Returning to the Fold Lyrics
This is my current favorite song of all time. To me there has never been a more truer line than: "I can't believe I got so far with a head so empty.."
"...but I still have eyes wait for me wait for me
but I still have feet wait for me wait for me"
Wow. Those lines are so simple, but so powerful. To me, the line "but I still have eyes" is him saying that he is "wrong" because his eyes tell him the totalitarian government isn't right. He's tired of fighting the system and just wants to give in and return to the fold.
That freaks me the hell out.
Bravo.
"Not much. I can't say one way or the other. I haven't been convinced, I guess. I don't know if I ever will be. But I had this point in my life where I believed in a higher power. And I even liked organized religion at one point - I was really into my Christian church in high school. ... I have a problem with organized religion; that's completely separate of my faith. My faith is just something that I don't know if I'll ever have, but I had something in the past. I've had a love of faith before, but it's not like I believed and then lost my faith. It's more that I've never been fully convinced." - Harris.
He's basically an agnostic that has Catholic/Christian roots. His lyrics reflect that for the most part.
Agreeing with congruent on this one. This has nothing to do with the narrative in Pillar of Salt. They just have the same chords.
This is about Harris' own struggle with his faith and religion. He wants to believe in God, but he has problems with organized religion. I think I read in an interview that he said he was "recovering" from his Catholic upbringing. I think that's kind of reflected in this song. He eventually wants to return to the faith that he used to have in God (I won't die escaping/I'll die returning to the fold). The rest of the song is about how he hopes that God will take him back even if he's lost his soul, pleading God to wait for him.
This is purely my own opinion regarding this song:
I think this song is related to the album's recurring theme of faith and opression. I personally don't think they have anything against faith in general, just when people exploit it and use it to control others. I think this song is about someone who was raised in a strict, religious society and escaped it, hating religion and God for years, but now he realizes how empty he feels without having faith in ANYTHING and his life is just as bad as when he was a religious zealot. Now he's escaping again just hoping that somehow he can find a balance between the life he used to lead and the life he's leading now, hoping it will give him some peace.
"But I still have eyes....but I still have feet". I think he's trying to say that even though he has no idea where to turn and how to find peace, he still has a chance at some sort of "enlightenment"
And to the person who made the comment about Pillar of Salt being about a "Totalitarian Religious government" I have to disagree. The title is a direct quote from the escape from Soddom in the Bible where, if I remember right, several people escape from a city that God is about to destroy because of the sins of the people, mostly because of their treatment of beggars, and animosity towards strangers. I'll post a more detailed comment on that page if you want to know more.
Once again this is just my humble opinion, and i'm new at this so if i'm completely wrong go easy on me :]
For those above: Congruent, Broke Rock Star, Ashlyyn, are clearly on a deeper level of thinking and understanding than the rest both in opinion and factually. However, this does not completely discredit the abovementioned statements of opinion not fact. I say "not fact" because the comments beside the three mentioned by name, do not include any contextual understanding of the lyrics. I do not blame you beacuse the modern educational "system," please note the italics they will be important in a moment, has utterly failed to educate young minds along the principle of good knowlege and since the early development...
For those above: Congruent, Broke Rock Star, Ashlyyn, are clearly on a deeper level of thinking and understanding than the rest both in opinion and factually. However, this does not completely discredit the abovementioned statements of opinion not fact. I say "not fact" because the comments beside the three mentioned by name, do not include any contextual understanding of the lyrics. I do not blame you beacuse the modern educational "system," please note the italics they will be important in a moment, has utterly failed to educate young minds along the principle of good knowlege and since the early development of our educational system has supplanted it with useful knowledge. In short I emplore you to read the passage in the bible for the pillar of salt, Gen 19, and as Congruent (p.s. like the euclid ref.) mentioned Nietzsche, read the genology of morals (the whole thing), and while you are at it if you get bit by the philosophy bug, read plato's republic then Hannah Arendt's Origins of Tolitarianism. I seriously emplore all those above if you havent read it all the way through, to do so, especially for the one who have opposing views to the three mentioned by name. This is important becuase they both speak to your opinions. So for an intellectual discussion points while you read here are some facts I have come to realize, and some opinions of mine in relation to the statements and lyrics: Contextual Facts(s) of the tolitariaist comments:
1)Taken in part from Plato's works The republic is a dialogue of building a government, in which a Republican government ie a representative government, is the mode of operation becuase it has best disposition to order without tyrrany (now the context of the dialogue uses best as lesser of two evils) Democracy is the closest form of government to tyrrant becuase it relies on... Mass movements of people, this is close to tyrrany (not a dictatorship like the bush mongorers would say, the fact is to have a dictatorship you need a dictator who STAYS IN POWER AND MAKES HIS LAWS BY CONSTANT FORCE) beucase as Alexus De Toqueville, butched his name, later pointed out in Tyrrany of the Majority. Therefore, An unguided democracy, or just the same a democracy guided by a tyranny can result in a tolitarian form of government.
2) Taken in part from Hannah Arendt's works Tolitarianism require the mass and unquestioning movement of people. Social doctrine is ultimately the most efficent way to move mass ammounts of people, while leaving nothing to question except are you in our clique or not (other buzz words which you tolitarian mongers love are be a team player, you are either with us or against us, all true statments but always with an SOCIAL agenda attached). Therefore, Tolitarian movements will ultimately rely on social movements at some point in their lifespan e.g. the National Socialist movement in Germany.
3) Statements 1 and 2 unified A democracy guided by social movements i.e. a social democracy; is very near the edge of a tolitarian form of government. Social decisions can be democratic, democratic or rather political decisions cannot be social. For example, I my friends and I can exclude person X from our common friendhship simply and solely if we do not get along socially with or "like" him/her, we cannot choose to politically assinate or punish him or her based on solely not liking them. That would be rude.
Facts in relation to the song: The lyrics have doubt. The lyrics have a deep intellecutal background. The singer was raised Catholic, in a time of Eccmentical Growth in the history of the Catholic Church. The lyrics have a special kind of faith of the person who honestly and intellectually questions faith. A religion and evemore those who believe in God and/or have faith can be perscuted by a government, social movement, dictator, (my opinion is it's is either purposfully or subconsciously in the title of the album). Organized religion is differentiated and distinguished from how it is "organized" (this question must be sought after!) E.g. Is the religion a politically organized religion, a socially organized religion... or is it organized for an uncompromising self sacrifice for all persons? Questioning faith is not wrong e.g. read Mother Teresa's Dark Night of the Soul and her other works for a greater understanding of the issue at hand.
My opinion(s): On tolitarianism,
I think and feel as an American that we are losing our Representative Democracy (a wonderful and unique political invention that allows you to politically, not entirely though, exile people to make direct decisions for the democracy. In this way on pain of losings one's livelyhood and political perks (you know there are some... fame to name one)a government offical should be afraid of the people (there are far more deterents to becomeing a political offical then perks: work load, taking the blame ect.), namely those he represents (a political philosophical point taken from the works of Thomas Jefferson). If you still think we are not losing our repreentative government than read his political works and understand what Jeffersonianism, not for a platform but for a decent measure.
On the song, Wonderful, inspiring song of working out faith through a constant, life long struggle.
Life is Daily excercise, practicing for our eternal life. God is all Good, live well and happy lives.
my favorite thermals song, very powerfull
that's what it means to me (see above clip)
This songs means alot to me as I go running. Maybe the music video had something to do with that. But it's great to run to and keeps you going, especially the 'wait for me' bits. Excellent song - I
It's unbelievable how ignorant some of you are in regards to the general tone and underlying meaning in these songs. Somehow you got into your heads that every single song is about a "totalitarian theocracy" and every single lyric is filtered through that over-simplified view. It's pretty obvious in these songs that he has had some sort of Christian education or perhaps that was his background growing up. Most songs oscillate between a blatant condemnation of "hypocritical Christianity" to an existential dilemma where he can't see meaning beyond a Christian worldview. "He's tired of fighting the system so he wants to return to the fold..." - This is probably the most idiotic suggestion EVER (along with Alejo's) for any of these songs. Why would someone who writes an entire album about "totalitarian theocracy" throw his hands up and say "Forget it, I'm going to be one of them!"? Lines like: "but I still have faith, if I ever had faith" show that he's struggling with SOMETHING, be it to find meaning (returning to Christian roots) or something else. In certain songs he seems to be deriding a worldview like that of Nietzsche (the will to power). "I will die returning to the fold" - He seems to satirizing this sort of thing (where a person says a prayer before they die) and yet the lines "but I still have..." show that this is something more than deriding "Christian hypocrisy" in wanting to escape hell-fire by saying a prayer at the last moment. He might even be satirizing himself and his mindset in regards.