Boots of Chinese Plastic

Great song. It is about all the different world's religions, and one person's journey:

The first verse is about buddhism. "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo Buddha" being a mantra from the religion, "Can you help a little peasant that's begging on her knees" representing the practice of monks to beg for their food, as well as how one should feel compassion for the suffering of others, "Illusion fills my head like an empty can" ties in strongly with Buddhism's focus on overcoming desires and emptying the mind. "Spent a million lifetimes loving the same man" is about reincarnation.

The next verse is about the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and Hinduism. "Hare Krishna, Hare Rama too,Govinda I am still in love with you" Hare Kirshna, Hare Rama are important figures, and Govinda means god in sanskrit. "I see you in the birds and in the trees" I'm almost certain is part of a famous passage from the Bhagavad Gita, but don't quote me on that. I'm not sure about Krishna Mayee verse, maybe it expresses a desire to achieve godhood as well?

"Hoffa told us we should tolerate the people and the things that make me wanna hate" No idea. Maybe she's talking about Jimmy Hoffa, and how teamsters used hate to win concessions, lol?

"Jesus Christ came down here as a living man If he can live a life of virtue then I hope I can Unto others as you would have a turn"

This represents Christianity, and how believers often try to be "perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect" and emulate Jesus. She quotes one of his most famous verses with a little twist...

"Back here and repeat until you learn, learn, learn" This represents the church tradition of Christianity, where you keep coming back to church every week and repeating these lessons until you finally learn them.

"Whoa! Every drop that run through the vein Always makes it's way back to the heart again" Here she starts to come to a realization about how every person, and by extension religion, runs their course but eventually returns to the "heart" again, the source, truth, etc.

"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic" But right after she comes to that realization, she gets drawn into the most widespread religion, materialism. Every time at the moment of epiphany, distracted by some "fantastic" boots of chinese plastic.

I hae know idea who The Pretenders are, i just typed govinda in lyrics, annyway govinda means god in Sanscript (my friends name)so when the person says "Govinda I am still in love with you" is the person saying they havent turned there back on hinduisim.

the song is about having glimpses of ultimate truth through the drudgery of every day life. The song begins with the narrator almost in pain- chanting the mantra which means "Sacred devotion to the lotus flower sutra," lamenting that she can't attain the empty state of mind sought in eastern religions like Buddhism (forgive me if mischaracterize Buddhism...I am from New Jersey).

Her mind is full of illusions. Inability to see truth is like being a dog on a chain with no hope. I imagine Chrissy Hynde the writer is recounting her own spiritual journey, exploring various religious traditions on her quest for meaning. When she talks about "Every drop that runs through the veins" i think she is talking about herself. She is one small person passing through the cosmos, but she knows she will one day return to the "heart" which I think of as God/Allah/Yahweh/Govinda/Krishna/the Logos/oneness with the Tao, etc.

If you look at simple everyday things with an open mind, you can see Govinda even in the birds and trees, which is analagous to the Christian notion of seeing Christ in the hungry, poor, naked, outsider, sick, and prisoners of our world. She mirrors the journey of the counter-culture- seeking out enlightenment in non-western traditions, skeptical of dogmatic Christianity, but is still in awe of Jesus, the god who became a "living man"just like us, yet lived a life of virtue.

Great, great song.

Also, if you know who "hoffa" refers to tell us

"Prophet [not Hoffa] told us we should tolerate..." "... and see some beauty in this human pageantry"