I see it as a commentary on western religions, namely, Christianity. He alludes to this theme many times:
"born again"
"Won't you take me down to the creek - Wash away our sins of sleep" (baptism)
"deliver me from sin"
"The devil knows my name"
"Will salvation come"
These versus stand out to me:
I was scratching at my skin - Hopin changes would begin - But what laid beneath was blood - Well of course - What the hell was I thinking of"
He is saying that he was trying to become purer--trying to be "born again" in the christian sense. What he realized was that he was not an eternal being bud just flesh and blood. Right after this he goes on to say:
"Won't you take me down to the creek - Wash away our sins of sleep - I feel so tired - As though I might - Not wake at all on the other side"
He is saying that this endless effort to be pure is tiring. "Not wake at all on the other side" could either mean he will not be good enough for heaven, or that there is no life after death...though I prefer the latter meaning.
Finally, "deliver me from sin and give me rock and roll" is him saying, he wants to leave this dualistic perspective of sin vs. purity behind and focus on rock and roll. [whatever the hell that means for him :) ]
I see it as a commentary on western religions, namely, Christianity. He alludes to this theme many times:
These versus stand out to me:
I was scratching at my skin - Hopin changes would begin - But what laid beneath was blood - Well of course - What the hell was I thinking of"
He is saying that he was trying to become purer--trying to be "born again" in the christian sense. What he realized was that he was not an eternal being bud just flesh and blood. Right after this he goes on to say:
He is saying that this endless effort to be pure is tiring. "Not wake at all on the other side" could either mean he will not be good enough for heaven, or that there is no life after death...though I prefer the latter meaning.
Finally, "deliver me from sin and give me rock and roll" is him saying, he wants to leave this dualistic perspective of sin vs. purity behind and focus on rock and roll. [whatever the hell that means for him :) ]