I Am the Ride Lyrics
Jury still are sitting
Sense of duty keeps us all in motion
Prison sirens wailing
That security is failing
Do not inspire a lifetime of devotion
No one will sympathize
No one really tries
They need a faith that leads them like a drum
And I can hear it pounding down among the ruins
Sad to say, I don't think I'm the only one.
They asked me in a whisper
If all my dreams and visions had been answered
And I don't know what to say
I never even pray
I just feel the pulse of universal dancers
They'll waltz me till I die
They'll never tell me why
I never stop to ask them where we're going
Yes, but the holy, the profane
Are all helplessly insane
Wishful, hopeful, never even knowing.
And do the angels really grieve
Or is it all a comforting invention?
It's just like gravity, I said
It's not a product of my head
It doesn't speak, but nonetheless commands attention
And I don't care what it means
Or who decorates the scenes
The problem is more with my sense of pride
Because it keeps me thinking "me"
Instead of what it is to be
I'm not a passenger, I am the ride
I'm not a passenger
I am the ride
This is an amazing song of strong religious importance. It seems he's expressing his frustration and disappointment about mainstream religion and offering a glimpse into his spirituality. I love the line that says God is "just like gravity, I said. It's not a product of my head. It doesn't speak but nonetheless demands attention." I also like his addition of the mystical belief that our ego convinces that we are passengers on the ride of life. However, in actuality, instead of us experiencing God, the purpose of the universe is to be God's vehicle for experience ("I'm not a passenger, I am the ride").
This is an amazing song of strong religious importance. It seems he's expressing his frustration and disappointment about mainstream religion and offering a glimpse into his spirituality. I love the line that says God is "just like gravity, I said. It's not a product of my head. It doesn't speak but nonetheless demands attention." I also like his addition of the mystical belief that our ego convinces that we are passengers on the ride of life. However, in actuality, instead of us experiencing God, the purpose of the universe is to be God's vehicle for experience ("I'm not a passenger, I am the ride").
I appreciate Chris Smither's well placed distrust in "the system", saying: Prison sirens wailing That security is failing Do not inspire a lifetime of devotion
The fail-safe stuff of our aseptic, material-protective mass mentality is not part of the ride we really yearn for. It's pride, the bad kind and a sense of duty... keep producing "wealth" that are the obstacles from living truly the ride.
When I contemplate the failings of our country and the government that our apathy and docility have led us to deserve in these last few decades (the US has been going downhill since they killed RFK) it's not surprising that angeles grieve. Chris gets, it. Go see him live if you can. He readiates brilliance & perception.
Shouldn't the line here "Are all helplessly insane" actually read, 'Are all helplessly the same'? I'd like to think the song is about personal responsibility as it relates to our awareness of how vast reality is beyond our viewpoints of it. Instead, we tend to fasten ourselves to belief, any belief, and then call that belief "truth". But when we imagine reality in its infiniteness, we can come to realize how much we tend to dumb-down reality (as we dumb-down ourselves) through our beliefs. Living with such narrow belief keeps us quite content with our narrowness. And although we, the broad-minded ones, talk a good game, we seem not to make correcting this complacency our urgent responsibility. It seems to me his lyric is filled with a sense of urgency; not to complain, as a mere passenger might, but to become even more responsible; responsible for your journey; our journey.
i agree with the posts above that the song speaks about taking responsiblity for our actions. as a christian i believe that under God we are accountable to Him for what we have done and haven't done and that His purpose for us is to be reconciled to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. im not wanting to preach i just find that this song brings those thoughts to my mind.