Secret Journey

@ DJgif:

Oh sure, that would make sense! I actually like the idea: The narrator meets the older and wiser version of himself (the holy man) who tells him that he shouldn't worry because eventually everything had worked out well (or will work out well, depending on which point of view you're talking from).

In general, I think this is a very nice song of describing the relationship to a person, older than you and experienced in how to handle their life, who had a special influence on you (eg. your parents, a teacher, an older colleague/friend).

"And as the world was turning It rolled itself in pain This does not seem to touch you He pointed to the rain You will see light in the darkness You will make some sense of this "

I think what these lines want to say is: When you're young, you often worry too much about things (you think the problem you're just dealing with is so big that it makes the earth roll in pain) and every now and then it's good to have someone older and wiser around you, who proves you that life always goes on and that maybe you will see things from a different point of view as time goes on.

However, for the younger one it's often difficult to understand what the older one wants to tell them, simply because they lack personal experience:

"I listened to his words I strained to understand him I chased his thoughts like birds"

As for the image of the "holy man": A priest recently told me that in the Catholic church, somebody who's "holy" is not seen as a perfect person but as someone "who made the best of their talents given" or, speaking more informally, "who did it right". I don't know if Sting meant it that way when he chose the word "holy", but anyway I think it fits.