It makes sense to me, but it'll be hard to explain. For the lyrics, he's taking the role of God. Here's the breakdown:
So each day would be new I build you to sleep
That’s the idea of dying but you’ll just have to see
Pretty self-explanatory first line. God requires you to get sleep so that it seems like a new time period/phase begins when you wake up. The same with death; when you die, it's like sleep in that when you wake up, you are in a new phase of being.
You can do what you want or so you think
I'm missing any deep meaning here but it's just underlining that you're not free, you're bound by Gods laws (such as inevitable physical death).
But till you stop all your thoughts
You are tied to your surroundings
If he means 'thoughts' in the physical brain sense, then it's saying that you can't escape the physical world until death. If he means 'thoughts' in general existence, then unless you somehow cease to exist, you can't escape it (Lol, I can't explain this last point really).
When the fog spreads out in the rainy season
It comes from my insides
God controls nature, etc... Basic stuff.
When the thunderous lighting strikes down
You’re seeing your real I
Once again about how God is apparent. The second line refers to how, in Christianity at least, God built humans in his own likeness, so God technically 'appears' to be you.
People
You blaspheme my name
But still I love you
Still I love you
I love you just the same
God is merciful.
I hear all your prayers because I’m each one of you
Once again with how humans are built in God's likeness.
Creation's not something I did
It’s something that I do
Kinda rejecting deism (belief that God created the universe and has a plan but doesn't interfere with anything anymore) here. He's saying that God is actively involved.
The reason for the bad is so that there’d be such things as good
Nice line here. I guess it's self-explanatory. We'd never have defined something to be 'good' if there was never any 'bad' to relate it to. We'd be content with everything.
Oh I’d do anything for you
You all know I would
God is like that.
Be for me
Be for me
Be for me
Once more, humans in the likeness of God. God made us so that we can live in his image (or something like that).
Before me
Before me
Before me
I'm guessing this is what it said in the lyrics book. I really don't know how this relates. Maybe he's relating to some of the other songs' (on The Empyrean) meanings, specifically After the Ending, where he says "No thing has ever become nothing/Nothing has ever become something." Time has no beginning, no end; "Before me" doesn't actually exist since God is eternal.
You know that I try to repair and repay
As life goes by a thousand times
It gets a little better
God is still involved in the world. As time (what is time really?) progresses, life gets better, living is easier (and don't give me that Global Warming, Poverty, World Hunger crap).
All is belief, All is belief,
All is belief, All is belief.
I agree completely. When I first heard this one, I really enjoyed the tune, though I wasn't fully able to understand all the words John was singing. So as I read the lyrics through for the first time that's how I understood it.. that this was what John would say if he were God.
I agree completely. When I first heard this one, I really enjoyed the tune, though I wasn't fully able to understand all the words John was singing. So as I read the lyrics through for the first time that's how I understood it.. that this was what John would say if he were God.
In my opinion, you hit the nail on the head. Your interpretation is basically what I thought about this song as well. Probably my favorite song on the album. It's just got something about it.
In my opinion, you hit the nail on the head. Your interpretation is basically what I thought about this song as well. Probably my favorite song on the album. It's just got something about it.
Justfetus a part of me feels like this is what John is trying to communicate through this song, but its hard for me to accept this interpretation because in a interview John said, "in the case of the record I think I was more using the highest point in heaven as a symbol for the things in life that we're all reaching for and those things that are sort of out of our ???, but yet there's some spark inside us that ??????? us to wanna reach for them and to wanna bring ourselves to greater heights,...
Justfetus a part of me feels like this is what John is trying to communicate through this song, but its hard for me to accept this interpretation because in a interview John said, "in the case of the record I think I was more using the highest point in heaven as a symbol for the things in life that we're all reaching for and those things that are sort of out of our ???, but yet there's some spark inside us that ??????? us to wanna reach for them and to wanna bring ourselves to greater heights, whether it's on an instrument, whether it's... whatever it is, as human beings we just have this need to reach...."
so in other words, John is using this idea of the "highest point in heaven" as a symbol for the things in life that we strive for. However after listening to a few of the songs on The Empyrean, it's hard not believing that John believes in some type of superior being. Another way you could look at the last line "All is Belief" is that this whole idea of God is just a belief and not something that is actually real. in the same interview that i got the earlier quote from John, he stated "My religious point of view is something that I can't really talk about, it goes against my belief system to publicly talk about my own spiritual beliefs."
Now he could be saying this just so people can not associate him with 1 certain religious view, or he could be saying this because his religion really requires him not to speak of it, if this is the case then what religion requires him not to share his belief? one thing that i find interesting is that he obviously has a decent knowledge on the whole idea of God, which means that he has actually looked into this, but it make you wonder "if he did not believe in God, then why dedicate a whole album to this idea of a God and heaven?"
no matter which view you look at it from, i will say that The Empyrean is truly a work of art. rarely do you see songs that have an actually meaning behind them
That's an amazing interpretation of the song, one which I have always thought myself, but never been able to convey into words. Excellent job JustFetus. 10/10 :)
That's an amazing interpretation of the song, one which I have always thought myself, but never been able to convey into words. Excellent job JustFetus. 10/10 :)
It makes sense to me, but it'll be hard to explain. For the lyrics, he's taking the role of God. Here's the breakdown:
So each day would be new I build you to sleep That’s the idea of dying but you’ll just have to see
You can do what you want or so you think
But till you stop all your thoughts You are tied to your surroundings
When the fog spreads out in the rainy season It comes from my insides
When the thunderous lighting strikes down You’re seeing your real I
People You blaspheme my name But still I love you Still I love you I love you just the same
I hear all your prayers because I’m each one of you
Creation's not something I did It’s something that I do
The reason for the bad is so that there’d be such things as good
Oh I’d do anything for you You all know I would
Be for me Be for me Be for me
Before me Before me Before me
You know that I try to repair and repay As life goes by a thousand times It gets a little better
All is belief, All is belief, All is belief, All is belief.
I agree completely. When I first heard this one, I really enjoyed the tune, though I wasn't fully able to understand all the words John was singing. So as I read the lyrics through for the first time that's how I understood it.. that this was what John would say if he were God.
I agree completely. When I first heard this one, I really enjoyed the tune, though I wasn't fully able to understand all the words John was singing. So as I read the lyrics through for the first time that's how I understood it.. that this was what John would say if he were God.
In my opinion, you hit the nail on the head. Your interpretation is basically what I thought about this song as well. Probably my favorite song on the album. It's just got something about it.
In my opinion, you hit the nail on the head. Your interpretation is basically what I thought about this song as well. Probably my favorite song on the album. It's just got something about it.
Justfetus a part of me feels like this is what John is trying to communicate through this song, but its hard for me to accept this interpretation because in a interview John said, "in the case of the record I think I was more using the highest point in heaven as a symbol for the things in life that we're all reaching for and those things that are sort of out of our ???, but yet there's some spark inside us that ??????? us to wanna reach for them and to wanna bring ourselves to greater heights,...
Justfetus a part of me feels like this is what John is trying to communicate through this song, but its hard for me to accept this interpretation because in a interview John said, "in the case of the record I think I was more using the highest point in heaven as a symbol for the things in life that we're all reaching for and those things that are sort of out of our ???, but yet there's some spark inside us that ??????? us to wanna reach for them and to wanna bring ourselves to greater heights, whether it's on an instrument, whether it's... whatever it is, as human beings we just have this need to reach...."
so in other words, John is using this idea of the "highest point in heaven" as a symbol for the things in life that we strive for. However after listening to a few of the songs on The Empyrean, it's hard not believing that John believes in some type of superior being. Another way you could look at the last line "All is Belief" is that this whole idea of God is just a belief and not something that is actually real. in the same interview that i got the earlier quote from John, he stated "My religious point of view is something that I can't really talk about, it goes against my belief system to publicly talk about my own spiritual beliefs."
Now he could be saying this just so people can not associate him with 1 certain religious view, or he could be saying this because his religion really requires him not to speak of it, if this is the case then what religion requires him not to share his belief? one thing that i find interesting is that he obviously has a decent knowledge on the whole idea of God, which means that he has actually looked into this, but it make you wonder "if he did not believe in God, then why dedicate a whole album to this idea of a God and heaven?"
no matter which view you look at it from, i will say that The Empyrean is truly a work of art. rarely do you see songs that have an actually meaning behind them
That's an amazing interpretation of the song, one which I have always thought myself, but never been able to convey into words. Excellent job JustFetus. 10/10 :)
That's an amazing interpretation of the song, one which I have always thought myself, but never been able to convey into words. Excellent job JustFetus. 10/10 :)