This song, to my mind, is very much akin to two of Dave's other works, "The Mountain" and "Mother, I Climbed", in its exploration of the ways we achieve an illusory "higher" state. This one is mostly about four things, one for each verse:
Modernism (1st verse) and its rejection: "Cropped short and sized to fit" is reminiscent of projects to create (or "locate") an abstract, uniform human being, a conceit of high modernism. See James C. Scott's "Seeing Like a State" for a good exploration of this. "I am not lookin' for the key to open every door" is a rejection of the forced paradigm and of the strictly universalist hermeneutic. The "shining city" may also be a reference to this, as may the "sky of never was" -- the world a modernist seeks is pretty, but doesn't actually exist.
Religion (perhaps Daoist?) (2nd Verse): We turn away from the quest for knowledge and just exist. Just be and let be. Furthermore, "the book is empty from the sparrow's point of view"; this appears to be a reference to ancient Roman poetry. Maybe. Jeez, Dave. Perhaps this is a bit of relativism; the subject of the work is unaware that it is being written about.
Academia: We transcend pointless philosophical debates and seek knowledge through science, including the science of psychology, which Dave Carter studied at the postgraduate level. Priests become symbols, decorations, trappings of religious systems, not the representatives of God on Earth. "We chase the shadows of the chosen and the few" certainly says "trying to get an academic job" to me.
Symbols: Dave Carter stated in an interview that he specifically mentioned Willie Nelson in his car (El Camino) because he wanted certain images from "pop and classical culture" to show up in this piece. "The Fisher King is here, but he is not the only one" indicates that, though Jesus plays a definite role in such a genre as modern mythic American folk, there are other symbols (and powerful ones!) to perceive in the system, other gods.
Honestly, it took me years and an advanced degree to wrap my head around this one. Dave wrote like no one else.
This song, to my mind, is very much akin to two of Dave's other works, "The Mountain" and "Mother, I Climbed", in its exploration of the ways we achieve an illusory "higher" state. This one is mostly about four things, one for each verse:
Modernism (1st verse) and its rejection: "Cropped short and sized to fit" is reminiscent of projects to create (or "locate") an abstract, uniform human being, a conceit of high modernism. See James C. Scott's "Seeing Like a State" for a good exploration of this. "I am not lookin' for the key to open every door" is a rejection of the forced paradigm and of the strictly universalist hermeneutic. The "shining city" may also be a reference to this, as may the "sky of never was" -- the world a modernist seeks is pretty, but doesn't actually exist.
Religion (perhaps Daoist?) (2nd Verse): We turn away from the quest for knowledge and just exist. Just be and let be. Furthermore, "the book is empty from the sparrow's point of view"; this appears to be a reference to ancient Roman poetry. Maybe. Jeez, Dave. Perhaps this is a bit of relativism; the subject of the work is unaware that it is being written about.
Academia: We transcend pointless philosophical debates and seek knowledge through science, including the science of psychology, which Dave Carter studied at the postgraduate level. Priests become symbols, decorations, trappings of religious systems, not the representatives of God on Earth. "We chase the shadows of the chosen and the few" certainly says "trying to get an academic job" to me.
Symbols: Dave Carter stated in an interview that he specifically mentioned Willie Nelson in his car (El Camino) because he wanted certain images from "pop and classical culture" to show up in this piece. "The Fisher King is here, but he is not the only one" indicates that, though Jesus plays a definite role in such a genre as modern mythic American folk, there are other symbols (and powerful ones!) to perceive in the system, other gods.
Honestly, it took me years and an advanced degree to wrap my head around this one. Dave wrote like no one else.