This song is actually about shamanic initiation (a spiritual one).
Native american tribes were spiritualists, so they all had their spiritual beliefs, rites and initiations. To be a spiritual leader (let's say a shaman) one had to prove he had all that is needed, that he is prepared, that he control himself, a master of himself.
All initations involve some kind of "near death" experience (like baptism in ancient Christianity in which disciples were almost drowned to death, but in the exactly moment they were dying and having a complete different vision experience they were brought back to "life" by being pushed back from the water, so they had a confirmation what is on "the other side" by what they saw)
In some shamanic tribes, candidates were bitten by a snake in the middle of the desert and had to make all their way back to the tribe. If he could make it, he was initiated [So the lyrics "The poison bite and darkness take my sight" make perfect sense]
You can also imagine the extreme inner will and strength to pass through it.You have to HOLD THE LINE! [ "I hold the line of strenght that pulls me through the fear"]
The line is a metaphor for the "connection" between Earth (the material world) and the spiritual world. We need to hold tight to this line, even the white men lost in his dreams and steakhouses
Finally, the one that could make it was a initiated, a master that "died" do this material world and now receives and realizes the energy from the above world ["Yellow eagle flies down from the sun"]
This song is actually about shamanic initiation (a spiritual one).
Native american tribes were spiritualists, so they all had their spiritual beliefs, rites and initiations. To be a spiritual leader (let's say a shaman) one had to prove he had all that is needed, that he is prepared, that he control himself, a master of himself.
All initations involve some kind of "near death" experience (like baptism in ancient Christianity in which disciples were almost drowned to death, but in the exactly moment they were dying and having a complete different vision experience they were brought back to "life" by being pushed back from the water, so they had a confirmation what is on "the other side" by what they saw) In some shamanic tribes, candidates were bitten by a snake in the middle of the desert and had to make all their way back to the tribe. If he could make it, he was initiated [So the lyrics "The poison bite and darkness take my sight" make perfect sense] You can also imagine the extreme inner will and strength to pass through it.You have to HOLD THE LINE! [ "I hold the line of strenght that pulls me through the fear"] The line is a metaphor for the "connection" between Earth (the material world) and the spiritual world. We need to hold tight to this line, even the white men lost in his dreams and steakhouses
Finally, the one that could make it was a initiated, a master that "died" do this material world and now receives and realizes the energy from the above world ["Yellow eagle flies down from the sun"]