know there's a God?"
Furthermore, I view this song as Stuart Murdoch's mission statement for Belle and Sebastian. He declares that humans are fallen, that he has chosen Providence, and had to do so more than once. In his lyrics he will describe human behavior on Earth as he sees it, but not as God wants it. He can't speak for God. Most of what he will write about will be of the Devil, but he must have you know from the outset he has chosen God. Hopefully this song has encouraged thousands of others to do the same.
And the better version is Dog On Wheels.">
The State I Am In Meanings & Lyrics Discussion by ZinbobDan | SongMeanings
know there's a God?"
Furthermore, I view this song as Stuart Murdoch's mission statement for Belle and Sebastian. He declares that humans are fallen, that he has chosen Providence, and had to do so more than once. In his lyrics he will describe human behavior on Earth as he sees it, but not as God wants it. He can't speak for God. Most of what he will write about will be of the Devil, but he must have you know from the outset he has chosen God. Hopefully this song has encouraged thousands of others to do the same.
And the better version is Dog On Wheels." />
I see this song as describing a dream and how he interprets it. At the outset he says he is puzzled by the dream, but it made him think of being a child. To him, the story represents the cycle of his life over those years. His conclusion is that "I gave myself to sin. I gave myself to providence. And I'll be there and back again." The first verse alludes to being exposed to sinful behavior by his siblings, and then engaging in sinful behavior himself. All the while, the sinful behavior is performed in the context of good intentions: marriage, mutually beneficial relationships. "The State" he is in is being human. The dream is about being human: loving, caring, hurting, misunderstanding, abusing, hoping, idling -- falling. He knows he is fallen, and knows he has to reach out to God. The line, "there was a pregnant pause" is brilliant because it describes how he felt like, "God, please save me anyway. I promise to do my best."
Perhaps he asked early on, perhaps for the first time in 1975...and didn't feel like he got his answer until 1995. The "pregnant pause" gives the listener a humorous visual image of a sinner asking for salvation and God kinda staring him down until he responds. However, to him the "pregnant pause" represents the twenty years since he first thought as a child, "How can I <i>know</i> there's a God?"
Furthermore, I view this song as Stuart Murdoch's mission statement for Belle and Sebastian. He declares that humans are fallen, that he has chosen Providence, and had to do so more than once. In his lyrics he will describe human behavior on Earth as he sees it, but not as God wants it. He can't speak for God. Most of what he will write about will be of the Devil, but he must have you know from the outset he has chosen God. Hopefully this song has encouraged thousands of others to do the same.
I see this song as describing a dream and how he interprets it. At the outset he says he is puzzled by the dream, but it made him think of being a child. To him, the story represents the cycle of his life over those years. His conclusion is that "I gave myself to sin. I gave myself to providence. And I'll be there and back again." The first verse alludes to being exposed to sinful behavior by his siblings, and then engaging in sinful behavior himself. All the while, the sinful behavior is performed in the context of good intentions: marriage, mutually beneficial relationships. "The State" he is in is being human. The dream is about being human: loving, caring, hurting, misunderstanding, abusing, hoping, idling -- falling. He knows he is fallen, and knows he has to reach out to God. The line, "there was a pregnant pause" is brilliant because it describes how he felt like, "God, please save me anyway. I promise to do my best."
Perhaps he asked early on, perhaps for the first time in 1975...and didn't feel like he got his answer until 1995. The "pregnant pause" gives the listener a humorous visual image of a sinner asking for salvation and God kinda staring him down until he responds. However, to him the "pregnant pause" represents the twenty years since he first thought as a child, "How can I <i>know</i> there's a God?"
Furthermore, I view this song as Stuart Murdoch's mission statement for Belle and Sebastian. He declares that humans are fallen, that he has chosen Providence, and had to do so more than once. In his lyrics he will describe human behavior on Earth as he sees it, but not as God wants it. He can't speak for God. Most of what he will write about will be of the Devil, but he must have you know from the outset he has chosen God. Hopefully this song has encouraged thousands of others to do the same.
And the better version is Dog On Wheels.