The spoken word sample at the beginning of the song is from the Woody Allen movie, September:
"That it's all random. That everything is resonating aimlessly out of nothing, eventually vanishing forever. I'm not talking about the world; I'm talking about the universe. All space, all time–just temporary convulsion. [...] I think it's just as beautiful as you do–and vaguely evocative of some deep truth that always just keeps slipping away. [...] I understand it for what it truly is–haphazard, morally neutral, and unimaginably violent."
As for the meaning of the song, like everything else on this brilliant album, "I'm Going to Heaven..." has defiant lyrics and chaotic music, trying to make sense of human existence in relationship to tragedy and death. The words here hint at people who are just living it up while the world burns ("We'll drink to anything, if it keeps the tires moving, keeps commuting smooth for you.")
Randomness and the "unimaginably violent" world can't for forestalled by aimless rituals such as salt-throwing or avoiding black cats. The band is also openly hostile toward religion here, including wearing "a cross around my neck" as one of these futile actions in the face of certain death.
Although this song doesn't quite indict the Almighty the way other tracks on the album do (see "What Should We Do With Your Body," ie), the unspoken theme here is a powerful one: that if God does indeed exist, then human violence, pain and death may actually be enjoyable for Him. It's a terrifying thought, and one that suits this incendiary, black-humored music quite well.
The spoken word sample at the beginning of the song is from the Woody Allen movie, September:
"That it's all random. That everything is resonating aimlessly out of nothing, eventually vanishing forever. I'm not talking about the world; I'm talking about the universe. All space, all time–just temporary convulsion. [...] I think it's just as beautiful as you do–and vaguely evocative of some deep truth that always just keeps slipping away. [...] I understand it for what it truly is–haphazard, morally neutral, and unimaginably violent."
As for the meaning of the song, like everything else on this brilliant album, "I'm Going to Heaven..." has defiant lyrics and chaotic music, trying to make sense of human existence in relationship to tragedy and death. The words here hint at people who are just living it up while the world burns ("We'll drink to anything, if it keeps the tires moving, keeps commuting smooth for you.")
Randomness and the "unimaginably violent" world can't for forestalled by aimless rituals such as salt-throwing or avoiding black cats. The band is also openly hostile toward religion here, including wearing "a cross around my neck" as one of these futile actions in the face of certain death.
Although this song doesn't quite indict the Almighty the way other tracks on the album do (see "What Should We Do With Your Body," ie), the unspoken theme here is a powerful one: that if God does indeed exist, then human violence, pain and death may actually be enjoyable for Him. It's a terrifying thought, and one that suits this incendiary, black-humored music quite well.