I like this song for two reasons. Firstly, verses one through three, while they can be interpreted as relevant to specific moment in history, can be viewed in a very general and universal sense. And second, the last verse combines many modern religions into one general faith. This, to me, suggests that they are all means to the same end.
The first two lines of verse one kind of sum up the plight of all the religious groups mentioned in verse four. The Jews following Moses through the desert for forty years is the most obvious interpretation. However the Native Americans being cast out of their homes, and Buddhists being persecuted in China, are both similar in nature. The second half recognizes that these trials and tribulations were brought upon by leaders within and outside of said groups. Also it paints a grim outlook on the future.
The second verse confirms this outlook by referencing events such as the Nazi book burnings that hobsonecwagner mentioned above. This whole verse has a WWII feel to it with the references to fire and burning in line two. The crematoriums in the Nazi concentration camps also come to mind here. The third line brings to mind an image of prisoners in said camps who feel that rescue is hopeless because their "emancipators," i.e. the allies, are so far away. Once again, however, due to some brilliant writing, other less obvious interpretations can be made that tie in to verse four. The burning, pillaging, or capture of Native American homesteads come to mind. Also the iconic image of the burning Buddhist monk on the streets of Saigon who was protesting the persecution of his people is relevant.
After this we have a harp solo that paves the way for the more hopeful part of the song. While those with the gold continue to nonchalantly screw things up, people start to get wise. The flower reference is a reference to peace. So the song is saying that the narrator is finally seeing some peace come from the September 11 attacks. That peace is illustrated by the remainder of the third verse and brought about by the circumstances in the fourth verse. All religions put aside their differences and unite. Eating together in the biblical sense was a sign of trust and fellowship. So when all these iconic figures of Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Native American religions eat together, it symbolizes unity.
All together this song uses historical and biblical references, both direct and indirect, to relate to more modern emotions. Emotions that were felt very strongly, as is reflected in the video, during and after Hurricane Katrina.
I like this song for two reasons. Firstly, verses one through three, while they can be interpreted as relevant to specific moment in history, can be viewed in a very general and universal sense. And second, the last verse combines many modern religions into one general faith. This, to me, suggests that they are all means to the same end.
The first two lines of verse one kind of sum up the plight of all the religious groups mentioned in verse four. The Jews following Moses through the desert for forty years is the most obvious interpretation. However the Native Americans being cast out of their homes, and Buddhists being persecuted in China, are both similar in nature. The second half recognizes that these trials and tribulations were brought upon by leaders within and outside of said groups. Also it paints a grim outlook on the future.
The second verse confirms this outlook by referencing events such as the Nazi book burnings that hobsonecwagner mentioned above. This whole verse has a WWII feel to it with the references to fire and burning in line two. The crematoriums in the Nazi concentration camps also come to mind here. The third line brings to mind an image of prisoners in said camps who feel that rescue is hopeless because their "emancipators," i.e. the allies, are so far away. Once again, however, due to some brilliant writing, other less obvious interpretations can be made that tie in to verse four. The burning, pillaging, or capture of Native American homesteads come to mind. Also the iconic image of the burning Buddhist monk on the streets of Saigon who was protesting the persecution of his people is relevant.
After this we have a harp solo that paves the way for the more hopeful part of the song. While those with the gold continue to nonchalantly screw things up, people start to get wise. The flower reference is a reference to peace. So the song is saying that the narrator is finally seeing some peace come from the September 11 attacks. That peace is illustrated by the remainder of the third verse and brought about by the circumstances in the fourth verse. All religions put aside their differences and unite. Eating together in the biblical sense was a sign of trust and fellowship. So when all these iconic figures of Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Native American religions eat together, it symbolizes unity.
All together this song uses historical and biblical references, both direct and indirect, to relate to more modern emotions. Emotions that were felt very strongly, as is reflected in the video, during and after Hurricane Katrina.