Love Rescue Me Lyrics
To me i see this song as Bono turnign away from God or at least Christianity, kind of a losing faith.
My major reasion for thinking that is the miss quote of Ps 23:4 Ps 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
NKJV
And Bono sings: "Yea, though I walk In the valley of the shadow Yea, I will fear no evil I have cursed thy rod and staff They no longer comfort me"
That seems pretty clear to me.
It is only fitting that he sings it with Dylan (who has rumored to have done very little toward 'co writing' this song), seem Dylan also went throug a stage of writting 'Christian' songs then turnd away from it.
From this alburm on almost all of Bono's refrences to God or the bible are in a sort of sarcastic or at least questioning way. For example take 'Staring at the sun' - "God is great but will he listen' or from 'If God would send his angles' - "God has got his phone off the hook baby, would he even pick up if he could". From 'Acrobat' - "I would break bread and wine if there was a church i could recieve in" And from 'For the first time' - "My father is a rich man He wears a rich man's cloak Gave me the key to his kingdom coming Gave me a cup of gold He said: I have many mansions And there are many rooms to see But I left by the back door And I threw away the key" Which is a clear refrence to God and is a quote from the Bible. In this song the character is offerd a place in heaven (for want of a better way to discribe it) but he rejects as he 'left by they back door and threw away the key'
There are many other examples but i think people are board with it by now lol
Cheers,
UCC
It's more a rejection of the Old Testament concept of God as a vengeful, petty patriarch, in favor of a redemptive, forgiving being - "the ruins to the right of me, will soon have lost sight of me".
It's more a rejection of the Old Testament concept of God as a vengeful, petty patriarch, in favor of a redemptive, forgiving being - "the ruins to the right of me, will soon have lost sight of me".
@Uncle Chop Chop Another explanation for this is not necessarily turning away but realising our prayers are n't necessarily answered in the way we want and if they are answered it is in Gods timing not ours. The Psalm 23 reference could also be saying I know I am saved by Grace and noth the law, (thy rod & thy staff).. Galatians 5:14 New King James Version (NKJV) 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself".
@Uncle Chop Chop Another explanation for this is not necessarily turning away but realising our prayers are n't necessarily answered in the way we want and if they are answered it is in Gods timing not ours. The Psalm 23 reference could also be saying I know I am saved by Grace and noth the law, (thy rod & thy staff).. Galatians 5:14 New King James Version (NKJV) 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself".
Love the intro of this song, the harmonica is very soothing. I have a life version of Love rescue me, with a gospel choire in it (unfortunatly without the harmonica) which is really nice. That version sounds very religious to me. So I always thought it was about the love of God, saving him from his dark side.
this song for me is a man lost in love not knowing how to work it all out...the following verse is very strong...
Many strangers have I met On the road to my regret Many lost who seek to find themselves in me They ask me to reveal The very thoughts they would conceal Love rescue me
that is so true in life..its always about finding out about others and what they do wrong in love but who stops to think..what did they do right in love?...maybe love has rescused them but they cant see?
This song does seem like a song in which Bono questions his faith, he clearly didn't lose it for long. Just listen to the song Grace on All That You Can't Leave Behind or read some of his recent interviews about the subject.
I don't think it's him turning from Christianity, but rather a faith that is stale and dead. He's turning to something real, something that changes lives. The scriptural reference is a verse that is often quoted by those going through trials, somewhat of a trite, empty comforter. When in trials all someone is really looking for is love. I found an interesting verse...
Philippians 2:1 - "Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another."
Like the prodigal son, the lyric confesses lost faith in "I have cursed thy rod and staff, they no longer comfort me" referring to Psalm 23. It's common for young Christians to grow up, lose their way, and return to faith later in life. I believe this is true of this writer. Jesus speaks to this in the gospel.
But the writer also abandons his "name". Like the prodigal son, he's turned his back on his family. Times are tough.
Without faith and family, the writer is on his own and turns to "love". He places his hope in the love in his heart and sets his sights to a "new world".
The guy is heading into the wild with only his wits. Tough times.
Great lyric that many can relate to on some level.
I think, from the tone of the lyrics in general, that the part about the rod and staff no longer comfort me is not about turning away from religion, but turning against those who use it to justify violence and oppression.
In the valley of shadow Yea, I will fear no evil I have cursed thy rod and staff They no longer comfort me Love rescue me
I believe "rod and staff" are a reference to the OT Law.
Galatians 3:24 New Living Translation (NLT) 24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
A word study for the word "guardian" is very interesting, if you're so inclined.
The OT Law no longer is comforting....since it brings death (Romans,Paul).
But NT Love does bring comfort.
This was my last relationships "song". Alright, that may bestupid and pathetic, but we had one. The pain and hurt that the last year of it brought left me in tears too many nights wondering why love wouldn't rescue me. The last verse never was too important to me, but now it is my mantra. The pain is in my past, and I enter tomorrow without that.
Dylan and Bono together. A great song. Has almost a western feel, for some reason.