I think the original is by Judee Sill. I have a tribute album to her where Frida Hyvonen does an amazing cover of this song.
I'd heard this expression before, but never gave it much thought until I listened to the song extensively. I've heard explanations that the song was inspired by Sill's relationship with JD Souther (long time Eagles and Zevon collaborator), but the expression itself is absolutely fascinating to me. Listening to the lyrics and thinking about the notion that "Jesus was a cross maker" implies a twisted symbiotic relationship between Christ and the Devil (in a literal, lyrical sense) or the singer and her antagonist (in a metaphorical sense).
The idea is a simple one: every hero needs a villain. And the second verse paints an even more clear picture: Jesus stood to benefit from his struggles with the Devil and ultimately his own death; consequently, despite his great efforts to cast the Devil out, he always had to let him come back around (chasing him out windows but leaving his door open wide) so he'd have someone to validate his existence. Truly the stuff of classic dysfunctional relationships... : )
I think the original is by Judee Sill. I have a tribute album to her where Frida Hyvonen does an amazing cover of this song.
I'd heard this expression before, but never gave it much thought until I listened to the song extensively. I've heard explanations that the song was inspired by Sill's relationship with JD Souther (long time Eagles and Zevon collaborator), but the expression itself is absolutely fascinating to me. Listening to the lyrics and thinking about the notion that "Jesus was a cross maker" implies a twisted symbiotic relationship between Christ and the Devil (in a literal, lyrical sense) or the singer and her antagonist (in a metaphorical sense).
The idea is a simple one: every hero needs a villain. And the second verse paints an even more clear picture: Jesus stood to benefit from his struggles with the Devil and ultimately his own death; consequently, despite his great efforts to cast the Devil out, he always had to let him come back around (chasing him out windows but leaving his door open wide) so he'd have someone to validate his existence. Truly the stuff of classic dysfunctional relationships... : )