Still having pneumonia, and therefore too tired, this time you’ll have to do the work of the lyrics analysis: watching the video while it’s playing, but with keeping this hint in mind about what you’re hearing with the lyrics:
Listen for the words “in line” and look at the images flashing on your screen. There are a couple of occasions, toward the beginning and toward the end. watch for the lines in the cemetery, on the flag, with the marching… Then put those scenes together, knowing that the last scene with those words are entirely wrought with prompt eagerness concerning the first scenes when those words occur, enthusiasm with trepidation, sure, but the greatest love ever, the willingness to, yes, lay down one’s life for one’s friends, one’s fellow Americans. Yep.
Having gotten that far, listen for the words about the age one is when one is born, perhaps when one lays down one’s life and when one is born into the next life. It reminds me of President Reagan’s comment on the youngsters buried in Arlington National Cemetery (November 11, 1985):
“It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country, in defense of us, in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray haired. But most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives — the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us.”
I watched a video with Coffey explaining how the words came to him, all at once. Respect for that. That bespeaks solidarity though he’s not a veteran. As expected, he partners with https://militarywarriors.org/
So, I’m a Catholic priest, and now, in 2020, 60 years old. When I was a senior in High School, 1978, Come Sail Away! by Styx was my favorite song. In analyzing the lyrics, I’m surely guilty of reading my own perspective into it all. Come along for the ride, or better: Come Sail Away![My comments.]
I’m sailing away [Sorry, but I’m so very much wanting to go to heaven that this sailing away” thing instantly refers to death as described in the Funeral Preface: “Life is changed, not ended.]
Set an open course for the Virgin Sea [Because we’ve never been to that “Virgin Sea.” You recall in Luke 5:4 that Jesus commanded: “Duc in altum!” which we translate as: “Set out into the deep!” But “in altum” refers to “into the heights” as opposed to “de profundis…” “out of the depths.” One of our fresh water lakes in the north woods of Minnesota – 120 feet deep at that point – was entirely clear as the air, so that one could easily see, in detail, the landscape, if you will, at the bottom of the lake. That would be like hovering over the edge of the roof of a short skyscraper. Fishermen on the freshwater sea of Galilee would have this experience of being in the skies over the depths, neither of which guarantees any earthly security. Even if we’re entirely with our Lord as His little flock, it’s still all very new to us going to the other side, as it were.]
‘Cause I’ve got to be free [Indeed. We have do not have the freedom not to be free of this world. We will die. We will move on. But there is more to this. In 1 Peter 2:24 we are told that to be free from sin we might live for righteousness. Saint Paul says that a dead person is absolved from sin (see Romans 6:6), you know, “‘Cause I’ve got to be free.”]
Free to face the life that’s ahead of me [Free for life. So, we’re headed in the right direction here, up to heaven, but there might be purgatory, right? We shall see. We can’t judge ourselves on such matters. We’ll see what the Lord has to say about this. But we must have the hope that we are facing life, and embrace that freely: “Free to face.”]
On board, I’m the captain [Speaking to the angels here. Our angel guardians enlighten us, guard us, rule us, guide us. Yes. But we have free will to assent to this, or not. We’re the captains in this most basic sense. If we follow the Lord we do so by grace, but He also uses our free will.]
So climb aboard
We’ll search for tomorrow
On every shore. And I’ll try – Oh Lord! I’ll try – to carry on [Speaking to the angels as he’s dying, as his entire life is flashing before his eyes. Is there any hope possible for the shores of his life? Do any growth in God’s love accompany him now? Many, many of even the greatest of saints were afflicted at the moment of death, Satan trying to make them despair, accusing them. But they cut through the mind games of Satan with the love of God, not their fallen-nothing-lovefor God, but God’s very love within them by grace.]
I look to the sea [this very moment of death, launching out into the depths, the heights.]
Reflections in the waves spark my memory [Do we sink like Peter upon the waves? Do we allow Jesus to catch us? See Matthew 14:30-31.]
Some happy some sad [So nostalgic! I’ve been nostalgic since I was a little, little kid. This is like an extended examination of conscience…]
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had [Yep. All that.]
We live happily forever
So the story goes [How naive we all were!]
But somehow we missed out [By saving grace…]
On that pot of gold [bypassing the “treasures” of this world so that our souls are purified like gold in fire. And this is a statement of hope. This fellow is all about what lies ahead with real life. I love that.]
But we’ll try best that we can
To carry on [The hope that comes with God’s love would have us do this as we move from this life to the next.]
A gathering of angels appeared above my head [So, right at the moment of death…]
They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said [“A song of hope”. I love that. The angels have helped us through life, but….]
They said come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me now
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me now
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise [Not angels! It’s the souls in Purgatory who by our prayers were freed and went on their way to heaven, eagerly awaiting the moment, as Jesus says, to welcome us into the eternal habitations, into heaven. We would think they are angels at first glance because the saints in heaven reflect the very glory of God.]
We climbed aboard their starship [the Holy Spirit], we headed for the skies [Duc in altum! This is a meditation which brings me great joy and great peace… and joy! We’re on our way to heaven!]
Singing come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me now
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away, come sail away
So, say a prayer for the souls in purgatory. They will be the ones to greet you on the other side and welcome you into the eternal habitations. Hail Mary…
My, my… THAT didn’t take long. Having put up Lee’s patriotism the other day, a comment came in condemning Lee as sinful for having written such a great song.
“Awesome and moving musical performance combined with insane propaganda lyrics! “…I know I’m free…” Really? “I’m Proud….I’m Proud…I’m Proud” Pride is a sin and comes before the fall! “men…gave the RIGHT of freedom to us”? Seriously? Men don’t give us rights, rights come from our duty to God! “they can’t take our freedom away”? Our culture is giving away our freedoms more and more every day. Freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, freedom to freely exercise our religion. If you would “gladly stand up and defend her”, the first step is to realize that she needs defending now and the next step is to do it! Complacency is killing America.”
Sounds serious, that. “Propaganda lyrics…” sounds like a something a marxist would say. So, I’m game! Let’s analyze the lyrics [my comments]:
If tomorrow all the things were gone
I worked for all my life [like with all the marxist rioting, arson, looting, murder, assaults…]
And I had to start again
With just my children and my wife [pro-family: one man, one woman, children!!!]
I’d thank my lucky stars [That’s actually a reference to States which have a representative star on the flag.]
To be living here today [Because despite the marxists, who think life is equated to things, real Americans know there is much more to life in a country under God.]
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom [as in the free exercise of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech…]
And they can’t take that away [And that’s true. And here’s the point: we always have the freedom to do the right thing against whatever bullies. To just get frustrated and jaded and depressed and cynical and full of hate is NOT the way to go. Don’t be such a wimpish empty shell of a human being and go ahead and be a martyr. That brings us to the next words…]
And I’m proud to be an American [Obviously, this does not refer to some sort of sin, but instead refers to the happiness, contentedness, joy in that which just so right, you know, one nation, under God… Marxists hate patriotism. Patriotism is a virtue.]
Where at least I know I’m free [Free exercise of religion… you know the drill…]
And I won’t forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me [To the critic, I ask you, what have you done? Nothing is the answer. You haven’t given your life, have you? The answer is no. No you haven’t. How very pathetic of you. Here’s the deal: God grants us the unalienable rights, yes, but, wait for it, God also uses us. The defense against unjust aggression is also a corporal work of mercy regarding which God will judge us. If you condemn all those who have died cooperating with that is under God for your benefit…]
And I’d gladly stand up next to you
And defend Her still today [The critic holds that there is no one doing anything right now. Do you know how many members of the military and law enforcement are being injured and laying down their lives for you as we speak, despite your ignorance and hatred? I invite this critic to the next Officer Down! Memorial Dinner where we read off all the LODDs, all the Line of Duty Deaths for the year.]
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
From the lakes of Minnesota [Hey! My home state! Thanks for the shout out, Lee. The soldiers from Minnesota suffered the most casualties in Gettysburg during the Civil War percentage-wise, that is, more than any other troops in any battle in modern history. Get it? You know, about doing something for freedoms?]
To the hills of Tennessee
Across the plains of Texas
From sea to shining sea
From Detroit down to Houston
And New York to L.A. [This geography recalls, of course, Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” speech, right?]
Where’s pride in every American heart
And it’s time we stand and say
That I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me
And I’d gladly stand up next to you
And defend Her still today
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
And I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me
And I’d gladly stand up next to you
And defend Her still today
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
Finally, the keyboard warrior critic who is on the attack lives next to an FBI station. Interesting, that. Perhaps a follower of Peter Strzok and James Comey… trying to sound patriotic but just smashing down any patriotism anywhere anytime.
Buddy, you’re a boy, make a big noise
Playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday
You got mud on your face, you big disgrace
Kicking your can all over the place, singin’
We will, we will Rock you!
We will, we will Rock you!
Buddy, you’re a young man, hard man
Shouting in the street, gonna take on the world someday
You got blood on your face, you big disgrace
Waving your banner all over the place
We will, we will Rock you! (Sing it!)
We will, we will Rock you!
Buddy, you’re an old man, poor man
Pleading with your eyes, gonna make you some peace someday
You got mud on your face, big disgrace
Somebody better put you back into your place
We will, we will Rock you! (Sing it!)
We will, we will Rock you! (Everybody!)
We will, we will Rock you!
We will, we will Rock you! (Alright!)
Dear Pope Francis:
Pachamama idol worship is the epitome of self-referential, self-absorbed, Promethean Pelagianism and leads to the biography of (1) boy, (2) young man, (3) old man so well described above.
We all love you, Pope Francis. We would all like to encourage you NOT to find your relativistic version of Jesus Christ, but to be found by Him who is the Divine Son of the Immaculate Conception, the Sinless Son of the Living God, the Almighty, the Judge of the living and dead and the world by fire, the living Truth who is not to be mocked, and cannot be manipulated with mind game dialectics. We want you, Pope Francis, to be found by Jesus, the ROCK of our Salvation. “And the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). We will pray for you to Jesus, our Rock. In other words:
We will, we will Rock you!
Remember that The Rock said of you: “You are Peter (Rock!), and upon this rock I will build my Church.”
Remember also that The Rock said to you: “When you turn again (after your denial of the Rock three times), it is then that you are to confirm your brothers in the faith.”
For my part, I’m your Missionary of Mercy, not your Missionary of Syncretism.
“Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen.”
You know the Law Enforcement Tribute above dedicated to our finest who place themselves in danger and lay down their lives for our safety. I put it up top of the blog with some frequency. It happens all the time. The song has become a bit of a meme, with the subjects being from the Military or Law Enforcement or the Fire Department…
But what if we were to apply the lyrics to Jesus?
I’m guessing this is not at all in any way whatsoever what the authors intended.
But let’s see what happens… Amazing…
I’m bleeding out
If the last thing that I do
Is to bring you down [from our pride]
I’ll bleed out for you [standing in our place, the Innocent for the guilty]
So I bear my skin [and get it ripped off with the scourging]
And I count my sins [His sins… are our sins, the punishment for which, death, He takes on so as to have the right in His own justice to forgive us. “Father, forgive them!”]
And I close my eyes
And I take it in
And I’m bleeding out
I’m bleeding out for you, for you
When the day has come [The “Day of the Lord”]
But I’ve lost my way around [The “Way” has lost His way: the irony points to redemption. Just how many times did our Lord fall while carrying His Cross, that is, our cross, on the way to Calvary. Have you done the Stations of the Cross during this Lent?]
And the seasons stop and hide beneath the ground [Indeed. All of time is drawn into that one “Hour” when our Lord draws all to Himself, so that we might be buried with Him, so as then, in His Triumph over death, over our sin, to rise from the dead to live forever.]
When the sky turns gray [There was, in fact, an eclipse at this time]
And everything is screaming [With all hell broken out on Calvary, literally, the chaos would be, is indescribable.]
I will reach inside
Just to find my heart is beating [Wow. And Jesus will put Thomas’ hand into His own side so that Thomas might touch the very Heart of God, still beating, risen from the dead, all out of Love for us. “My Lord and my God” said Thomas, no longer doubting, but believing.]
You tell me to hold on
Oh you tell me to hold on [People will surely condemn me for “re-writing” the Lord’s prayer, but what it actually says about the battle on Calvary not with some generic evil but over against The Evil One, is that we are to ask to be delivered, saved from the clutches of Satan (who would have been “our father” instead of our Heavenly Father if we are without the grace of Our Heavenly Father). We are asking quite literally in the Lord’s prayer that Jesus not throw us into the battle (the trial, the “temptation”) alone, but rather that He carry us into the battle, He being our Warrior, our Soldier, only Jesus. And that’s why, dear friends, the Mass was always said, also by the priest, in some places still today, facing Jesus, not “facing the people”. It is Jesus who carries us all into the Sacrifice of the Mass with Himself.]
But innocence is gone
And what was right is wrong [And then we blame Jesus for the hell, blaspheming, saying that it’s all His fault that all hell has broken out, all His fault that we get sick and die and seem to face Satan alone. But, no, it’s not that way. He continues to carry us, trying to open our eyes to see not just the battle, not just Satan, but rather Him, Jesus, rescuing us from Satan. We’re so self-centered. “Woe is me!” we cry. We should instead be in humble thanksgiving as Jesus carries us into the battle. Be not afraid! Jesus is the Victor.]
‘Cause I’m bleeding out
If the last thing that I do
Is to bring you down [from our pride]
I’ll bleed out for you
So I bear my skin
And I count my sins
And I close my eyes
And I take it in
And I’m bleeding out
I’m bleeding out for you, for you
When the hour is nigh [“The Hour” – the hour of Mary’s intercession as Jesus explained at the Wedding of Cana, drawing an analogy with His own marriage with the Church, giving Himself totally to the Church at the Last Supper with wedding vows fulfilled on Calvary with His bleeding out for us: This is my body given for you in sacrifice, my blood poured out for you in sacrifice…]
And hopelessness is sinking in [Yes, hopeless that His own Mother would be spared witnessing His being tortured to death. This would have hit Him hard in the agony of the garden. This is what He would try to avoid if possible, the hurt He knew His Mother would go through. “Father, Thy will, not mine be done.”]
And the wolves all cry
To feel they’re not worth hollering [Wow. Those words required lots of previous suffering of all kinds to come out like that. Wow. Good for the author of these particular words. Wow. In our sense of worthlessness, we cry about it, and then we strike out.]
When your eyes are red [The Shroud of Turin seems to indicated that the massive thorns from the Crown of Thorns went through His forehead and into His eyes…]
And emptiness is all you know [“My God! My God! Why have you abandoned me?!” Now, go read the rest of Psalm 22 to know what that’s all about. Totally awesome giving love for us in filial trust of His ever listening Heavenly Father.]
With the darkness fed [Satan had full rights over us since we obeyed Satan in our original sin, Adam’s sin, rather than God. Jesus didn’t owe Satan anything as Jesus usurped Satan’s rights over us when He Himself took on the punishment we deserve for sin, which is death. Jesus was fulfilling His own righteousness, with mercy founded on justice, His own justice, He standing in our place, the Innocent for the guilty. However, with this, Satan is “fed,” that is, muted, as now Satan can’t complain. Jesus did it for us.]
I will be your scarecrow [Saint Paul speaks of being a fool for Christ’s sake. Jesus makes it seem like He is the criminal for our sake, the One from whom we turn our eyes. But He brings us around. He’s very patient with us.]
You tell me to hold on
Oh you tell me to hold on
But innocence is gone
And what was right is wrong
‘Cause I’m bleeding out
If the last thing that I do
Is to bring you down
I’ll bleed out for you
So I bear my skin
And I count my sins
And I close my eyes
And I take it in
And I’m bleeding out
I’m bleeding out for you, for you
I’m bleeding out for you, for you
I’m bleeding out for you, for you
I’m bleeding out for you, for you
I’m bleeding out for you
‘Cause I’m bleeding out
If the last thing that I do
Is to bring you down
I’ll bleed out for you
So I bear my skin
And I count my sins
And I close my eyes
And I take it in
And I’m bleeding out
I’m bleeding out for you, for you
[[N.B. These are not necessarily the lyrics claimed by the artist Richard Melville Hall, Moby, that I’ve written out below. The lyrics below are merely what I “heard”. Not necessarily the same thing, but the lyrics, whatever they are, are his copyright. The comments are my personal interpretation, surely not the perspective of Moby. [My comments].]]
Extreme Waysby Moby
Extreme ways are back again [It’s not that they weren’t there all the time. It’s that we didn’t notice them. And then, there they are, in our face. Providence.]
Extreme places I didn’t know [This is a confession, a regret, a call to reform, to come back to reality of the way things are, like a “Vatican Commando!” ;-)]
I broke everything new again
Everything that I’d owned
I threw it out the windows [“I’d owned” = rejection of, in reality, being owned by what one just thought one owned. Brilliant rejection of that rejection. So, out the windows!]
came along extreme ways I know will part
The colors of my sea
All perfect coloring [A reference to Moses at the Exodus at the “Red Sea”, which in all the dark circumstances is about the most colorful place on earth.]
Extreme ways that help me
That help me out late at night [We’re all in darkness, in extreme peripheries, due to our own blindness about where we’re actually at in this world. Providence of extreme ways gets us to recognize what’s going on in the darkness. In that case, that dark night is not to be feared. Providence of extreme ways can handle any extreme places, any extreme worlds where we are at and don’t even know it until extreme ways come along to point the way. Thus:]
Extreme places I had gone
But never seen any light
Dirty basements
Dirty noise
Dirty places coming through
Extreme worlds alone
Did you ever like it then? [Again, this is where we have all been if without extreme ways. We didn’t even know we didn’t like it until extreme ways came along.]
I would stand in line for this
There’s always room in life for this [I laughed out loud when these two lines came along. This is it, exactly. Providence of extreme ways has us face the extreme dark peripheries where we are.]
Oh babe, oh babe [Sorry, but for me in my own little world this is my exclamation to the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, to whom, as a priest, I am, as it were, married :-) Perhaps my enthusiasm is unbounded. It is what it is.]
Then it fell apart, it sell apart [“it” = the extreme places and worlds of the darkest of existential peripheries which fall apart upon the entrance of extreme ways. The extreme places and worlds, that is, “it” (as a collective) “sell apart” in that they just prostitute themselves to the next taker.]
Oh babe, oh babe
Then it fell apart, it sell apart [Repeated for the joy of seeing extreme ways smash apart the darkest of existential peripheries.]
Extreme songs [=extreme ways] that told me
They helped me out late at night [so as to face the way things had been up until this time in which extreme ways entered in; what follows is an incredible description of the darkest of existential peripheries. Yikes!]
I didn’t have much to say
I didn’t give up the light
I closed my eyes
I closed myself
I closed my world
And never opened up to anything
That could cut me at all
I had to close down everything
I had to close down my mind
Too many things could cut me
Too much can make me blind
I’ve seen so much in so many places
So many heartaches
So many faces
So many dirty things
You couldn’t even believe [Well put. Yikes! But with all that hell, now extreme ways move in and facing such a hell so as to conquer it with extreme ways is that in which we rejoice:]
I would stand in line for this
There’s always room in life for this [Again, I laughed out loud when these two lines came along. This is it, exactly. Providence of extreme ways has us face the extreme dark peripheries where we are.]
Oh babe, oh babe
Then it sell apart, it sell apart
Oh babe, oh babe
Then it fell apart, it sell apart [Up to now, this song has concentrated on one’s own self being rescued by extreme ways entering in. But now the emphasis, rightly, is immediately put on all others. Firstly, it’s an appeal to the listener, who is directly addressed. The singer wants help, and now points to those who have been just like him. He’s been rescued but he wants help in rescuing others, especially in the face of nobody caring at all about those still in the darkest of existential peripheries… This is gripping:]
Can you see my people?
Can you see what I mean?
Can you see my people?
Can you see what I mean?
Oh nobody cares
Oh nobody cares
Oh nobody cares [Kudos to Moby.]
If we’re living here [In solidarity, he stays with those suffering, but with great enthusiasm:]
Oh babe, oh babe
Then it fell apart, it sell apart
Oh babe, oh babe
Then it fell apart, it sell apart
Oh babe, oh babe
Then it fell apart, it sell apart
Oh babe, oh babe [This is completely justified triumphalism. I love it. I absolutely love it.]
Like it fell the stars, fell the stars [This is a direct reference to the fallen angels. Moby, for all his eclectic searching going on, knows Scripture pretty well and is most at home with Christianity. I’d love to have a discussion with him offline about how mercy is based on justice and what Jesus is on about, who Jesus really is as the Providence of Extreme Ways in the darkness leading us into solidarity and goodness and kindness.]
===========
Anyway, thanks for that Moby. Really cool. I hope you don’t mind my commentary.
I have a long history of taking everything I see or hear entirely out of context and applying it to something I think is much more immediately important. Any popular song is a case in point.
“Say Something” goes to the heart of the matter. Obviously, this song is about an apology of hope, a confrontation of too-late despair, a maelstrom of conflicted emotions, blaming the other and then blaming oneself, hoping against hope that somehow it can all be better: one feels abandoned but surely this can’t actually be the case.
Of all things, I think of the Apostle Thomas, you know, that guy, the doubting Thomas. He’s the one who enthusiastically boasted that he and the rest of the Apostles would surely, in all solidarity with Jesus, go with Him to Jerusalem and die with Him. This was just some days previous to the Last Supper, the betrayal by Judas in Gethsemane, the group run-away by the rest of the Apostles, including Thomas, as Jesus is arrested, then put through a-lack-of-due-process religious tribunal, then handed over to the State, then condemned, then tortured, then executed.
Thomas didn’t think that this could happen at all. Nothing like that. Did he feel betrayed by Jesus because, you know, Jesus was laying down His life for Thomas and all of us, the Innocent for the guilty, standing in our stead, taking on the death we deserve so that He has the right in His own justice to have mercy on us.
That must be it. So, when Jesus is dead, saying nothing, and Thomas is devastated, faced by his own cowardice, his own running away, not realizing that the very silence of the all too dead Jesus speaks ever so deeply into our hearts and souls, and, if we are open, our minds. It’s a resounding silence, a veritable symphony of truth and love, of justice and mercy. Resounding. But, in the storm, Thomas cries out:
Say Something
Say something, I’m giving up on you [So, there’s Jesus, dead on the Cross. Thomas at a distance is yelling at Him: Say something!]
I’ll be the one, if you want me to [Thomas remembers his boast that he himself would be just the one to go with Jesus and die with Him. The hope… The despair… His heart being totally ripped right from his chest… Devastated….]
Anywhere I would’ve followed you [Right to death… Right, Thomas?]
Say something, I’m giving up on you [Yelling at Jesus again. It’s all His fault. And “I’ll show you! I’ll just go ahead and give up on you because apparently that’s what you’ve done, dying like you did.”]
And I am feeling so small [But then immediately, of course, feeling to be the hypocrite.]
It was over my head [There’s an excuse begging for forgiveness.]
I know nothing at all [And another excuse begging for forgiveness.]
And I will stumble and fall [And another excuse begging for forgiveness.]
I’m still learning to love [But trying to prove that maybe he has some worth. Maybe he can learn.]
Just starting to crawl [Just maybe.]
Say something, I’m giving up on you [But he is met with the same silence of the all too dead Jesus, and so yells at Him again, threatening to give up on Him.]
I’m sorry that I couldn’t get to you [You know, because, like the other Apostles, he had run away so very fast when Jesus was being arrested.]
Anywhere I would’ve followed you [Ignoring that point, he remembers the good old days when he was so brave as to say that he would have followed Jesus right to death.]
Say something, I’m giving up on you [But that memory is too much. He’s back to blaming the silent-in-death Jesus, perhaps watching the soldier shove his sword into the side, into the heart of Jesus and mash it around, making sure Jesus is silent, making sure He’s dead.]
And I will swallow my pride [But that statement is still hanging on to self-righteousness, isn’t it? Isn’t that saying that Thomas was right, but, hell, he’ll just get over being right, if only Jesus will say something.]
You’re the one that I love [Good! But right now he’s going to speak his threat once again. What a maelstrom! Such a storm inside Thomas! Beside himself, he says it…]
And I’m saying goodbye [I would be bawling my eyes out…]
Say something, I’m giving up on you [But now, repeating this, is a glimmer of hope, because – Hey! – Maybe, just maybe, He will say something.]
And I’m sorry that I couldn’t get to you [Perhaps now he’s changing the meaning of this, so that he’s blaming the Roman soldiers, but John returned, did he not?]
And anywhere I would’ve followed you (Oh-oh-oh-oh) [Too scared to return to Jesus, he recalls the time yet again when he was so very brave: “We will die with you!”]
Say something, I’m giving up on you [Reality hits hard. As cold as death. But maybe… “Say something…”]
Say something, I’m giving up on you [The weak threat, which he doesn’t mean. But what will happen now? He’ll be loyal now, but how will this work out?]
Say something… [Ending here on a note of hope, skipping the “I’m giving up, and just saying, “Say something.” And Jesus does, finally: “Put your finger Thomas, into the nail prints on the hands. Put your hand into my side. Touch my heart. Doubt no longer, but believe, Thomas. And, of course, me, down on my knees, bawling my eyes out, but joyful… joyful…]
This mere cover version of James Hetfield’s “love song” Nothing Else Matters is by Scala & Kolacny choir. Sorry, but I don’t like Hetfield’s version even though he wrote it, and I don’t like how Metallica plays it. Scala & Kolancy bring it to life.
I give the lyrics a totally, utterly different interpretation, which I’m sure no one else in the world would agree with, perhaps because it’s now associated with Zero Dark Thirty, which is, oddly, one of my favorite movies. That should tell you something about me. So, it should be no big surprise that, for me, the lyrics seem to be swimming around in the head of someone being tortured to betray all that is good and holy, but he/she is remaining loyal, entrenching in loyalty, no matter what, no matter what.
=======================
So close no matter how far [still oneself despite whatever tactics of every possible type of dissociation are used]
Couldn’t be much more from the heart [that is, loyalty existentially identified with our very selves]
Forever trusting who we are [and, to me, this trust would also be religious, our true identity continuing to shine in Christ Jesus, who provides integrity, honesty, He remaining faithful, as it were, even if we would be unfaithful, which He saves us from]
And nothing else matters [exactly]
Never opened myself this way [never betrayal, never compromise, no frustration, no despair, no caving in]
Life is ours, we live it our way [because given to us by God, our way being the natural law, the goodness and kindness and integrity and honesty and respect for others that is given to us by the Lord]
All these words I don’t just say [indeed: Jesus actually stood in our place, the innocent for the guilty, tortured right to death, therefore having the right in His own justice to have mercy on us, that is, that we might have within us a love and truth stronger than death itself]
And nothing else matters [exactly]
Trust I seek and I find in you [speaking to Jesus]
Every day for us something new [we’re trained in and grow by leaps and bounds by just being faithful in whatever circumstance that God’s providence or permissive will lets happen to us for the most excellent reasons of mercy founded on justice: as the Master, so the disciple; for when one person is loyal to all that is good and holy, especially under the most trying of circumstances, that is itself an act of intercession for the good of all mankind right before the throne of the Most High; nothing goes unnoticed by God; the death of His faithful ones is precious in His eyes, we needing only to the faithful no matter what]
Open mind for a different view [in that daily learning in whatever circumstances we are like little children rejoicing in ever greater expansiveness of spirit as our Lord lifts us up from the quagmire of this world, intensifying love and truth within us]
And nothing else matters [exactly]
Never cared for what they do [torturers have nothing on a love and truth stronger than torture, stronger than death]
Never cared for what they know [which is nothing, even if particulars are correct; knowledge of the facts doesn’t equate to understanding, to intensity of real life]
But I know [exactly, in the Lord; well put]
So close no matter how far
It couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know
I never opened myself this way hey
Life is ours, we live it our way hey
All these words I don’t just say hey
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play [mind games cannot be won in adverse conditions of torture; don’t even try; rather, count on deep loyalty, a matter of love, love of country, love of self, love of neighbor, love of God: love cuts through mind games; it’s like Jesus tempted by Satan in the desert by way of mind games about power, and Jesus answering with love and respect for His Heavenly Father. Hah. Loyalty all the way.]
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know, yeah yeah!
So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No nothing else matters.
[[Analysis of the lyrics: It strikes me that there is an analogy with the parable of the ten virgins, five wise and five foolish in Matthew 25:1-13, the latter of whom think they can buy that lamp-oil of God’s grace, that idiocy acting as a foil by which to interpret Genesis 2:4–3:24 in view of Jacob’s ladder (see Genesis 11:1-9), etc. Most probably the writer for Led Zeppelin meant something totally different, but I’m happy to have my own imagination. Lighten up. :¬) Anyway, this is a desperately melancholy ballad. And, by the way, the second of the two paintings in the video above (the one you also see before starting the video) is in the exact same style as a mural painted in my Catholic high school back in the day.]]
There’s a lady who’s sure
All that glitters is gold [[ In other words, a soul totally spaced out narcissistic idiot utterly given over to peripheral, unimportant, sensory overloading. ]]
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven. [[She’s so very special in her own eyes that she’s even her own redeemer. She can buy anything, even a stairway to heaven.]]
When she gets there [[the stairway store!]] she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for. [[Sure she can! Riiiiiiggghhht!]]
Ooh ooh and she’s buying a stairway to heaven. [[Soooo melancholic.]]
There’s a sign on the wall [[Iesu Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum]]
But she wants to be sure [[One can never have certainty when one remains on the level of mind games, which insist that words can have two meanings.]]
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings. [[Satan, a liar and murderer from the beginning brings that about.]]
Tree with the Fountain of Salvation with the Holy Spirit convicting us of our sin by way of offering forgiveness.
In a tree by the brook
There’s a songbird who sings, [[[The Tree of the Living Ones with the fruit of everlasting life, from whom springs living water, see John 4:14, with that songbird of the second creation at the redemption already having been mentioned at the first creation hovering over the waters, see Genesis 1:2.]]
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven. [[But even given that, we are so very weak after original sin and our thoughts become confused with nervous rationalization and attempts at self-redemption.]]
Ooh, it makes me wonder, [[overthinking it, falling into counting on oneself?]]
Ooh, it makes me wonder. [[uh-oh… overthinking it…]]
There’s a feeling I get [[“feeling”]]
When I look to the west, [[Adam and his wife leave from from East of the Garden, in other words, they are looking toward the West in driven out.]]
And my spirit is crying for leaving. [[The Paradise aspect of the Garden.]]
In my thoughts I have seen [[perhaps now for metanoia?]]
Rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking. [[The cherubim with their sword of fire for our conversion protecting the Tree of the Living Ones amidst the other trees.]]
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder. [[So, still overthinking at this point? Falling into the mind game thing? Ready to fall? We are so weak after original sin.]]
And it’s whispered that soon, [[Adam’s sin and judgment against it.]] If we all call the tune [[We’re in control! We can “call” it! Self-redemption! Here, original sin has paved the way for our own sin.]]
Then the piper will lead us to reason. [[Because – Hey! – the Piper (Pan, the Demon of all demons, the Ancient Dragon, Satan) can have us continue mind games of “reason” by which he was able to deceive Adam and his wife! But, of course, reason over against obedience to God in heaven is not reasonable while love in obedience to God in heaven makes it all reasonable.]]
And a new day will dawn [[the New Adam, the Redeemer promised in Genesis 3:15]]
For those who stand long [[“Stand”, that is, not following after the piper.]]
And the forests will echo with laughter. [[That’s all of us in scriptural symbolism; also, all of creation awaits with eager expectation of the revelation of the sons of God: see Romans 8:19.]]
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, [[the Holy Spirit overshadowing the Virgin Mary.]]
Don’t be alarmed now, [[Saint Gabriel to Mary: Luke 1:29-30]]
It’s just a spring clean for the May queen. [[The Immaculate Mother of the Redeemer.]]
Yes, there are two paths you can go by [[that is, now that the Redeemer has come: that of the Tree of the Living Ones with the gift of enmity over against Satan, or that of the Tree of Knowing good admixed with evil.]]
But in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on. [[That’s true, avoiding presumption, or also repenting from that presumption. This announces continued belligerent sin, but, also, possibly, final repentance.]]
And it makes me wonder. [[Still overthinking it? Still subject to the consequences of original sin, particularly being subject to the mind games of Satan, still being tempted to those mind games. Thus:]]
Your head is humming and it won’t go
In case you don’t know,
The piper’s calling you to join him, [[As long as we are in the world, the prince of this world, the prince of darkness, Satan is after us, enticing us with his mind games.]]
Dear lady [[not the May queen, not the Immaculate Mother of the Redeemer, but the soul still unfortunately looking to redeem itself.]], can you hear the wind blow, [[a wonderful reference to Genesis 3:8 when God approaches to announce judgment against Satan and also the redemption to come.]]
And did you know [[a bit of most wonderful irony is now to be stated:]]
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind. [[Again, Genesis 3:8; and the stairway is the Divine Son of the Mother of the Redeemer (see Jacob’s ladder, Genesis 28:11-22, and, directly in reference to Jesus, John 1:51); however, He is a stairway that cannot be bought.]]
And as we wind on down the road [[uh-oh… which one of the two?]]
Our shadows taller than our soul. [[The road of evil has been chosen, going away from the light, with all becoming darker. Can the soul come back: “In the long run there’s still time to change”?]]
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light [[the Immaculate Mother of the Redeemer who provides her Divine Son to us with that enmity, that grace, that “white light.” But, more intense irony here:]] and wants to show
How ev’rything still turns to gold. [[“Still”, that is, not in the same way in which one started, but the redemption turning our sin into an occasion for receiving new life, heaven, as Saint Augustine says: “O felix culpa! Oh happy fault!]]
And if you listen very hard [[That is, receptive, not attempting to redeem oneself, but receiving the new heavenly music.]]
The tune will come to you at last. [[This is in utter contrast with the music of the “piper” which, instead, harasses and is seemingly inescapable: “Your head is humming and it won’t go.” This new tune, starting from that discordant note – as pointed out by Ven. Archbishop Fulton J Sheen – brings all into harmony.]]
When all are one and one is all [[see 1 Corinthians 15:28]]
To be a rock and not to roll. [[see, e.g., Numbers 20:11; Psalm 18:32, 73:26; John 7:37, 19:34; 1 Corinthians 10:4… Christ is the rock (ubiquitous bedrock), we are finally one with Him, so, moving down the wrong path is not the choice to make, though it can still be made.]]
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven. [[Sooo melancholic. Still sin. Still thinking oneself to be in control even of one’s own redemption. This is the temptation of the soul after being tossed from the paradise aspect of the garden, thinking we can simply reach out our hand to grasp at the fruit of the Tree of the Living Ones as we think that then, by our actions, we will redeem ourselves and live forever; see Genesis 3:22. No. Doesn’t work that way. But, in this song there is hope held out to the soul if the soul will listen: “But in the long run there’s still time to change the road you’re on.]]
=================
So, there we have it, my imagination about the lyrics. As I say, I enjoy having an imagination. :¬) One thing, however, which I try to avoid at all costs, is to have any imagination which it comes to the interpretation of Scripture. In that case, no novelty, nothing new, only that which is ever ancient, ever new.
Lots of terrorism going on these days. People have different responses to terrorism. For anyone who is Catholic, the setting of the above response is really creepy, however well intended by the participants. This is obviously an ex-Catholic Church perhaps in Boston and they are singing this as a kind of requiem for the victims of the terrorism of the Boston Marathon Bombing. It would be incomparably better if the requiem was the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I wouldn’t watch the above video if I were you. Having said all that, there are some good things, great things even, exceptionally superb in the original song. This is the best version, with just lyrics:
Aerosmith: “Dream On” [correct lyrics below]
Every time when I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dusk to dawn
Isn’t that the way
Everybody’s got the dues in life to pay [“Dues in life” is a reference to justice in a stanza filled with honesty and humility before the consequences of sin as serious as death. Truth be told, not many are so honest, even among religious leaders. Moveover, there is a leveling out here, not one who is more or less guilty. This is very close to a description of the consequences of original sin.]
Yeah. [He’s answering objections about how we know about the consequences of what? Original sin?] I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes [“it” = mysterium iniquitatis, the mystery of iniquity, because it truly is a mystery, as mentioned by so many of the Fathers of the Church and in Magisterial interventions (such as with Saint John Paul II), for how can we fathom how evil was chosen over good, and how can we even begin to fathom the damage as this specter marches on in slaughter right through the ages and epochs of the full length of time]
I know it’s “Everybody sins” [That’s one incomplete but effectively correct way to put it]
You got to lose to know how to win [There you go. Very cool. Just be humble and realize what the situation is, not futilely attempting to run away from it, not denying it, but facing it, and so now ending the losing and beginning to win, as it’s only with such humility that one can turn, or better be turned to that which is right.]
Half my life
Is in books’ written pages [humanity is so similar, with other peoples’ lives acting like a mirror to our own lives, and yet we have individuality, free will, choices…]
Live and learn from fools and
From sages [as there is much more going on with each of us, the currents running deep with each of us, regardless of whether others correctly or incorrectly label us as fools or as sages, it being that we’re a little of both.]
You know it’s true, oh
All the things come back to you [Yes, we always have opportunities to reflect, to learn.]
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, just for today [all this being reminiscent of the Preacher, Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth: there’s a time for…]
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away [But have you been humble?]
Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away [Repetition: encouragement]
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream until your dreams come true [the dream, the aspiration, the desire, is that in being humble, that is, honest in the face of what life has become after original sin, we can hope that the Lord will take us from this vale of tears and away to heaven.]
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream until your dreams come true
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on, aw…
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away [I like it; I like it a lot.]
This is just my unabashedly Catholic interpretation of Kerry Allen Livgren’s Carry on Wayward Son. You’ll remember he also wrote Dust in the Wind. Kerry continues his spiritual journey as an evangelical Christian after a major stroke some years ago. I don’t know if his family has Catholic heritage to it (so to speak, though the family names speak strongly of this), but note the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the mantelpiece above the fireplace on the cover of the album. He’s thinking about it…
KANSAS: “Carry on Wayward Son”
Carry on my wayward son,
For there’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more [These advisers are angels, encouraging him to stay on course, looking forward in hope to heaven, his efforts being, however, to let himself be drawn to the living truth from on high. He’s just discerning this childlike simplicity, however, and is still counting a bit too much on his own efforts, as if he was his own savior. That only brings lack of peace, frustration, weariness, tears.]
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man [Under his own efforts he did realize the vanity of his own efforts, that getting to know a negative truth doesn’t bring you positively into the peace and fulfillment of the living truth. It takes quite a bit of humility not to become so frustrated that one becomes bitterly cynical. He is encouraged once again in the fog by the angels to do what he needs to do, which is, paradoxically, not to count so much on his own efforts, but rather to let himself be taken up into the living truth:]
I hear the voices when I’m dreamin’, I can hear them say
Carry on my wayward son,
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don’t know
On a stormy sea of blurry emotion
Tossed about I’m like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, [He has ignored, as we might well do, the voices of the angels and their advice, entrenching himself in chaos, thinking this will bring him to what he wants so deeply. But the angels are persistent in their advice to carry on, that is, not as he has been doing, but in such manner that his own efforts to save himself can just take a rest, in which case he no longer has to be so frustrated with himself and cry.]
but I hear the voices say
Carry on my wayward son,
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor [This is the turning point.]
Now your life’s no longer empty [filling ourselves with ourselves is emptiness.]
Surely heaven waits for you [because now he’s letting heaven draw him there.]
Carry on my wayward son,
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry, don’t you cry no more, no more [Fantastic. An anti-Pelagian heresy, pro-angels theological ballad. Thanks, Kerry.]
Stephen Arthur Stills of 1960s Buffalo Springfield fame penned “For What Its Worth”. Recall that he’s Canadian and that, in pre-1982 Canada, “justices of the Peace had the authority to impose a six-month jail term on anyone carrying a handgun.” [[I’ve been corrected for that in the comments. Seems he’s American. Which only reinforces my commentary here.]] The song “For What Its Worth” has always been taken as a protest, anti-gun jingo. But it’s not. One might think from a glance of the Wikipedia article that Stills might be on the protest side of things:
“In November 1966, Stills composed his landmark song, “For What It’s Worth”, after police actions against the crowds of young people who had gathered on the Sunset Strip to protest the closing of a nightclub called Pandora’s Box (contrary to later retellings by Stills, he was not present for the riot; rather, Buffalo Springfield was playing an engagement in San Francisco at the time).”
I was born in 1960 and so I was only a little kid when this came out. What did I know about anything? But I met a USMC guy the other day, perhaps 10 years older than me, who was a teenager at the time. He thinks it’s one of the best songs ever. No peacenik, he. Perhaps a fisking of the words is in order, as this will help tender snowflakes see that the ones they hold to be their gurus, such as Stills, weren’t the tender snowflakes people thought they were. Perhaps Stills was a bit adrift at the time, but he still carried some values of reason and civility from earlier baby boomer times.
In brief, it seems this song praises police action against out of control paranoid hippie rioters who cross over the line with violence and gunfire and need rightly to be “taken away” as the song says. Perhaps Stills, still going strong, might even say that he disagrees with my assessment, but he’s the one who wrote the lyrics. Whatever he intended then or now doesn’t matter so much as what the words actually say. I like what he wrote. I like it a lot.
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD: “For What Its Worth”
There’s something happening here. [A violent riot in reaction to the closing of a night club.]
What it is ain’t exactly clear. [Stills is not automatically on the side of the rioters, is he? No. He’s calling for reason, for analysis. Good for him.]
There’s a man with a gun over there, [We don’t know who this is yet, whether a law enforcement officer or someone in the crowd. But for him, the presence of a gun from any source is not something he wants to see, though it may be necessary. The examination of the circumstances for the gun is the point of the song.]
Telling me I got to beware. [This sounds like an encouragement of paranoia from the guy with the gun, who is being annoyed with a reasonable assessment of the situation by Stills. The encouragement of paranoia is ideological manipulation which Stills disagrees with, and says so:]
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound? [He’s reprimanding the protesters (“the hippie flower tender snowflake children”), telling them to stop, as, apparently, they are O.K. not only with the brandishing of a gun but with the firing of a gun (the “sound”), thus calling them out as actually being violent bullies.]
Everybody look what’s going down. [He can’t believe that what he was expecting to be a peaceful protest almost seems — could it be? — to be pre-planned violence? He says it frankly:]
There’s battle lines being drawn. [This is a soliloquy falling on deaf ears, but he keeps going, perhaps thinking he will do some good for someone.]
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong. [He goes for the jugular, attacking Marxist dialectical ideology, whereby everyone is wrong, some less than others, but with violence for all being the only way to force any disparity into a leveled out utopia.]
Young people speaking their minds, [The Marxist Antithesis]
Getting so much resistance from behind. [The Marxist Thesis]
It’s time we stop, “Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down.” [Stills is frantic. But no one cares. The violence is intended to grow.]
What a field-day for the heat:
A thousand people in the street,
Singing songs and carrying signs,
Mostly saying, “Hooray for our side!” [He’s not saying that the police action is wrong. He is pointing out that the self-congratulatory signs are shallow ideology promoting might makes right on the part of the protesters. Mindless tender snowflakes are with all of their violence from hell.]
It’s s time we stop, “Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down.” [Then, after trying to get the attention of the protesters once again, he offers this overview of what’s happening:]
Paranoia strikes deep.
Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you’re always afraid. [Stills analysis is that Marxist dialectic violence comes from the frustration of cowardice, fear, with its lockstep reaction.]
You step out of line, they come and take you away. [O.K. This clinches this interpretation. The shooting of the gun is stepping out of line, and that makes for the justified reaction of law enforcement.]
We better stop, “Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down.
Stop, hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down.
Stop, now, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down.
Stop, children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down. [Stills is stomping his feet now in a tantrum, though well justified. Basically, he’s frustrated with the tender snowflake bullies and continues to attempt to have them use a bit of reason. But, no, they won’t do it as this violence is what they always wanted from the beginning. I agree with the USMC guy I met the other day: great song! Good for Stephen Arthur Stills.]
ARISE! LET US BE GOING! 