This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Begin the day with a friendly voice
A companion unobtrusive
Plays that song that's so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood
Off on your way, hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the spirit ever lingers
Undemanding contact in your happy solitude
Invisible airwaves crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle with the energy
Emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free
All this machinery making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
It's really just a question of your honesty
Yeah, your honesty
One likes to believe in the freedom of music
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity, yeah
Invisible airwaves crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle with the energy
Emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free
For the words of the prophets were written on the studio wall
A concert hall
And echoes with the sound of salesmen
Of salesmen
Of salesmen
A companion unobtrusive
Plays that song that's so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood
Off on your way, hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the spirit ever lingers
Undemanding contact in your happy solitude
Invisible airwaves crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle with the energy
Emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free
All this machinery making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
It's really just a question of your honesty
Yeah, your honesty
One likes to believe in the freedom of music
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity, yeah
Invisible airwaves crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle with the energy
Emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free
For the words of the prophets were written on the studio wall
A concert hall
And echoes with the sound of salesmen
Of salesmen
Of salesmen
Lyrics submitted by shed27, edited by mescaline20
The Spirit of Radio Lyrics as written by Gary Lee Weinrib Alex Zivojinovich
Lyrics © Anthem Entertainment
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The first 3 stanzas are kind of just describing the radio and what a good thing it is. The 4th appears to deal with the controversy when the tape recorder was first introduced, people could just record music off the radio, so it's saying it's a question of your honesty. (The same issue that went on with the VCR and now the file-sharing)
The rest of the song kind of ties it together with the whole music-for-profit theme that seems to be going on overall.
Now to the reason I am really writing this, because, thanks to Philosophic Musings quoting that line I realized it's almost a direct copy of a line from Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence".
Rush: "and the words of the profits were written on the studio wall... and echoes with the sounds of salesmen."
Paul Simon: "and the words of the prophets were written on the subway walls... and echoes with the sounds of silence"
Now that I take the time to think about it... The two songs really have a lot in common. The most accepted meaning of Sounds of silence was that people are building to much on pop-culture and not really listening, and if they did they would find that the music has a lack of meaning and is not heartfelt.
So by writing this I realized a few things myself, I guess it's true what my professor always tries to tell me. "If you write something down, it causes you to think about it." Once again he's proved right.
Sorry for being kinda long-winded there (I say this as I continue to type) But, you know, it kinda happens sometimes. Especially when you don't have something outlined and of course I'm not gonna take the time to outline what was originally a "comment" and turned it into this... Well never mind.