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Galileo Lyrics
Galileo's head was on the block
The crime was looking up for truth
And as the bombshells of my daily fears explode
I try to trace them to my youth
And then you had to bring up reincarnation
Over a couple of beers the other night
And now I'm serving time for mistakes
Made by another in another lifetime
How long till my soul gets it right?
Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?
I call on the resting soul of Galileo
King of night vision, king of insight
And then I think about my fear of motion
Which I never could explain
Some other fool across the ocean years ago
Must have crashed his little airplane
How long till my soul gets it right?
Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?
I call on the resting soul of Galileo
King of night vision, king of insight
I'm not making a joke, you know me
I take everything so seriously
If we wait for the time till all souls get it right
Then at least I know there'll be no nuclear annihilation
In my lifetime I'm still not right
I offer thanks to those before me
That's all I've got to say
'cause maybe you squandered big bucks in your lifetime
Now I have to pay
But then again it feels like some sort of inspiration
To let the next life off the hook
But she'll say "Look what I had to overcome from my last life
I think I'll write a book"
How long till my soul gets it right?
Can any human being ever reach the highest light?
Except for Galileo God rest his soul
(Except for the resting soul of galileo)
King of night vision, king of insight
How long
('til my soul gets it right)
['til we reach the highest light]
How long
(till my soul gets it right)
[til we reach the highest light]
How long
The crime was looking up for truth
And as the bombshells of my daily fears explode
I try to trace them to my youth
Over a couple of beers the other night
And now I'm serving time for mistakes
Made by another in another lifetime
Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?
I call on the resting soul of Galileo
King of night vision, king of insight
Which I never could explain
Some other fool across the ocean years ago
Must have crashed his little airplane
Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?
I call on the resting soul of Galileo
King of night vision, king of insight
I take everything so seriously
If we wait for the time till all souls get it right
Then at least I know there'll be no nuclear annihilation
In my lifetime I'm still not right
That's all I've got to say
'cause maybe you squandered big bucks in your lifetime
Now I have to pay
But then again it feels like some sort of inspiration
To let the next life off the hook
But she'll say "Look what I had to overcome from my last life
I think I'll write a book"
Can any human being ever reach the highest light?
Except for Galileo God rest his soul
(Except for the resting soul of galileo)
King of night vision, king of insight
('til my soul gets it right)
['til we reach the highest light]
How long
(till my soul gets it right)
[til we reach the highest light]
How long
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What a cool song! Everytime I play it, I experience a soaring feeling in my soul!
This is about the soul's yearing for higher wisdom and fulfillment. The highest heights are attainable only through commitment to truth. The Indigo Girls know what they're singing about here!
Truth to oneself and Universal Truth!
Truth to oneself and Universal Truth!
To show how great of song this is - Jackson Browne and David Crosby sing backup on it. These are two of the greatest lyricists ever - singing on a very well-written song.
Yeah! Wonderful song, wonderfully performed!
Yeah! Wonderful song, wonderfully performed!
this is just SUCH A GOOD SONG! 'nuff said...
Not to take anything away from the song, but they forgot to mention that Galileo also went blind staring at the sun through a telescope. I guess nobody's the king of insight.
@EZEebs He had no outsight left?
@EZEebs He had no outsight left?
@EZEebs Love this song too. I think there might be misinformation regarding Galileo's blindness. Most facts point to his blindness which occurred while under house arrest to be caused by the stress of that imprisonment .. He had a combination of cataracts and glaucoma. Which many people suffer from . Most haven't looked through a telescope. Just saying, but a interesting comment. Kind of twisted funny. I do think Galileo's earned the title in this song as "King of Insight". It is well-deserved. but that's just my opinion.
@EZEebs Love this song too. I think there might be misinformation regarding Galileo's blindness. Most facts point to his blindness which occurred while under house arrest to be caused by the stress of that imprisonment .. He had a combination of cataracts and glaucoma. Which many people suffer from . Most haven't looked through a telescope. Just saying, but a interesting comment. Kind of twisted funny. I do think Galileo's earned the title in this song as "King of Insight". It is well-deserved. but that's just my opinion.
@EZEebs insight isn't necessarily sight.
@EZEebs insight isn't necessarily sight.
i love the images this song makes. like every time i hear the lines "some other fool across the ocean years ago/must have crashed his little airplane" i think of amelia earhart. i know it says his, but that's just the picture my mind conjures for me.
"Some other fool across the ocean years ago, Must have crashed his little airplane"
I always wondered if that referred to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of "The Little Prince", which has strong themes of "the heart can see what the eyes cannot", and remember the little prince devoting so much time to the rose and the fox telling him that is what makes it so special to him...
The whole book has insights to human nature.
Man, can I ever relate! Though I do not believe in reincarnation, the thought it proposes is intriguing none-the-less. My favorite verses:
"Galileo's head was on the block The crime was lookin' up the truth And as the bombshells of my daily fears explode I try to trace them to my youth"
And...
"I offer thanks to those before me, That's all I've got to say"
I think she is both appreciating the knowledge that Galileo contributed to the world ("I offer thanks to those before me...""kind of nightvision, king of insight") and in her own quest for the truth, feels as though she has comitted some crime when, indeed she can trace this part of herself way back to her youth.
That realization this many years later (since I loved this song before) nearly makes me cry. Life can become so bizarre and complicated sometimes that it's book worthy.
The lyric that starts "I think about my fear of motion" is amazing! They're using the idea of past lives to explore moving away from the baggage in your past and attain a better way of living. Great song!
Such incredible lyrics. Not to take a position on the idea of reincarnation, but this song is great at pointing at all the implications of such an idea.
For instance,
"If we wait for the time till all souls get it right Then at least I know there'll be no nuclear annihilation". How could a soul that got it right ever resort to nuclear annihilation. Wow!
Or, the idea that reincarnation can result in nothing but fingerpointing.
"But then again it feels like some sort of inspiration To let the next life off the hook But she'll say "Look what I had to overcome from my last life"
Such a great song.
I used to hear the Golden Overtones sing this song every week on Sproul Plaza. They kicked ass.