Cathedrals

Martha, I don't think that sounds stupid at all. It's one of the impressions I've always got from it too - nothing really coherent, but it always makes me want to write some sort of dystopian post-apocalyptic fic based on it. The lines about electric fences and the mosaic of the head of state and "someone is watching all of the outsiders" kind of add to that - it gives this sort of idea of some sort of [maybe collapsing] dictatorship. Adding in the fact that it's nominally at least about cathedrals, that could be how he feels religion is, but maybe not...

It does feel like it's about rebuilding/trying to find a life in a world where you don't know where you belong. That's the basic idea I get strongly from it, anything more is speculation.

This is my first interpretation of a song on here, and I feel so moved by this when I hear it that my emotions flow and my thoughts are scattered. But I will give it my best shot. I see this song as lamenting the way that various governments, dictators, and groups have exploited religion. The references to electric fences, mosaic of the head of state, etc, remind me of the holocaust, and people being herded to whatever their ultimate destination may be just because of their religion. These great cathedrals that were once built to honor some divine power, are now symbolic of corruption, death. The individual detail that at one point was painstakingly created- the angels on the ceiling, the stone arches- now just parts of a building that is nothing more than a commodity to be used and abused however it may be convenient.

Cathedrals is one of the most beautiful and inspirational songs I have ever heard. I first listened to the song alone in a lab. Yes, a lab. And I believe this song was directed to people like me who are stuck in a hum-drum existence and often don't see the true beauty that exists in our own world, our own lives. I have lived in New York for a little over a year now, and it is quite amazing to see incredibly beautiful cathedrals like the St. Patrick's Cathedral or the Cathedral of St. John the Divine intermixed between tall skyscrapers and dirty streets. I have often sat in these two cathedrals, listening to "Cathedrals" and shedding tears. I not only marvel at the incredible beauty of the buildings, but I also think about where my place is in this world, where my home truly lies. Ironically, the music of this song is simple, though its meaning is poignant and very different for all who listen to it. This will always be one of my favorite songs.

ok, i know i sound likea perv, but when i listen to this song, its like, this song i could see myself making love to this song, i mean i loooooove this song and yes it is very soothing, but for some reason everytime i lsiten to it, i think of a couple making love, not even having sex, caseu its jsut so beautiful that its making love. i lvoe it!!!!!!!!

I have moved around the world my entire life and this song truly sums up the feeling of searching. When you are in any of the Cathedrals of the world you get the same feeling, regardless of your faith, you know that there is something out there bigger than you are. Not necessarily God or the infinite Universe, but even with in humanity there is something beyond your understanding and you can spend your life finding it. This is by far one of the greatest songs ever written.

okay maybe this sounds stupid...but whenever i hear this song i think about like the world how it would be after a huge war...like, all that's left is a rubble, and people don;t know what to do so they go to God in the cathedrals, and they don't really find him there...so they just try to go home, but everything is gone so they don't know where there home is anymore. i think this song is about rebuilding your life.

I created this account just to say this about this song.

This song speaks to me like no other song does. The song serenades about texture, landscape, scale. The dead weight of marble statues and glass dividers. The essence of spirits in a building. The unending nature of us: the living creatures and the dead material products, continuously developing. We age together with the building, and yet they are dead. We can only feel the space. They are grand, at the same time hollow. Penetrable, at the same impenetrable.

I imagine us living creatures are living in coexistence with dead physical products, such as buildings. The only thing that connects us is space.

Sorry if all this sounds like gibberish. I am an architect.

Not sure how someone can listen to this song and come away feeling positively inspired... the song exudes beautiful hopelessness. The lyrics speak clearly of a Orwellian dystopia where freedom of movement is restricted ("...the electric fence/across the borders between continents"), clandestine surveillance is commonplace ("someone is listening from a safe distance") and a cult of personality surrounding a totalitarian leader is pervasive ("...past the mosaic of the head of state"). The chorus suggests the final abandonment of faith among the religious, which has historically been the last refuge of hope for the truly hopeless. The last lines before the final chorus drive the point home; the once-peaceful world within this song is in its death throes, humanity's evil elements have won out, and any hope of rebuilding is long gone. This tenor is particularly hammered home in Joan Osborne's cover on her 2008 album "Little Wild One." Both the original and that cover are hauntingly beautiful, and if you can listen to it and find inspiration, more power to you. As for me, if I were on Zoloft, I'd definitely take this track off of my iPod.

anybody know the true meaning behind these lyrics? this is a great song, one of my favorite ever =]

i'm not sure of the true meaning of this song, but i know it's completely beautiful, and i love the song and the band. it seems like such a sad little song, but i think it has some hope there as well.