I think when the guy says "we're going to a birthday party" that isn't happening in real life. I think it means that the woman is in heaven. Since the song later describes death as going back to God, then it makes sense that death would be called a birthday party--because at your birth you are leaving God and at death you are going back to Him so it's two sides of the same coin. And it's also like going to your birthday party where everyone loves you because God loves you more than anyone.
I can see how all the verys could sound sarcastic but I don't think that's necessarily true. I might say something like "happy birthday, darling! We love you very very very very very very very much!" to my dogs or one of my friends when I'm being silly but I sort of mean it at the same time even though I'm being silly and I certainly don't mean the opposite is true.
I think different people will have different reactions to the story in terms of taking it seriously--it is definitely a silly and creepy story in that it portrays death as being awesome. I think a person's reaction to the story has to do with their religious beliefs and how easy it is for them to see something that is disturbing as beautiful and touching at the same time.
I've only heard the song a few times, but the contradictions in the lyrics could just be because the song is describing life. The right way to live life is just to throw yourself into it whether you're doing good things like watering plants and singing into the ears of anarchists who don't dream and plunging into the caverns of the future, or bad things like taking too much medicine and trying to become rich and powerful.
(Incidentally, it actually didn't occur to me until I read other people's comments that the choir thing sounds negative because I love choral singing.)
I think when the guy says "we're going to a birthday party" that isn't happening in real life. I think it means that the woman is in heaven. Since the song later describes death as going back to God, then it makes sense that death would be called a birthday party--because at your birth you are leaving God and at death you are going back to Him so it's two sides of the same coin. And it's also like going to your birthday party where everyone loves you because God loves you more than anyone. I can see how all the verys could sound sarcastic but I don't think that's necessarily true. I might say something like "happy birthday, darling! We love you very very very very very very very much!" to my dogs or one of my friends when I'm being silly but I sort of mean it at the same time even though I'm being silly and I certainly don't mean the opposite is true. I think different people will have different reactions to the story in terms of taking it seriously--it is definitely a silly and creepy story in that it portrays death as being awesome. I think a person's reaction to the story has to do with their religious beliefs and how easy it is for them to see something that is disturbing as beautiful and touching at the same time. I've only heard the song a few times, but the contradictions in the lyrics could just be because the song is describing life. The right way to live life is just to throw yourself into it whether you're doing good things like watering plants and singing into the ears of anarchists who don't dream and plunging into the caverns of the future, or bad things like taking too much medicine and trying to become rich and powerful. (Incidentally, it actually didn't occur to me until I read other people's comments that the choir thing sounds negative because I love choral singing.)