I've been trying to look at the words to this song in various ways over the last couple days. It's been an interesting exercise. I believe that this song is actually about how religion does the opposite to us than what it preaches.
"There's perfect harmony
In the rising and the falling of the sea"
These relatively few words are drawing attention to the fact that nature is awesome. The infinite complexities within all it's processes are not only awe inspiring, but beautiful. We are a product of and are part of nature at the same time. Nature is our creator.
Up until the first chorus the song basically covers the idea that we are imperfect, both bad and good at the same time. We are self aware and have to deal with the idea of dying and what happens after, therefore, the promise of eternal life is very appealing.
"We are the innocent, We are the damned" - we are imperfect
"one great chance for a miracle, or we will disappear"- we are drawn to embracing religion in order to ensure eternal life in heaven.
The chorus, basically a repitition of the title "All the fools sailed away" represents people that have embraced religion and accepted the bible as the word of god and how we should live. "Sailing away" here ties into the first line of the song that also dealt with the ocean. The "ocean" is actually nature and "sailing away" is indicating that while we are still surrounded by nature and in contact with it constantly, we are now going to expend time and energy studying the bible (sailing away) for answers to life. "Sailing away" also represents the obscuring of the signifigance and majestry of nature by focusing on religion.
"They'll take your diamonds
And then give you steel"
The obvious reference to the line above would be to wars over religion, but I now think this line goes deeper than that. Diamonds are natural and steel is man-made. Religion takes your "diamonds" (puts us above all other creatures) and gives us "steel" (replaces our creator "Nature" with a manmade one, "God") So here we are again enforcing the idea of religion doing the oposite of what its seen as. It removes us from nature by putting us with a man-made creator that has created us in his image, and above all other creatures. Leading us astray from the creator, nature.
"But doors are never open
To the child without a trace of sin"
So here we are at the last line of the song, religion will accept us (sinners) with open arms but rejects Jesus (child without a trace of sin)????????
We are the only creatures in nature capable of being "sinners", therefore, the rest of nature can be represented as Jesus (child without a trace of sin) in this last line.
Looked at through this interpretation of the song "All the fools sailed away", religion now appears to only accept those capable of evil and rejects those who are inherently good.
I've been trying to look at the words to this song in various ways over the last couple days. It's been an interesting exercise. I believe that this song is actually about how religion does the opposite to us than what it preaches.
"There's perfect harmony In the rising and the falling of the sea"
These relatively few words are drawing attention to the fact that nature is awesome. The infinite complexities within all it's processes are not only awe inspiring, but beautiful. We are a product of and are part of nature at the same time. Nature is our creator.
Up until the first chorus the song basically covers the idea that we are imperfect, both bad and good at the same time. We are self aware and have to deal with the idea of dying and what happens after, therefore, the promise of eternal life is very appealing.
"We are the innocent, We are the damned" - we are imperfect
"one great chance for a miracle, or we will disappear"- we are drawn to embracing religion in order to ensure eternal life in heaven.
The chorus, basically a repitition of the title "All the fools sailed away" represents people that have embraced religion and accepted the bible as the word of god and how we should live. "Sailing away" here ties into the first line of the song that also dealt with the ocean. The "ocean" is actually nature and "sailing away" is indicating that while we are still surrounded by nature and in contact with it constantly, we are now going to expend time and energy studying the bible (sailing away) for answers to life. "Sailing away" also represents the obscuring of the signifigance and majestry of nature by focusing on religion.
"They'll take your diamonds And then give you steel"
The obvious reference to the line above would be to wars over religion, but I now think this line goes deeper than that. Diamonds are natural and steel is man-made. Religion takes your "diamonds" (puts us above all other creatures) and gives us "steel" (replaces our creator "Nature" with a manmade one, "God") So here we are again enforcing the idea of religion doing the oposite of what its seen as. It removes us from nature by putting us with a man-made creator that has created us in his image, and above all other creatures. Leading us astray from the creator, nature.
"But doors are never open To the child without a trace of sin"
So here we are at the last line of the song, religion will accept us (sinners) with open arms but rejects Jesus (child without a trace of sin)????????
We are the only creatures in nature capable of being "sinners", therefore, the rest of nature can be represented as Jesus (child without a trace of sin) in this last line. Looked at through this interpretation of the song "All the fools sailed away", religion now appears to only accept those capable of evil and rejects those who are inherently good.
Backwards.