Tori's lyrics may not make any sense if they were prose, but as lyrics all the words work together to form a whole. Boys for Pele is about religion (well, most of Tori's albums have that theme in there, but this one most of all). And Muhammad My Friend is Tori saying outright what she kind of danced around in the earlier songs about Christianity.
The whole "we both know it was a girl back in Bethlehem" is part of how Tori says that the female side of God and women in religion have been neglected for a long time. I don't really feel like breaking down every line, especially since most of it is subjective, but you might be confused if you don't know who Pele is: the Hawaiian volcano goddess. So she's saying that the burning bush Moses saw can't compare to a volcano's fire. There's a lot of meaning just in that part.
Also the part where she says "If I loose my Cracker Jacks at the tidal wave, I got a place in the Pope's rubber robe," she's criticizing people who, when they get scared about what's beyond this world, blindly take refuge in their religion.
I have a question, though...ryankyles, what did Maynard do with this song? I can't see anything about him in the liner notes, although I could have missed it. Did he make a remix of it?
Tori's lyrics may not make any sense if they were prose, but as lyrics all the words work together to form a whole. Boys for Pele is about religion (well, most of Tori's albums have that theme in there, but this one most of all). And Muhammad My Friend is Tori saying outright what she kind of danced around in the earlier songs about Christianity.
The whole "we both know it was a girl back in Bethlehem" is part of how Tori says that the female side of God and women in religion have been neglected for a long time. I don't really feel like breaking down every line, especially since most of it is subjective, but you might be confused if you don't know who Pele is: the Hawaiian volcano goddess. So she's saying that the burning bush Moses saw can't compare to a volcano's fire. There's a lot of meaning just in that part. Also the part where she says "If I loose my Cracker Jacks at the tidal wave, I got a place in the Pope's rubber robe," she's criticizing people who, when they get scared about what's beyond this world, blindly take refuge in their religion. I have a question, though...ryankyles, what did Maynard do with this song? I can't see anything about him in the liner notes, although I could have missed it. Did he make a remix of it?
Thankfully somebody actually posting their interpretation not just babbling about Maynard's contribution. Cheers for clearing up a few things for me.
Thankfully somebody actually posting their interpretation not just babbling about Maynard's contribution. Cheers for clearing up a few things for me.
Maynard performed it live with her for RAINN.
Maynard performed it live with her for RAINN.