Now the flames they followed joan of arc
As she came riding through the dark;
No moon to keep her armour bright,
No man to get her through this very smoky night.
She said, I'm tired of the war,
I want the kind of work I had before,
A wedding dress or something white
To wear upon my swollen appetite.
Well, I'm glad to hear you talk this way,
You know I've watched you riding every day
And something in me yearns to win
Such a cold and lonesome heroine.
And who are you? she sternly spoke
To the one beneath the smoke.
Why, I'm fire, he replied,
And I love your solitude, I love your pride.
Then fire, make your body cold,
I'm going to give you mine to hold,
Saying this she climbed inside
To be his one, to be his only bride.
And deep into his fiery heart
He took the dust of joan of arc,
And high above the wedding guests
He hung the ashes of her wedding dress.
It was deep into his fiery heart
He took the dust of joan of arc,
And then she clearly understood
If he was fire, oh then she must be wood.
I saw her wince, I saw her cry,
I saw the glory in her eye.
Myself I long for love and light,
But must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?
As she came riding through the dark;
No moon to keep her armour bright,
No man to get her through this very smoky night.
She said, I'm tired of the war,
I want the kind of work I had before,
A wedding dress or something white
To wear upon my swollen appetite.
Well, I'm glad to hear you talk this way,
You know I've watched you riding every day
And something in me yearns to win
Such a cold and lonesome heroine.
And who are you? she sternly spoke
To the one beneath the smoke.
Why, I'm fire, he replied,
And I love your solitude, I love your pride.
Then fire, make your body cold,
I'm going to give you mine to hold,
Saying this she climbed inside
To be his one, to be his only bride.
And deep into his fiery heart
He took the dust of joan of arc,
And high above the wedding guests
He hung the ashes of her wedding dress.
It was deep into his fiery heart
He took the dust of joan of arc,
And then she clearly understood
If he was fire, oh then she must be wood.
I saw her wince, I saw her cry,
I saw the glory in her eye.
Myself I long for love and light,
But must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?
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Tom Puszewski 8/12/12
At first glance this song comes through as extremely patriarchal in nature. Joan longs for female innocence and the security of a man. Her lacking a man to get her through the night is presented as a problem. The man in turn yearns for to "win" this heroin who is "cold and lonesome", a story that completely ignores Joan's vow and choice to abstain passionate love for a greater cause, a cause which is in fact a fire burning within her.
Might it be though, that it is her own passion she yields to. Or God, if you will. She gives herself completely to nothing but her mission. Odd that the follower would crave her though and not simply invite her. She does beg him for mercy, to make his body cold so he can embrace her, but he betrays her and she burns. As she does she realizes this is the true sacrifice. He can only burn through her. It a a martyrs death in deed. And don't we all, like the observer here in the final line, sometimes wish to die a martyr's death, to give ourselves completely for something greater than us, whatever that may be, never being 100% certain what we sacrifice for is good or evil.
I have continued to really like that song as I have grown older because of the lyrics and the message it conveys. My twin sister and our mutual friends changed their mind about that song as they grew older and deepened in spiritual matters.
The idea of the fire representing the devil i believe is just as valid as the idea of it being god. Joan of Arc was put on trial for witchcraft and burnt at stake, witchs in medievil times were seen as followers of the devil and so therefore burning her was the final stage of her invokation. The idea that it is god speaking to her is also important as Joan believed that god was the one who had told her to lead the french army to victory so the fact that god is speaking to her once again could have been a possibility.
-These are just my thoughts on the song, if i work out any further in depths ideas i shall add them.
Matt
age 15
just a thought.