I've loved this song for years. Been meaning to explain what it means to me for a long time. I think the song illustrates something Alan Watts, the British philosopher-mystic said in his myriad talks and wonderful books. He opined that at the moment of death, the ego illusion of being a separate being in a bag of skin and bones, falls away, and we realize that Who we really are is one with God.
The songwriter (David Byrne) is taking the viewpoint of God throughout the song. I don't know what every phrase means, e.g., "shake it up, dream, hidi-ho dream," etc., but in essence it is God talking to a dying person (which is every one of us), offering Her Hand and the grace of faith to "let go of your life" in the knowledge that Understanding will follow in the afterlife.
Our life itself, as ego-identified beings, has often been likened to a dream, throughout literature, e.g., Wordsworth, Shakespeare, et al. The song posits that death is an awakening from this dream
I've loved this song for years. Been meaning to explain what it means to me for a long time. I think the song illustrates something Alan Watts, the British philosopher-mystic said in his myriad talks and wonderful books. He opined that at the moment of death, the ego illusion of being a separate being in a bag of skin and bones, falls away, and we realize that Who we really are is one with God.
The songwriter (David Byrne) is taking the viewpoint of God throughout the song. I don't know what every phrase means, e.g., "shake it up, dream, hidi-ho dream," etc., but in essence it is God talking to a dying person (which is every one of us), offering Her Hand and the grace of faith to "let go of your life" in the knowledge that Understanding will follow in the afterlife.
Our life itself, as ego-identified beings, has often been likened to a dream, throughout literature, e.g., Wordsworth, Shakespeare, et al. The song posits that death is an awakening from this dream