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Pillar Of Davidson Lyrics
warm bodies I sense
are not machines that can only make money
past perfect tense
words for a feeling and all I've discovered
I'll be along son
with medicine supposed to designed to
make you high
I'll be along son
with words for a feeling and all I've discovered
old bad eyes
old bad eyes
old bad eyes
on loneliness comes
go see the foreman go see the profiteer
on loneliness drives
we're takin' our time movin' shit for
this holy slime
old, bad eyes
old, bad eyes
old, bad eyes, almighty fear
the shepherd won't leave me alone
he's in my face and I
the shepherd of my days
and I want you here by my heart
and my head, I can't start till I'm dead
here I am locking horns with the stallion
failing to hold my head up, I'll go back again
pillar of davidson feeling too hard to go down
cheaper than all souls he will walk upon
deeper and deeper in love so I hold my head up
cheaper than all souls he will walk upon
pillar of davidson feeling too hard to go down
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Also the lyrics submitted are obviously from the Awake-The best of Live album because in the Awake albums the song's 4mins. The one on Throwing Copper is six minutes long. I hate when songs are cut short! I bought a CCR greatest hits album and half of Susie Q is cut off. Anyway my favorite part of the song is the background vocals, "here I am locking horns with the stallion failing to hold my head up, I'll go back again pillar of davidson feeling to hard to go down cheaper than all souls he will walk upon deeper and deeper in love so I hold my head up cheaper than all souls he will walk upon pillar of davidson feeling to hard to go down." Great song
I'm gonna go out on a different limb here and suggest the song is more religious than it is about factory work.
I think the song starts off with ed speaking about tele-evangelists and how they exploit a need for the lonely and insecure to have religion.
Here goes my rough logic:
"warm bodies" are the living, off whom the evangelist seeks to make money.
"past, perfect, tense/ words for a feeling and all I've discovered" describes the bible - a 'perfect' series of words to give you a feeling etc, from a long time in the past.
It then speaks as the evangelist - 'I'll be along with medicine to help make you high (happy), I'll be along with "words for a feeling and all I've discovered" (the bible)' i.e. i'll make you happy through the bible.
Next its back to ed, who clearly hates the evangelist and referes to him as 'old bad eyes', the 'foreman' and the 'profiteer'.
"on lonliness comes/ go see the foreman go see the profiteer" - a person gets very lonely and turns to the evangelist.
"On lonliness drives/ taking our time, moving shit for this holy slime" - lonliness then drives a person to do what the evagelist (holy slime) wants.
"old bad eyes, all mighty fear" refers to how the preacher (old bad eyes) uses the fear of the the almighty (god)
The next verse about the shepherd refers to jesus (the good shepherd). The person from the previous verse finds that jesus is now in his life and won't leave him alone ("he's in my face" etc).
"and I want you here by my heart and my head" - means he wants to meet jesus.
"I can't start til i'm dead" - means that he can only do that after he's died.
The final verse/background lyrics refers to the persons judgement day.
The 'stallion' with the 'horns' is the devil
The 'pillar of davidson' is again jesus who according to the bible was a direct descedent of David, making him literally david's son (or grandson many times removed).
And the verse basically means the bloke is facing his judgement day where the devil is winning and jesus (the pillar of davidson) finds it too hard to go down (to hell) and tread upon all the cheap soles to save him.
Just my thoughts, but i reckon there is far too much deep and typically ed religious stuff in there for that to be about work at a factory ed has never worked at.
@tomtoro
@tomtoro
fully agreed with you here... This is one of my all time favorite songs and it always reminds me of the time I was stuggling with religious things (which was when I also came accross this song first)
fully agreed with you here... This is one of my all time favorite songs and it always reminds me of the time I was stuggling with religious things (which was when I also came accross this song first)
Also "old bad eyes"... man is born of sin (sees always temptations)... Reference to that I believe.
Also "old bad eyes"... man is born of sin (sees always temptations)... Reference to that I believe.
That said, I DO think he used the factory as a metaphor of the above! Makes sense, one wouldn't want to be singing directly about it. Wouldn't make such a good song then.
That said, I DO think he used the factory as a metaphor of the above! Makes sense, one wouldn't want to be singing directly about it. Wouldn't make such a good song then.
I like everything about this, except I don't think the devil is necessarily winning. I can't see proof from this text anyway - the background's lyrics are missing?
I like everything about this, except I don't think the devil is necessarily winning. I can't see proof from this text anyway - the background's lyrics are missing?
@tomtoro I think you make a lot of great observations. My take on the "I can't start til I'm dead" is in reference to the biblical concept of dying to oneself and living for Christ. I don't think there is a physical death going on, but rather putting to death the way we used to be (the flesh). He can't start to seek after Christ until he first puts his old self "to death". This concept is referred to in many ways in scripture: we are "living sacrifices", and "those who lose their live for my...
@tomtoro I think you make a lot of great observations. My take on the "I can't start til I'm dead" is in reference to the biblical concept of dying to oneself and living for Christ. I don't think there is a physical death going on, but rather putting to death the way we used to be (the flesh). He can't start to seek after Christ until he first puts his old self "to death". This concept is referred to in many ways in scripture: we are "living sacrifices", and "those who lose their live for my sake will gain it", etc.
@tomtoro I believe you are on to something here. I have also read the other replies. I agree with the commenter who said “Won’t start til I’m dead” refers to dying to be self to free oneself to live for Jesus, and through him for others. The dying to self contrasts with the evangelist who exploits people. People are not tools to be used; they are sacred. That is a basic teaching of Christianity: Honor others above yourself. Work for the well-being of others.
@tomtoro I believe you are on to something here. I have also read the other replies. I agree with the commenter who said “Won’t start til I’m dead” refers to dying to be self to free oneself to live for Jesus, and through him for others. The dying to self contrasts with the evangelist who exploits people. People are not tools to be used; they are sacred. That is a basic teaching of Christianity: Honor others above yourself. Work for the well-being of others.
Because it doesn’t fit with the character of Jesus to find difficult going anywhere...
Because it doesn’t fit with the character of Jesus to find difficult going anywhere to rescue anyone he loves (which is everyone) I don’t really see your interpretation of the last stanza. I can see it as a struggle with sexuality, like one commenter has said, because the rythmn and cadence of the Song feels sexual to me. But it is definitely about a struggle, possibly between tendencies toward self-absorption (the Bible’s definition of sin) and a self-giving compassionate way f life learned through the imminent ness f the Pillar of Davidson. But something must be true. The Pillar of Davidson is an aid in the struggle, not a hindrance.
I am also thinking Old Bad Eyes IS Almighty Fear. It is a fearsome thing to die to yourself and enter into an unknown path where exploitation of others is not necessary. When I think of Stallions in the Bible I think of war and battle. Even the Four Horseman of the apocalypse represent the struggles of this life: illness, starvation, death. Throughout the words about the stallion in the background “Shepherd of My Days” continues.
I am also thinking Old Bad Eyes IS Almighty Fear. It is a fearsome thing to die to yourself and enter into an unknown path where exploitation of others is not necessary. When I think of Stallions in the Bible I think of war and battle. Even the Four Horseman of the apocalypse represent the struggles of this life: illness, starvation, death. Throughout the words about the stallion in the background “Shepherd of My Days” continues.
So you have two things being said at the same time (an important point).
So you have two things being said at the same time (an important point).
“The Shepherd won’t leave me alone. He’s in my face at...
“The Shepherd won’t leave me alone. He’s in my face at night Shepherd of my days.”
“Here I am locking horns with The Stallion Failing to hold my head up, I’ll go back again Pillar of Davidson feeling to hard to go down Cheaper than all the souls he will walk upon Deeper and deeper in love so I hold my head up Cheaper than all the souls he will walk upon Pillar of Davidson feeling to hard to go down.
I have more questions about the one stanza containing the title words of the song than I have answers.
What does it mean to go down? What does it mean to feel to hard (too hard?) What does it mean to walk upon souls? What thing is cheaper?
I am thinking that to go down is to go under; the opposite of holding your head up. Therefore if it is the one singing (Ed) who is struggling to hold his head up, it is also he wh is going down. Going deeper in love is associated with holding his head up. Holding your head up would then be to win the battle of choosing working for someone else’s well-being rather than exploiting them for your own self-interest ( a primary struggle of life presented in the New Testament).
Who is walking upon the souls? If to walk is to trample upon, to exploit for one’s own gain, then the one walking upon the souls is The Stallion and the Stallion’s ways of exploitation for personal gain.
What is “feeling to”? It isn’t spelt as “feeling too,” so does it mean “feeling toward”? If Pillar of Davidson is the Son of David (Jesus) then to reach toward the ne going down would be something Jesus does.
What does “cheaper than all the souls he will walk upon” mean? If it is The Stallion who is walking upon the souls (exploiting them, “ then the singer is saying that his love and his and his ability to conquer his own fear of denying himself for the sake of others is worth less than the souls The Stallion (the chief exploiter, the foreman, the profiteer) walks upon. The souls of others are worth more than his own sacrifice to live in a different way.
In reaching out toward the one who struggles, the Pillar of Davidson is a help in this struggle, enabling the singer to love; to hold his head up. With the Pillar of Davidson reaching toward him, to grab his hand would make it hard to go down (to succumb to Almighty Fear (Old Bad Eyes) and the ways of The Stallion)
During a show (1999) they said: “So like I told you, we come from a small town where just about everybody there is doing something for the men, you know what I mean? Busting there ass 9 to 5, trying to rais a family. We wrote this song as a work song for all the people we grew up with. All the people that are busting there ass for the men - that maybe they can sing this song and maybe feel a little bit less lonely”
Ed spins a cryptic ballad of contempt for religion,the establishment, perhaps even the state of human consciousness. I find this has been a theme of the whole album. His meaning is abstract but his intensity is centered.
(oops...posted this as a reply, but meant to do so as an original post)
I love this song and believe that it does have religious overtones, and much of it was probably left somewhat elliptical on purpose. Not to act like a 7th grader, but has anyone thought of the possibility that "Locking horns with the stallion" and "Pillar of Davidson feeling [too] hard to go down" might refer to the subject's struggle with sexual urges getting in the way of spirituality, as the subject falls "deeper in love" with the divine, he tries to be honorable "hold my head up" but then feels "cheaper than all the souls he will walk upon" when he cannot successfully conquer his libido...? Maybe I misread it... but I'm loving the discourse! I'm glad I stumbled upon this site.
This is exactly what I've always thought, too. I think there are a lot of things going on in this song but the lines you specifically quote I think refer to religious guilt regarding sexuality. I am not religious now, but I was when I was a huge fan of Live and this song was my favorite for exactly that reason.
This is exactly what I've always thought, too. I think there are a lot of things going on in this song but the lines you specifically quote I think refer to religious guilt regarding sexuality. I am not religious now, but I was when I was a huge fan of Live and this song was my favorite for exactly that reason.
The general consensus in the Live fan community is that the song is named after the two factories in the bands' home town of York, as was explained by dollsteaktestmeat. It seems to be a worker's song.
Dolls has hit the nail right on the head with this one. I love this song. I put the words "Warm bodies, we sense are not machines that can only make money" in my little AIM away message when I go off to work. It is definately a blue-collar workers song. York is a very very industrial town and this song basically is for all the hard working people in York. (Or wherever the person listening to it is)
Live is from York, PA where there is a Harley Davidson plant. It's probably about that.
Ed is originally from York, PA where Catepillar and Harley Davidson are based, hence "Pillar of Davidson". The factory workers worked extremely hard for next to nothing in a town that was blue collared and economically depressed with very few opportunities to advance. Many residences stayed because they had no other skills that to work at these two plants.
Yeah, it's about selling your soul To a crappy job with a crappy boss Who watches you like a child During the day Don't listen to this song at work Will make you cry Basically a metaphor You won't be happy till you're dead Or at least not work Modern slavery Bob Marley said it best "I have no chains around my feet but I'm not free" Living the dream and makin the rest of us feel like shit Still a beautiful and heartfelt song though Thanks jerk.