Of course there's only one level of meaning to this song... not, so fast. ;-)
Sweet the sin
Bitter, the taste in my mouth
I see seven towers
But I only see one way out
You got to cry without weeping
Talk without speaking
Scream without raising your voice
You know I took the poison from the poison stream
Then I floated out of here...
Addiction is being caught, having been lured by a bait, whatever that was, but leading to being hooked. The needle chill likened to the barb of a hook that prevents escape. The sin goes in sweetly (the bait), but bitter when the barb takes hold in the mouth. This hearkens back to the original sin... the lure of the attractive fruit, appealing to the woman, to her eyes, to her taste, to her pride... the bait. The fruit is sweet sin, but there is bitterness in the mouth.
Seven towers reminds me of the curse of Cain, who departed from God, who then had to build cities, and whose offspring came up with musical instruments and industry... symbolic of man's attempts struggle to fill an empty soul... that is at the heart of all addictions.
But there is only one way out... crying out without weeping, which is the cry of the spirit that's bound, the cry to God... prayer. Psalm 107 is all about man's desperation in this world, the souls bound in chains in darkness, lost in a desert looking for a city of refuge, lost in a stormy sea, with but one possible way out...
27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men;
they were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
You know I took the poison from the poison stream... the original sin was to be bitten by the viper, the serpent, and whose venom was the bitterness of the sweet sin... the needles are the fangs of the viper, and the heroin or addiction the viper's poison. But Jesus crushed the viper's head when he was on the cross; so just before he died Jesus cried out... "It is finished", meaning there was a way out, the only way out. Jesus took the poison out of the stream of mankind;
Then I floated out of here... then Jesus rose above this world and it's bitterness, providing a way for all who had ears to hear to follow him out.
Do you have to do something about where you are going? Run from the darkness in the night...
Singing ha la la la de day
Ha la la la de day
Ha la la de day
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
Praise God who offers us these white pearls stolen from the raging sea.
Of course there's only one level of meaning to this song... not, so fast. ;-)
Sweet the sin Bitter, the taste in my mouth I see seven towers But I only see one way out You got to cry without weeping Talk without speaking Scream without raising your voice You know I took the poison from the poison stream Then I floated out of here...
Addiction is being caught, having been lured by a bait, whatever that was, but leading to being hooked. The needle chill likened to the barb of a hook that prevents escape. The sin goes in sweetly (the bait), but bitter when the barb takes hold in the mouth. This hearkens back to the original sin... the lure of the attractive fruit, appealing to the woman, to her eyes, to her taste, to her pride... the bait. The fruit is sweet sin, but there is bitterness in the mouth.
Seven towers reminds me of the curse of Cain, who departed from God, who then had to build cities, and whose offspring came up with musical instruments and industry... symbolic of man's attempts struggle to fill an empty soul... that is at the heart of all addictions.
But there is only one way out... crying out without weeping, which is the cry of the spirit that's bound, the cry to God... prayer. Psalm 107 is all about man's desperation in this world, the souls bound in chains in darkness, lost in a desert looking for a city of refuge, lost in a stormy sea, with but one possible way out...
27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
You know I took the poison from the poison stream... the original sin was to be bitten by the viper, the serpent, and whose venom was the bitterness of the sweet sin... the needles are the fangs of the viper, and the heroin or addiction the viper's poison. But Jesus crushed the viper's head when he was on the cross; so just before he died Jesus cried out... "It is finished", meaning there was a way out, the only way out. Jesus took the poison out of the stream of mankind;
Then I floated out of here... then Jesus rose above this world and it's bitterness, providing a way for all who had ears to hear to follow him out.
Do you have to do something about where you are going? Run from the darkness in the night... Singing ha la la la de day Ha la la la de day Ha la la de day
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
Praise God who offers us these white pearls stolen from the raging sea.
And now I find myself turning to another U2 song I love... Scarlet.
And now I find myself turning to another U2 song I love... Scarlet.
REJOICE REJOICE REJOICE REJOICE REJOICE...
REJOICE REJOICE REJOICE REJOICE REJOICE...