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The Ruby Ring Man Lyrics
in my wet dog sky of blue
I could see you at the gate
in the red eye dawning you
where you always sit and wait
for the passing of the broken heart parade
I would kiss the devil's cheek to get this halo off of me
and in my twisted afterlife you would be my family tree
and we'll both walk around with our tails between our legs
we can rattle our pans at the gate my dear
but the ruby ring man doesn't know we're here
I thought he knew my name
strange he wouldn't even look my way
someone got their fingerprints on my happy ending song
christ and all his ruby rings told me I should hang it up
because I lie so well I even start to buy it too
I lie so well I even start to buy it too
when the trumpet swings my ears start to bleed
I'm hanging upside down in a famous tree
I saw so many things
oh this color's new and beautiful to me
I could see you at the gate
in the red eye dawning you
where you always sit and wait
for the passing of the broken heart parade
and in my twisted afterlife you would be my family tree
and we'll both walk around with our tails between our legs
but the ruby ring man doesn't know we're here
I thought he knew my name
strange he wouldn't even look my way
christ and all his ruby rings told me I should hang it up
because I lie so well I even start to buy it too
I'm hanging upside down in a famous tree
I saw so many things
oh this color's new and beautiful to me
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I think this song is about becoming an atheist, or at least divesting yourself from Christianity. There's references to evolution (tails, I know it's an old idiom, but I can't help but wonder), hanging upside down in a famous tree (the tree of knowledge from Genesis?), "twisted" afterlives, and the fact that the ruby ring man ignores him (and who is later revealed to be Christ).
I love the stanza with the line "tails between our legs". I interpreted that as a way to describe the embarrassment or shame the narrator might feel for some of his actions during life. In the context of that whole stanza, it seems like he may be suggesting that the Christian heaven is an awkward place, as everyone becomes a part of your "family tree".... even if you shared some unholy experiences with them ("kiss the devil's cheek"). He seems to be rejecting that idea of an afterlife, lamenting the supposed perfection of heaven.
I love the stanza with the line "tails between our legs". I interpreted that as a way to describe the embarrassment or shame the narrator might feel for some of his actions during life. In the context of that whole stanza, it seems like he may be suggesting that the Christian heaven is an awkward place, as everyone becomes a part of your "family tree".... even if you shared some unholy experiences with them ("kiss the devil's cheek"). He seems to be rejecting that idea of an afterlife, lamenting the supposed perfection of heaven.
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But I love this idea of evolution in that line, too. It could be a way of suggesting that humanity no longer has a need for religion and God, or that belonging to this Utopian heaven is the equivalent to living as a less evolved being.
Shouldn't it be "we can rattle our tails at the GATE my dear"? At least that makes the most sense to me, noting the previous reference to gate.
Agreed, needs to be edited. I think the reference is to the pearly gates into heaven.
Agreed, needs to be edited. I think the reference is to the pearly gates into heaven.
Seems to me like the narrator does not feel a connection to god...
"the ruby ring man doesn't know we're here I thought he knew my name strange he wouldn't even look my way"
...but he feels a connection and trust towards Christ:
"someone got their fingerprints on my happy ending song christ and all his ruby rings told me I should hang it up because I lie so well I even start to buy it too"
Perhaps he is trying to say that he has more faith in his fellow man than in an abstract and distant god.