Surveying the scene, the singer initially wonders about the reality of it all -- do the senses paint a real picture of the scene, or is his vision only a figment, a shadow of what is real? Regardless, a journey is about to unfold on a "Sea of Joy". But throughout we are provided only a sense of waiting -- can the singer ever even really begin his journey? Even after a door (a door of perception, perhaps an Aldous Huxley/LSD reference) opens, the voyage (to a higher consciousness . . . to God . . .to enlightenment . . . fill in the blank) has obstacles. First seems to be the singer himself -- when the door opens to another realm, the singer fears he sees only himself, that even a potential enlightenment is somehow tarnished by the singer's subjective vision of it. A repeated biblical reference to "thorns in my eyes" also threatens the vision of an experience entirely filled with joy. Finally, "you" and "concrete" blocks the vision. We could go on about what each of these obstacles mean, but to be general . . . What a drag, eh?
But can we ever really know the sea of joy? Won't our boats always be tethered to a reality we cannot fully escape? Yet won't we always yearn for the beauty of the vision of transcendent joy? And can we not create beauty that is its own reality, that we can experience, even if our boats cannot set sail, even if our own perceptions cannot fully realize the states we imagine . . . hmmmmmm . . . I'd say Stevie Winwood answers that last question with an emphatic "yes".
Surveying the scene, the singer initially wonders about the reality of it all -- do the senses paint a real picture of the scene, or is his vision only a figment, a shadow of what is real? Regardless, a journey is about to unfold on a "Sea of Joy". But throughout we are provided only a sense of waiting -- can the singer ever even really begin his journey? Even after a door (a door of perception, perhaps an Aldous Huxley/LSD reference) opens, the voyage (to a higher consciousness . . . to God . . .to enlightenment . . . fill in the blank) has obstacles. First seems to be the singer himself -- when the door opens to another realm, the singer fears he sees only himself, that even a potential enlightenment is somehow tarnished by the singer's subjective vision of it. A repeated biblical reference to "thorns in my eyes" also threatens the vision of an experience entirely filled with joy. Finally, "you" and "concrete" blocks the vision. We could go on about what each of these obstacles mean, but to be general . . . What a drag, eh?
But can we ever really know the sea of joy? Won't our boats always be tethered to a reality we cannot fully escape? Yet won't we always yearn for the beauty of the vision of transcendent joy? And can we not create beauty that is its own reality, that we can experience, even if our boats cannot set sail, even if our own perceptions cannot fully realize the states we imagine . . . hmmmmmm . . . I'd say Stevie Winwood answers that last question with an emphatic "yes".
@hazara35 Nailed it! Very good and good general metaphors.
@hazara35 Nailed it! Very good and good general metaphors.