i believe the meaning of the song is strongly religious, although i do not believe the singer intends to simply state an opinion of the variety proposed by sstennett. rather, i believe he intends to convey a complex point of view, perhaps his own.
to begin with, the very first line "from the depths, i call you", google explains, is from the beginning of psalm 130. however, the song replaces "lord" with "ma", introducing a metaphor used in the second line to convey the desirable comfort found in religion. however, as he soon explains, his heart was enlarged and then left disabled, basically stating that he was doing fine by himself, then he developed an intense desire to be close to God, but he is left wanting, leaving him now feeling disabled.
"teeth gnashing" is another strong biblical reference, as that phrase is always used in connection to those who are not granted salvation ("wailing and gnashing of teeth", specifically). he spends several verses explaining how feels protected by the lord, for which he is thankful, but in the end, he thinks he is among the damned masses. i believe this is where the title fits in: he feels distanced from God, and he's singin' the blues.
however, this isn't because he's chosen to separate himself, he is trying his hardest to achieve the comfort "so warm and fabled". the lines "hear that supplication (prayer) echo through the void, been received by noone" and "Now I'm waiting for an answer patiently" demonstrate that he's trying, but not getting anything back.
then there is the part everyone else has been picking up on, starting with "pull the pin, drop it in" and ending with "just stay on your knees". i agree that this is about traditional organized religion, but not so much that he thinks its all crap, but that he can't accept their simplicity of thought. it sounds like he feels deeply compelled not to take religion as an axiomatic basis, even though doing so would provide him simple comfort. he mocks this childish faith ("faith like a child", also another biblical reference) with the "time for your favorite story..." line.
finally, the last line of the song wraps it all up: he's not particularly pleased and really wishes he could just have a simple blind-faith relationship with the lord like so many people he sees, but he can't. so he's expressing his frustration, to the Lord, but maintaining that he's not going to give up. "it's not the last you've heard from me".
i believe the meaning of the song is strongly religious, although i do not believe the singer intends to simply state an opinion of the variety proposed by sstennett. rather, i believe he intends to convey a complex point of view, perhaps his own.
to begin with, the very first line "from the depths, i call you", google explains, is from the beginning of psalm 130. however, the song replaces "lord" with "ma", introducing a metaphor used in the second line to convey the desirable comfort found in religion. however, as he soon explains, his heart was enlarged and then left disabled, basically stating that he was doing fine by himself, then he developed an intense desire to be close to God, but he is left wanting, leaving him now feeling disabled.
"teeth gnashing" is another strong biblical reference, as that phrase is always used in connection to those who are not granted salvation ("wailing and gnashing of teeth", specifically). he spends several verses explaining how feels protected by the lord, for which he is thankful, but in the end, he thinks he is among the damned masses. i believe this is where the title fits in: he feels distanced from God, and he's singin' the blues.
however, this isn't because he's chosen to separate himself, he is trying his hardest to achieve the comfort "so warm and fabled". the lines "hear that supplication (prayer) echo through the void, been received by noone" and "Now I'm waiting for an answer patiently" demonstrate that he's trying, but not getting anything back.
then there is the part everyone else has been picking up on, starting with "pull the pin, drop it in" and ending with "just stay on your knees". i agree that this is about traditional organized religion, but not so much that he thinks its all crap, but that he can't accept their simplicity of thought. it sounds like he feels deeply compelled not to take religion as an axiomatic basis, even though doing so would provide him simple comfort. he mocks this childish faith ("faith like a child", also another biblical reference) with the "time for your favorite story..." line.
finally, the last line of the song wraps it all up: he's not particularly pleased and really wishes he could just have a simple blind-faith relationship with the lord like so many people he sees, but he can't. so he's expressing his frustration, to the Lord, but maintaining that he's not going to give up. "it's not the last you've heard from me".
... or at least thats how i read it :)