To me, these lyrics evoke someone who thought he no longer believed in God, but can't quite let go of Him. The lyrics are wonderfully ambiguous about this: is God "the man who isn't there"? After all, the speaker "thought [he] forgot" about this "guy" who once owned the sky, and who could be seen in the sea (I like the punning use of "waves,") and who used to borrow the wind for a walk. I don't know much about Oren Lavie's personal religious beliefs (or lack thereof), but this song suggests someone having doubts about his doubts. At the same time, when we look at the natural world (the tops of trees, the wind, flocks of birds), are we just pretending to see a divine hand behind it all?
To me, these lyrics evoke someone who thought he no longer believed in God, but can't quite let go of Him. The lyrics are wonderfully ambiguous about this: is God "the man who isn't there"? After all, the speaker "thought [he] forgot" about this "guy" who once owned the sky, and who could be seen in the sea (I like the punning use of "waves,") and who used to borrow the wind for a walk. I don't know much about Oren Lavie's personal religious beliefs (or lack thereof), but this song suggests someone having doubts about his doubts. At the same time, when we look at the natural world (the tops of trees, the wind, flocks of birds), are we just pretending to see a divine hand behind it all?