As an atheist, I find death to be a terrifying thought. The oblivion that follows is sort of comforting, but not really.
But this song speaks to that. "Life is death is life." It's as though he's saying that when we are alive we are just this collection of stardust, and we are no different in death. The delineation between life and death is imaginary. As are all the lines that society draws, right/wrong, good/evil, particularly the line which separates humanity from any other brutal animal (the buzzard for example).
I love his songs when they take these journeys. He starts out in fear for the pigeon, the victim of the brutal cycle of life. He wants to shield his daughters from this harsh reality. But over the course of the song he comes to terms with death, and it's necessity, it being essentially a part of life. Even the atrocities of war he considers as part of... existence. He accepts the cycle of life and death, and realizes he should impress it on his daughters.
The song is haunting.
As an atheist, I find death to be a terrifying thought. The oblivion that follows is sort of comforting, but not really.
But this song speaks to that. "Life is death is life." It's as though he's saying that when we are alive we are just this collection of stardust, and we are no different in death. The delineation between life and death is imaginary. As are all the lines that society draws, right/wrong, good/evil, particularly the line which separates humanity from any other brutal animal (the buzzard for example).
I love his songs when they take these journeys. He starts out in fear for the pigeon, the victim of the brutal cycle of life. He wants to shield his daughters from this harsh reality. But over the course of the song he comes to terms with death, and it's necessity, it being essentially a part of life. Even the atrocities of war he considers as part of... existence. He accepts the cycle of life and death, and realizes he should impress it on his daughters.
The lines are all imagined.