I think this is about his journey through life and how he could do anything he wants but he's bound by religion, he has all these ideas of life and how perfect it could be but religion, despite all it's flaws and mistakes, always manages to beat him. So he keeps his mouth shut and carries on.
The title itself I think is representative of science. Science and religion are often battled, so I think it shows the conflict he's swallowed and keeping inside. Also the idea of two hearts gives the impression of his consistent love, young and old, and the repeated last lines of the first and third verse could show how his life is repetitive and never-changing despite his growing old.
Maybe I'm over thinking it all, but I think it's beautiful. x
I agree that its about an inner battle of science and religion, or more specifically, determinism vs. free will.
I agree that its about an inner battle of science and religion, or more specifically, determinism vs. free will.
An initial question by someone who fell in love: "Where does love come from?"
An initial question by someone who fell in love: "Where does love come from?"
and his initial answer: "The bodies in the firmament are spinning like a plate;" meaning from the celestial bodies down to the electrons in our brains, everything is bound by the laws of science and thus predetermined and subsequently, without true meaning.
and his initial answer: "The bodies in the firmament are spinning like a plate;" meaning from the celestial bodies down to the electrons in our brains, everything is bound by the laws of science and thus predetermined and subsequently, without true meaning.
He states that this is how he related to life and love before he himself fell in love: "I was lost...
He states that this is how he related to life and love before he himself fell in love: "I was lost in the fission before you came." Before he fell in love with her, was he lost (without meaning) in the fission (rules of science).
Once he did fall in love he was now torn: "If every constellation above us has a counterpart below," Constellations are a from of imbuing meaning into seemingly random field of starts. He is entertaining the possibility that by assigning meaning to things that are objectively meaningless (above), you actually create a meaningful world(below).
"How are we to know, dear? How are we to know?" He laments that we can never tell if the meaning we see in the world is real, or just a figment of our imagination.
"Fortune hangs around us like a funerary wreath." The possibility lingering in our minds that the world is a world of chaos, makes us feel dead, as even though you cannot predict what will happen in the world, it is still determined (chaos theory).
"I was down in the heart of the ground beneath." Now that he fell in love, he embraces a world of meaning (heart).
"I could write this down, I could turn this car around." He can now choose whether to set his belief in meaningfulness in stone, and get rid of his doubts, or he can turn the car around and return to his previous meaningless world. The motivation to 'turn around' is "In the land of mistakes I should lay my crosses down." By laying down the belief in meaning and free will, and going back to determinism, you no longer have to keep any mistakes that you made on your conscious, as they werent really you anyway.
His confusion is emphasized by "And I pray for your health, and I tell myself
"It's the chambers and the valves that pump the sentiment around." On one hand he is praying for her health, showing that he believes his actions can have an effect, and on the other hand, he is telling himself that the love he feels for her is merely a result of the chemicals in his body. "But I swallow the words and I close my mouth." in the end, he pushes the doubt down and does not let himself be controlled by it.
The rest of the song is the same idea, ad is perhaps adding the idea that the battle between living a life of meaning and seeing life as determined is not something you win once and can rest, but has to be fought over and over, as the doubt will return even when their hearts grow old.
I think this is about his journey through life and how he could do anything he wants but he's bound by religion, he has all these ideas of life and how perfect it could be but religion, despite all it's flaws and mistakes, always manages to beat him. So he keeps his mouth shut and carries on.
The title itself I think is representative of science. Science and religion are often battled, so I think it shows the conflict he's swallowed and keeping inside. Also the idea of two hearts gives the impression of his consistent love, young and old, and the repeated last lines of the first and third verse could show how his life is repetitive and never-changing despite his growing old.
Maybe I'm over thinking it all, but I think it's beautiful. x
I agree that its about an inner battle of science and religion, or more specifically, determinism vs. free will.
I agree that its about an inner battle of science and religion, or more specifically, determinism vs. free will.
An initial question by someone who fell in love: "Where does love come from?"
An initial question by someone who fell in love: "Where does love come from?"
and his initial answer: "The bodies in the firmament are spinning like a plate;" meaning from the celestial bodies down to the electrons in our brains, everything is bound by the laws of science and thus predetermined and subsequently, without true meaning.
and his initial answer: "The bodies in the firmament are spinning like a plate;" meaning from the celestial bodies down to the electrons in our brains, everything is bound by the laws of science and thus predetermined and subsequently, without true meaning.
He states that this is how he related to life and love before he himself fell in love: "I was lost...
He states that this is how he related to life and love before he himself fell in love: "I was lost in the fission before you came." Before he fell in love with her, was he lost (without meaning) in the fission (rules of science).
Once he did fall in love he was now torn: "If every constellation above us has a counterpart below," Constellations are a from of imbuing meaning into seemingly random field of starts. He is entertaining the possibility that by assigning meaning to things that are objectively meaningless (above), you actually create a meaningful world(below).
"How are we to know, dear? How are we to know?" He laments that we can never tell if the meaning we see in the world is real, or just a figment of our imagination.
"Fortune hangs around us like a funerary wreath." The possibility lingering in our minds that the world is a world of chaos, makes us feel dead, as even though you cannot predict what will happen in the world, it is still determined (chaos theory).
"I was down in the heart of the ground beneath." Now that he fell in love, he embraces a world of meaning (heart).
"I could write this down, I could turn this car around." He can now choose whether to set his belief in meaningfulness in stone, and get rid of his doubts, or he can turn the car around and return to his previous meaningless world. The motivation to 'turn around' is "In the land of mistakes I should lay my crosses down." By laying down the belief in meaning and free will, and going back to determinism, you no longer have to keep any mistakes that you made on your conscious, as they werent really you anyway.
His confusion is emphasized by "And I pray for your health, and I tell myself "It's the chambers and the valves that pump the sentiment around." On one hand he is praying for her health, showing that he believes his actions can have an effect, and on the other hand, he is telling himself that the love he feels for her is merely a result of the chemicals in his body. "But I swallow the words and I close my mouth." in the end, he pushes the doubt down and does not let himself be controlled by it.
The rest of the song is the same idea, ad is perhaps adding the idea that the battle between living a life of meaning and seeing life as determined is not something you win once and can rest, but has to be fought over and over, as the doubt will return even when their hearts grow old.