It's difficult to take this song at face value unless you're a Christian. Of course, it could just be about the virtues of caring for those in need, but there is so much emphasis on going to Heaven, that the song seems to be written primarily from a Christian perspective.
So, I think that on one level the song can be perceived as describing a good deed that one man did for another man. However, the Christian stuff actually seems kind of ironic, and almost bitter. I get the feeling that these lyrics may be pondering on the nature of helping other people. Why do we really do it? The protagonist of the song does not hide the fact that he is delighted to have gone to Heaven, and he acknowledges that this happens as a direct result of his good deeds. So for me, the song discusses how, in some ways, when help other people, we are ultimately only doing it for our own ends. If someone asks us for help, we don't help them because we want to. We do it because we think it is in our best interests.
It's difficult to take this song at face value unless you're a Christian. Of course, it could just be about the virtues of caring for those in need, but there is so much emphasis on going to Heaven, that the song seems to be written primarily from a Christian perspective.
So, I think that on one level the song can be perceived as describing a good deed that one man did for another man. However, the Christian stuff actually seems kind of ironic, and almost bitter. I get the feeling that these lyrics may be pondering on the nature of helping other people. Why do we really do it? The protagonist of the song does not hide the fact that he is delighted to have gone to Heaven, and he acknowledges that this happens as a direct result of his good deeds. So for me, the song discusses how, in some ways, when help other people, we are ultimately only doing it for our own ends. If someone asks us for help, we don't help them because we want to. We do it because we think it is in our best interests.
@Songmeaningsuser That would apply if the lyrics didn't state that the heavenly reward came fifty years later.
@Songmeaningsuser That would apply if the lyrics didn't state that the heavenly reward came fifty years later.