Bob Marley and the Wailers

Natural Mystic

18 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Natural Mystic Lyrics

There's a natural mystic
Blowing through the air
If you listen carefully now you will hear
This could be the first trumpet
Might as well be last
Many more will have to suffer
Many more will have to die
Don't ask me why
Things are not the way they used to be
I won't tell no lie
One and all got to face reality now

Though I try to find the answer
To all the questions they ask
Though I know it's impossible
To go living through the past
Don't tell no lie
There's a natural mystic
Blowing through the air
Can't keep them down
If you listen carefully now you will hear
Such a natural mystic
Blowing through the air

This could be the first trumpet
Might as well be the last
Many more will have to suffer
Many more will have to die
Don't ask me why
There's a natural mystic
Blowing through the air
I won't tell no lie
If you listen carefully now, you will hear

Submitted by

kevin On May 24, 2001

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

kevin

Submitter

2001-05-24 01:03:29

18 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

by returnofapollo

14y ago

Personal Assessment at bottom. But first, here's a Line by line interpretation of what this song has come to mean to me:

There's a natural mystic Blowing through the air If you listen carefully now you will hear

Translation: You don't need religion, mystics, spiritual teachers, the only mystic you need is blowing through the air. It's a natural mystic, it's in nature. It's the great spiritual teacher that exists right here, right now, all the time. If you listen carefully (e.g. meditate) you will hear what it is telling you, and what it will tell you is TRUTH, it will reveal the secrets of the world to you as it has to me (the writer of this song)

This could be the first trumpet Might as well be last Many more will have to suffer Many more will have to die Don't ask me why

Translation: This could be just the beginning, a blip, a rough patch, but all things considered, it wouldn't be surprising if it was armageddon, because things are F***ED UP, this world definitely warrants a slate cleaning and fresh start, not to mention the frustrations and agony that YOU (the one listening to this song) are going through in your own private slice of life. Basically, I ( the writer of the song) know things are bad, they're really bad and just how bad they are can't be understated; your melancholy is warranted. Note: Regarding "Last trumpet," see: http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/whats-the-so-called-last-trump/

Things are not the way they used to be I won't tell no lie One and all got to face reality now

Translation: Wake up and accept it, things are forever different. Stop trying to regain some long lost love, chasing some illusion of "the good times" or trying to get back to being "yourself." Things have changed, they're never going to be the same again, you're only keeping yourself in a loop by refusing to accept that whatever you're chasing is GONE and never coming back (at least not in the previous form). Stop trying to be someone/something you're not and accept the new you and new circumstances. The first step to becoming a new, better You is accepting that things have changed and giving up your desire to "go back" to another time. You have to wake up and face reality if you ever want to make progress in your life. Accept the (seemingly painful) reality that is so simple but has been sitting here under your nose for so long. Note: It's not always a negative thing that things are not the way they used to be; it's inherently neither good nor bad, but accepting it is the ONLY way to move on.

Though I try to find the answer To all the questions they ask Though I know it's impossible To go living through the past Don't tell no lie

Translation: People ask me (the writer of this song) questions about life, and I try to answer them, but ultimately it's futile for me to try and answer their questions. Rather, they should do as I said in the first line and LISTEN to the Natural Mystic that is blowing through the air. People keep chasing some former glory, some lost love, some "old self" that they're trying to get back, everyone's f***ed up from the abuses and tragedies that happened to them in earlier in their lives...everyone is living in the PAST, but it's impossible because it will only keep you depressed, lost, dissatisfied. Stop kidding yourself, stop lying to yourself, and do what I said earlier: WAKE UP AND ACCEPT THIS NEW REALITY.

END There's more to the song, obviously, but it's mostly just repeating of the same stuff above.

This is not a song, it's prophecy. It's one of those adaptogenic messages that reaches everyone exactly where they are with exactly what they need. This song is ALSO an instant cure for a bad mushroom trip or pot paranoia. This song (and bob marley in general) has saved my LIFE on bad shroom trips twice...when the infinite darkness of living hell had all but consumed me, this song was a torch in the darkness, a lifeline...

not to be lewd, but to be as accurate and descriptive as possible: This song instantly grabs holds of my soul's cock and balls, immediately getting its full attention, stimulating my soul to orgasm in the full grip of focused, wide-eyed, dumbfounded ecstasy.

Hearing this song high is like shooting heroin into your eardrum High or sober I will listen to this song on repeat for hours. Either in my car with speakers and bass booming or on sound canceling headphones, completely entranced. I can regularly rely on this song to give me chills, euphoria, awakening, emotional release as much as any impassioned speech, emotive imagery, supernatural experience, or drug...

My Interpretation

Personal Assessment at bottom. 
But first, here's a Line by line interpretation of what this song has come to mean to me:

>There's a natural mystic
>Blowing through the air
>If you listen carefully now you will hear

Translation:  You don't need religion, mystics, spiritual teachers, the only mystic you need is blowing through the air.  It's a natural mystic, it's in nature.  It's the great spiritual teacher that exists right here, right now, all the time.  If you listen carefully (e.g. meditate) you will hear what it is telling you, and what it will tell you is TRUTH, it will reveal the secrets of the world to you as it has to me (the writer of this song)

>This could be the first trumpet
>Might as well be last
>Many more will have to suffer
>Many more will have to die
>Don't ask me why

Translation:  This could be just the beginning,  a blip, a rough patch, but all things considered, it wouldn't be surprising if it was armageddon, because things are F***ED UP, this world definitely warrants a slate cleaning and fresh start, not to mention the frustrations and agony that YOU (the one listening to this song) are going through in your own private slice of life.  Basically, I ( the writer of the song) know things are bad, they're really bad and just how bad they are can't be understated; your melancholy is warranted.
Note:  Regarding "Last trumpet," see: http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/whats-the-so-called-last-trump/

>Things are not the way they used to be
>I won't tell no lie
>One and all got to face reality now

Translation:  Wake up and accept it, things are forever different.  Stop trying to regain some long lost love, chasing some illusion of "the good times" or trying to get back to being "yourself."  Things have changed, they're never going to be the same again, you're only keeping yourself in a loop by refusing to accept that whatever you're chasing is GONE and never coming back (at least not in the previous form).   Stop trying to be someone/something you're not and accept the new you and new circumstances.  The first step to becoming a new, better You is accepting that things have changed and giving up your desire to "go back" to another time. You have to wake up and face reality if you ever want to make progress in your life.  Accept the (seemingly painful) reality that is so simple but has been sitting here under your nose for so long.
Note:  It's not always a negative thing that things are not the way they used to be; it's inherently neither good nor bad, but accepting it is the ONLY way to move on.

>Though I try to find the answer
>To all the questions they ask
>Though I know it's impossible
>To go living through the past
>Don't tell no lie

Translation:  People ask me (the writer of this song) questions about life, and I try to answer them, but ultimately it's futile for me to try and answer their questions.  Rather, they should do as I said in the first line and LISTEN to the Natural Mystic that is blowing through the air.  People keep chasing some former glory, some lost love, some "old self" that they're trying to get back, everyone's f***ed up from the abuses and tragedies that happened to them in earlier in their lives...everyone is living in the PAST, but it's impossible because it will only keep you depressed, lost, dissatisfied.  Stop kidding yourself, stop lying to yourself, and do what I said earlier:  WAKE UP AND ACCEPT THIS NEW REALITY.

>>END
There's more to the song, obviously, but it's mostly just repeating of the same stuff above.

This is not a song, it's prophecy.  It's one of those adaptogenic messages that reaches everyone exactly where they are with exactly what they need. 
This song is ALSO an instant cure for a bad mushroom trip or pot paranoia.  This song (and bob marley in general) has saved my LIFE on bad shroom trips twice...when the infinite darkness of living hell had all but consumed me, this song was a torch in the darkness, a lifeline...

not to be lewd, but to be as accurate and descriptive as possible:
This song instantly grabs holds of my soul's cock and balls, immediately getting its full attention, stimulating my soul to orgasm in the full grip of focused, wide-eyed, dumbfounded ecstasy.

Hearing this song high is like shooting heroin into your eardrum
High or sober I will listen to this song on repeat for hours.  Either in my car with speakers and bass booming or on sound canceling headphones, completely entranced.
I can regularly rely on this song to give me chills, euphoria, awakening, emotional release as much as any impassioned speech, emotive imagery, supernatural experience, or drug...

Reason:

Users:

Reply · 1 Share

by iksanivica 13y ago

Hey MAAN . finally somebody that gets this ! Its not about bible its about natural spirit in the air when you get high in Jamaica .... no need to false prophets or gurus or mystics to guide you when you have a natural mystic yourself right? .... We are it.... :)

by nicknock

21y ago

Yeah this song puts me in a trance almost giving me the chills.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by Laurz208

19y ago

i think it's like listen to your heart and you'll get through the tough times... you can find yourself in these tough times... you gotta move on...

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by Tinman2501

18y ago

I love this song but it really gives me the chills. Look at every corner of the world and watch & listen. Pick a region, cast a stone what he says applies to all and it is just so sad to me.