Think about these lyrics in context of Lord of The Rings and the mission of Frodo to bring the ring to Mount Doom/Vesuvius. Like 90% of this could translate pretty directly. I don't think for a second that LOTR influenced Sufjan but still it's kind of interesting.
As an Atheist I love the "rather be burned than be living in debt" line interpreted as a rejection of God's salvation. But while reading a little about the major eruptions of Mount Vesuvius and how many people were killed nearby and I thought of another possibility. A person who knows they will die because the volcano is erupting and rather than sit and wait for their imminent death(living in debt) they choose to climb the mountain and jump into the volcano. Dying on their own terms and confronting their doom directly.
Two separate comments:
Think about these lyrics in context of Lord of The Rings and the mission of Frodo to bring the ring to Mount Doom/Vesuvius. Like 90% of this could translate pretty directly. I don't think for a second that LOTR influenced Sufjan but still it's kind of interesting.
As an Atheist I love the "rather be burned than be living in debt" line interpreted as a rejection of God's salvation. But while reading a little about the major eruptions of Mount Vesuvius and how many people were killed nearby and I thought of another possibility. A person who knows they will die because the volcano is erupting and rather than sit and wait for their imminent death(living in debt) they choose to climb the mountain and jump into the volcano. Dying on their own terms and confronting their doom directly.