From what I hear Ian Anderson describes himself as "somewhere between Deist and Pantheist". Reguardless of his own beliefs, if the other songs on this album are any signifier, it seems very unlikely this song is based in any Judeo-Christian symbolism. It seems like, as with the other songs of this album like Ring Out Solstice Bells, Jack in the Green, and Cup of Wonder being as rich with old pagan symbolism, this is much the same in its use of symbolism. Given, a lot of Judeo-Christian traditions and stories have a base in old Pagan mythology simply out of old traditions dying hard or some compromise made to convince folks to convert.
That being said, as for interpreting the meaning of the song itself, I'm not sure, but it seems to present the idea of the classical bard. Personally, I mostly like it for the energy of the instrumental bits, especially during the chorus.
From what I hear Ian Anderson describes himself as "somewhere between Deist and Pantheist". Reguardless of his own beliefs, if the other songs on this album are any signifier, it seems very unlikely this song is based in any Judeo-Christian symbolism. It seems like, as with the other songs of this album like Ring Out Solstice Bells, Jack in the Green, and Cup of Wonder being as rich with old pagan symbolism, this is much the same in its use of symbolism. Given, a lot of Judeo-Christian traditions and stories have a base in old Pagan mythology simply out of old traditions dying hard or some compromise made to convince folks to convert.
That being said, as for interpreting the meaning of the song itself, I'm not sure, but it seems to present the idea of the classical bard. Personally, I mostly like it for the energy of the instrumental bits, especially during the chorus.