromnai, A CRITIQUE OF BLINDLY FOLLOWING ORGANIZED RELIGION.
'SHIT LYRICS', are you kidding me?! This is a great track. In my opinion, written about religion in general, how it offers empty promises, how people follow it blindly into war and without question, how people can justify their acts through their beliefs. The use of the brainwashed school children's voices is really clever and sounds really sinister, using fear to keep everyone in line, 'believe in me and you'll go the heaven, if not, you'll go to hell'. Happiness is easy ! "Take good care of what the priests say, 'After death it's so much fun', this could convey that you may be held back by your beliefs throughout life, afterall you're going to heaven when you die !
my take on the childrens' voices is a little different from yours as well. i dunno if haunting is really on point. it seems that any real 'child' of the teachings of christ would say things like 'Joy be written upon the earth<br /> And the sky above<br /> Jesus star that shines so bright<br /> Gather us in love', a beautiful message that gets tainted with ulterior motives by adults who 'let their feet stray'.<br /> <br /> now, i'm certainly not calling the lyricist a christian, and i'm certainly not calling myself one, just my take on the meaning on that aspect of the song.
"Shit lyrics"??
Are you kidding me? Smarten up, listen to them closely, and look at the world around you. If you don't get anything out of it, then you're either ignorant, or a dumbass.
The line "Jesus tried to love us all" should be "Jesus, Captain of my soul." It's definitely "Captain" to tie back into the "little ships" reference, and ties much more obviously into the "be a friend to me".
The song contrasts the hypocrisy of dead religiousness with the childlike simplicity of true faith. "Try to teach my children ... from love and conviction to pray" are not the words of someone rejecting the Christian faith. Rather, the lyrics highlight the difference between a pharisaical self-righteousness that leads to superficial thinking ("After death it's so much fun") and evil acts done in the name of God ("It wrecks me how they justify their acts of war / they assemble, they pray") versus the sincere, earnest faith of someone truly devoted to God (as shown by the voices of the children in the chorus).
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. I really appreciate that it is not just a blanket condemnation of Christianity but a call to turn away from dead religion to true faith.
@Synaesthete7 <br /> Partly I agree, partly I don't:<br /> 1st passage: yes, right<br /> 2nd passage: For me the song not only about dead religiousness but especially of blindly following people and words, about indoctrination and a misuse of words (here in particular a warning about the danger of misused religous statements). An important part of indoctronation is obtained by ritualized constant repetitions of words and of actions. I heard the song for the first time when I was 13 and I remember my ambivalent feelings when I heard the children's choir, the seeming "childlike simplicity" was overshadowed with "children unsuspectingly and naively repeating over and over what the priests instilled into them" (what MattScales described as "the brainwashed school children's voices" on May 08, 2009 in this list of comments).<br /> I agree with you on your sentence "Try to teach my children ... from love and conviction to pray" are not the words of someone [totally] rejecting the Christian faith [or religion in general]. <br /> Verse 3 in total: <br /> "Try to teach my children <br /> To recognize excuse before it acts <br /> From love and conviction to pray"<br /> For me the first two line could mean this: "I try to teach my children to see through early enough if people try to instil excuses into them first to justify their subsequent (bad) actions, their (mis)behaviour." There are nice words, pictures, stories, parables pictures like "we are a group of little sheep; we should not go astray" and "Jesus is the Captain of our soul" etc. This misleading begins when these pictures are filled with more military conception of "Captain" and "leadership" ...<br /> <br /> Mayby I got these lines wrong, because I'm not native speaker.<br />
It's about War and the people who make war, and in some religions it's considered a honour to die for your country. And as such has nothing to do with religion as the main theme - the theme here is the act of War, and how governments justify there acts, see, simple?
Nope - listened closely & re-read them a few times - still mean nothing to me - what are your feelings Kol - "Take good care of what the priests say, after death is so much fun" - come on, that is so much crap, unless you are a religious person - my view is after death, your plug has been pulled, no power to your body, the switch is off.