Hallelujah Lyrics
The gray skies fell, we felt the pressure drop
And we were feeling down
Some eyes were looking down at us
The souls that made the call
The judge what when they spoke said, not at all
The words that came made not a sound
A mouth said, not a sound at all
What sheldon said, we wrote a book
And rearranged the size and forms to look like something understood
Like something we had seen before
And waiting pent, save, sad, and look
Up to the stars and counting all the suns and all the moons
How sad it was that we could not believe
And everyone who believes
And they said,
We all said hallelujah
We all said hallelujah
And everyone moves around with ease
And everyone who with ease around and then
We all said hallelujah
We all want answers anyway
The midnight fell, we felt the measure fall
And we were feeling down
Some eyes were looking down at us
And waiting pent, save, sad, and look
Up to the stars and counting all the suns and all the moons
How sad it was that we could not believe
And everyone who believes
And they said,
We all said hallelujah
We all said hallelujah
And everyone moves around with ease
And everyone fell right to their knees and then,
We all said hallelujah
We all want answers anyway
We all want answers anyway
im sorry to the folks here that think that this song is advocating having a religious view of life, but its not. i talked to brandon after a show in chicago il at lincoln hall and asked him specifically about this song, since it is my favorite song from this album. they were touring on the release of negotiations. he told me that while he was happy that the song was being interpreted in different ways that he wrote it from the point of view of "someone who wishes they could be religious but knows better". think of the work hes done with modest mouse, a staunchly atheist band. look at these lyrics in particular:
What surely said, "We wrote a book" And rearranged the signs and forms to look like something understood Like something we had seen before
these lyrics suggest that people wrote the bible and other holy texts in order to give themselves meaning rather than face an unknowable existence. this song is not in support of a religious view, but rather the lack thereof. open your eyes please.
@bombsmrh I got the sense it's about not being able to believe in religion and the simultaneous freedom and longing that causes. Looking in on those groups that can believe in god gives a nonbeliever some sense of personal displacement, sadness that we don't have such community.
@bombsmrh I got the sense it's about not being able to believe in religion and the simultaneous freedom and longing that causes. Looking in on those groups that can believe in god gives a nonbeliever some sense of personal displacement, sadness that we don't have such community.
It's not strictly true that atheists feel this way. I think back to the self-reinforcing, brainwashy community I had as a kid, and I both miss the people and am so glad I escaped. I've found a new community among technologists, scientists, and engineers, for a while even adopted the idea that science...
It's not strictly true that atheists feel this way. I think back to the self-reinforcing, brainwashy community I had as a kid, and I both miss the people and am so glad I escaped. I've found a new community among technologists, scientists, and engineers, for a while even adopted the idea that science and philosophy can be a direct substitute for religion. But, although I think we can embrace community outside, it's not quite the same, not as close-knit. And though science and philosophy have much wisdom to give us, believing that anything is infallible can be troublesome, so they can not provide the same kind of assurance as blind faith.
But people are prone to blind faith everywhere, even in this new community. We want that assurance. But when people have the wrong ideas, they do the wrong things, regardless of where those ideas come from. I'm particularly concerned that science, despite recent failures (e.g. suggesting genital cutting is positive or suggesting fats are worse than sugars and that exercise can cure obesity) is increasingly given license to do whatever it wants in our world, because people don't understand that it can still go awry due to interpersonal politics, biases, or human shortcomings.
In the end, I'm left feeling like I'm hurling through space, constantly in existential crisis, secure in nothing and always grasping for something I can never reach. This song well-characterizes the sort of empty, ambivalent feeling a true skeptic carries with him everywhere.
i love this song. its my favorite. im surprised no one commented. i think it's about like; that there is no god. we pray and pray but there's no answers. everyone keeps reaching to god though. im not sure but yeah.
The opening line is, "And though we did not believe in god."
Submitted several corrections, thks also to Thief and BrandonEchols.
Awsome song, inspires hope. We all want answers anyway...
awesome song.
I think Thief- is right, I hear that too.
I also hear this:
Like something we had seen before And waiting pensive, sad, and look Up to the stars and counting all the suns and all the moons How sad it was that we could not believe
This song is simply fantastic and addicting.
or more vaguely, it's about spirituality ;)
I believe this song talks about how when you lose faith and find the true answers you are depressed, but when you believe in what christianity and other religions tell you, you disregard the true answers and yet you are happy.
I saw these guys last week, and it was very clear the line is "We don't want answers anyway."
To me, it seems like he's a jealous of devout Christians and how confident they are in their beliefs, regardless of all factual evidence to the contrary.
i think you nailed it, i was walking down the street listening to this song and was overwhelmed by beauty/life etc. if think if i had to fit it into some man-made religious context, the experience would be cheapened and false... knowing this earthly life is all that's guaranteed makes every moment more precious and profound... and desperate
i think you nailed it, i was walking down the street listening to this song and was overwhelmed by beauty/life etc. if think if i had to fit it into some man-made religious context, the experience would be cheapened and false... knowing this earthly life is all that's guaranteed makes every moment more precious and profound... and desperate