I think yrogerg1 hit it with the second analysis- I think this is a song that's just about being human, which is to say, being weak. What do we resist BUT temptation, in one form or another (or, frustration, which can just be expressed as the temptation to give up)? When we talk about closing our eyes, to something or "looking the other way," we are always talking about trying to ignore some injustice, aren't we? You wouldn't say, "I can close my eyes to you eating breakfast"- aside from missing the point that would just be strange to the ear. "I can learn to compromise anything but my desires"- but, of course, what else but your desires (in some form) could you be giving up if this is a real compromise? What we end up with is the sentence structure "I can learn to (do something) except in (every reasonable situation of actually doing that thing)."
I think this is a song about a human being (any human being) trying (and failing) to live up to his own standards/hopes/expectations, whether or not those standards are actually realistic is, of course, another question. It's universal; as we are all in this boat, we are all subject to human weakness. "Surrender" is antithetical to "fighting," so it is implied that prayer (for the speaker) precludes "winning," in some sense. Again, the standards to which we human beings hold ourselves are probably unrealistic, as our reach exceeds our grasp, and as our desire always exceeds (or at least precedes) our ability to fulfill it. This is a beautiful song- it expresses the fundamental weakness inherent in us all while validating our (possibly futile, possibly not) attempts to overcome that weakness... And it does it all with such delicate, graceful, transcendent sound, as if it were all meant to be.
Hey guys...
I think yrogerg1 hit it with the second analysis- I think this is a song that's just about being human, which is to say, being weak. What do we resist BUT temptation, in one form or another (or, frustration, which can just be expressed as the temptation to give up)? When we talk about closing our eyes, to something or "looking the other way," we are always talking about trying to ignore some injustice, aren't we? You wouldn't say, "I can close my eyes to you eating breakfast"- aside from missing the point that would just be strange to the ear. "I can learn to compromise anything but my desires"- but, of course, what else but your desires (in some form) could you be giving up if this is a real compromise? What we end up with is the sentence structure "I can learn to (do something) except in (every reasonable situation of actually doing that thing)."
I think this is a song about a human being (any human being) trying (and failing) to live up to his own standards/hopes/expectations, whether or not those standards are actually realistic is, of course, another question. It's universal; as we are all in this boat, we are all subject to human weakness. "Surrender" is antithetical to "fighting," so it is implied that prayer (for the speaker) precludes "winning," in some sense. Again, the standards to which we human beings hold ourselves are probably unrealistic, as our reach exceeds our grasp, and as our desire always exceeds (or at least precedes) our ability to fulfill it. This is a beautiful song- it expresses the fundamental weakness inherent in us all while validating our (possibly futile, possibly not) attempts to overcome that weakness... And it does it all with such delicate, graceful, transcendent sound, as if it were all meant to be.