I get kind of a sense of desperation and desire from this song. Like the singer is fully aware of the shallow and meaningless nature of our world, and he wants more than anything to get away, to break out. He knows that God grants real life and joy, and he has gotten tastes of it before but is not quite there. More than anything, he wants to claw his way out of the frozen sleep of our world and into the wild, ruddy life he can feel just a hair breadth away. Hence the happy, excited tone of these lines:
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to know that my heart's still beating
It's beating, I'm bleeding
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
(I want to wake up)
I want to live like I know the meaning
(I want to wake up)
I want to know that my heart's still beating
(I want to wake up)
It's beating, it's beating
It's beating, I'm bleeding
A beating heart is associated with life and also with adrenaline and excitement. He's coming to life, and his heart is beating again. Bleeding and blood are also associated with this. You don't bleed when you're dead. Furthermore, when you are bleeding you usually have been doing something active and thrilling, maybe something a little bit dangerous. Something that you do not usually do, sort of the antithesis to a dull and pointless existence. While bleeding also can have negative connotations, it seems like it is supposed to represent coming alive. "Kicking and screaming" probably shows both his desperation to break out and the frenzied, concentrated life just out of his reach. It might also be saying that you don't just wake up without fighting for it. Just like you don't attain eternal life without an effort.
My take on it, at least. I love this song--in addition to the wonderful tune, it depicts Christianity and eternal life as the exhilarating, lively blessings they truly are, instead of the dull and pastel sort of things people all too often think of them as.
I get kind of a sense of desperation and desire from this song. Like the singer is fully aware of the shallow and meaningless nature of our world, and he wants more than anything to get away, to break out. He knows that God grants real life and joy, and he has gotten tastes of it before but is not quite there. More than anything, he wants to claw his way out of the frozen sleep of our world and into the wild, ruddy life he can feel just a hair breadth away. Hence the happy, excited tone of these lines:
I want to wake up kicking and screaming I want to wake up kicking and screaming I want to know that my heart's still beating It's beating, I'm bleeding I want to wake up kicking and screaming (I want to wake up) I want to live like I know the meaning (I want to wake up) I want to know that my heart's still beating (I want to wake up) It's beating, it's beating It's beating, I'm bleeding
A beating heart is associated with life and also with adrenaline and excitement. He's coming to life, and his heart is beating again. Bleeding and blood are also associated with this. You don't bleed when you're dead. Furthermore, when you are bleeding you usually have been doing something active and thrilling, maybe something a little bit dangerous. Something that you do not usually do, sort of the antithesis to a dull and pointless existence. While bleeding also can have negative connotations, it seems like it is supposed to represent coming alive. "Kicking and screaming" probably shows both his desperation to break out and the frenzied, concentrated life just out of his reach. It might also be saying that you don't just wake up without fighting for it. Just like you don't attain eternal life without an effort.
My take on it, at least. I love this song--in addition to the wonderful tune, it depicts Christianity and eternal life as the exhilarating, lively blessings they truly are, instead of the dull and pastel sort of things people all too often think of them as.