after thinking about this for quite a while, i came up with another way to look at this song.
after reading about the biblical significance of the "hem of his garment," i think this song was directed towards a "higher-being" or "god." the song is pretty religious.
the song is like a confession. it even starts off as one, as he confesses he is "no good," (a sinner).
his heart is "made of wood." meaning he is a creation of god/jesus (god/jesus was a carpenter).
the man is "biding time," on earth, waiting until he reaches heaven.
"reciting memorized lines" refers to the chanting of his daily prayers.
i think hes trying to say that despite being a "good christian," he is losing faith. because his belief in god is not complete, he is "not fit to touch the hem of [jesus'] garment."
*to thouch the hem of jesus' garment is to be healed from all suffering. in order to do this, one must have complete faith.
second verse:
he is at a spiritual low. he has no love for life, all he has left are the "goals" of reaching heaven.
his soul feels nothing; he is numb. the fact that his sould could "easily kill" symbolizes his internal anger and frustration.
once again, he remarks that, because he has lost faith, he is not worthy of being healed.
i found this other intersting religious excerpt about the hem of jesus' garment:
To reach the hem, one has to be at a low point, lower than the hem and reach up.
If a person is at a low point in their life and reach up, they will find the hem of HIS garment.
The hem will be able to hold them, if they hold on and follow or go with it.
using that information, its easier to see that the song is about a loss of faith in religion and such.
after thinking about this for quite a while, i came up with another way to look at this song.
after reading about the biblical significance of the "hem of his garment," i think this song was directed towards a "higher-being" or "god." the song is pretty religious.
the song is like a confession. it even starts off as one, as he confesses he is "no good," (a sinner).
his heart is "made of wood." meaning he is a creation of god/jesus (god/jesus was a carpenter).
the man is "biding time," on earth, waiting until he reaches heaven.
"reciting memorized lines" refers to the chanting of his daily prayers.
i think hes trying to say that despite being a "good christian," he is losing faith. because his belief in god is not complete, he is "not fit to touch the hem of [jesus'] garment."
*to thouch the hem of jesus' garment is to be healed from all suffering. in order to do this, one must have complete faith.
second verse:
he is at a spiritual low. he has no love for life, all he has left are the "goals" of reaching heaven.
his soul feels nothing; he is numb. the fact that his sould could "easily kill" symbolizes his internal anger and frustration.
once again, he remarks that, because he has lost faith, he is not worthy of being healed.
i found this other intersting religious excerpt about the hem of jesus' garment:
To reach the hem, one has to be at a low point, lower than the hem and reach up. If a person is at a low point in their life and reach up, they will find the hem of HIS garment. The hem will be able to hold them, if they hold on and follow or go with it.
using that information, its easier to see that the song is about a loss of faith in religion and such.