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We were talking, about the space between us all
And the people, who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse of truth, then it's far too late, when they pass away
We were talking, about the love we could all share, when we find it
To try our best to hold it there, with our love
With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew
Try to realize it's all within yourself no-one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small,
And life flows on within and without you
We were talking, about the love that's gone so cold and the people,
Who gain the world and lose their soul
Then you may find, peace of mind, is waiting there
And the time will come when you see we're all one,
And life flows on within and without you
And the people, who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse of truth, then it's far too late, when they pass away
We were talking, about the love we could all share, when we find it
To try our best to hold it there, with our love
With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew
Try to realize it's all within yourself no-one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small,
And life flows on within and without you
We were talking, about the love that's gone so cold and the people,
Who gain the world and lose their soul
Then you may find, peace of mind, is waiting there
And the time will come when you see we're all one,
And life flows on within and without you
Lyrics submitted by Ice, edited by MrBigChees
Track duration: 02:22
"Within You Without You" as written by George Harrison
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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Plus, it was made by the most amazing band in the entire world, The Beatles.
It is not my first time that I try to understand some meanings of the band's songs.
I claim that Eleanor Rigby was the most insteresting, but maybe this one would get even better.
Let's see.
We were talking, about the space between us all
And the people, who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse of truth, then it's far too late, when they pass away
Now let's speak as we are really innocent, even if it is too obvious.
'WE WERE talking'- who was talking?
'A WALL OF ILLUSION'- what wall? Which illusion?
'TRUTH'- ?
'when THEY PASS AWAY' – who? Where?
Now ok some would say it doesn’t really matter who was talking. I agree. But still, this question would always get in your mind, no matter how hard you'll try.
I think the "wall of illusion" is life. Simply life. If you'll think about so many reasons why life can be called 'wall of illusion', you'll realize that it fits.
"Truth"- this is something that bumps with "wall of illusion" or in other words- LIE. (Yes, there is a difference between illusion and lies, but this is my opinion).
But if you will read the lyrics again, see how they are connected:
And the people, who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse of truth
So people who hide themselves behind this mysterious wall , people who live in this illusion, would never get to see the, appears to be, hurting truth.
Maybe it is that life doesn't look as their meaning. Like seeing yellow, but actually it is pink.
We were talking, about the love we could all share, when we find it
To try our best to hold it there, with our love
With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew
So those people just LOVE to talk about the world , spiritually.
That probably means that when you find that love, maybe when you love someone so badly,
you can do everything with it, that can "save the world" from illusion.
If they only knew (the people, of course, who hide themselves behind the wall of illusion)
Try to realize it's all within yourself no-one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small,
And life flows on within and without you
Now the first sentence, I agree with 100%. No one can really change you, beside you.
Okay, of course there is a dependence of our society, but the person inside you is the person who can change your spirit.
We're very small – some people claim they are the most important living things in this whole world. They're very small, and life goes on -
WITHIN AND WITHOUT YOU-
Within: living, Without: death.
I think it means that you shoudln't be so proud about yourself because you're not as super important as you are, it's like a crticism of human's behavior.
Are you feeling so far more connected to this? :)
We were talking, about the love that's gone so cold and the people,
Who gain the world and lose their soul
Then you may find, peace of mind, is waiting there
And the time will come when you see we're all one,
WOW they keep talking.
So the love that went to cold , when I think about it I think it's like an example when a woman fakes her loving feelings among her husband only because he's being rich.
You know what I am talking about?
Love that gone so cold, almost meanless meaning.
Cold as in indifference, it's like the question WHERE IS THE LOVE,
The world we live in isn't as happy as we sometimes think it is. Sometimes, you need to open your eyes and look around.
If it's cold - make it warmer. Simple, yet hard. You can do this.
Reader-
You are strong.
You are smart.
You are beautiful.
You are amazing.
Just be yourself.
And life flows on within and without you
I think we got the point. Anyway,
I wish that people stop be so stupid. Yes, stupid.
They do ANYTHING for money, sex, drugs, alcohol, and then they have the nerve to complain. Robbing, raping, hurting, hating....
Why do we all do these?
Why can't we just enjoy by each and every of companies we can share?
In conclusion, think and wonder, are the key words. Our key words.
that the kingdom is in the sky,
The birds of the sky will be there before you.
If they see it is in the sea,
The fishes of the sea will be there before you.
The kingdom is within you and without you."
From The Gospel of Thomas, translated by Nancy Johnson
Personally, this is by far one of my favourites, George Harrison really is a genius. I think it is about life, spirituality, consciousness, the universe, everything. To me the "Wall of illusion" is referring to the illusion we live in, "Maya", the universe and life as we know it, experiencing a subjective illusion which we know as life. The people who live this life go on day in day out, motivated by basic human instincts of survival, which includes things such as greed and selfishness. "Never glimpse the truth" is them never realising the mistakes they are making, they never find out that its all meaningless, that survival is nothing you can't take your possessions with you. "Then its far too late, when they pass away", in those final moments before you pass away, your individual consciousness begins to dissolve (or so I believe) and people will finally see the truth, whatever it may be, but they'll likely realise how foolish they have been struggling to survive, to "win", when it doesn't really matter and they should have just enjoyed life while it lasted. But its far too late.
The next stanza bounces straight off the back of the last one, this time referring to the people who do begin to perceive this illusion, who do glimpse the truth, and seek to spread love and joy of life rather than wasting it away pointlessly. "the love we all could share" is in my opinion a love of life, a love of everything and everyone, a desire to seize and live every moment to its fullest and just.. live. "With out love, we could save the world, if they only knew" refers to the others, for everybody to truly live in peace, everyone has to participate. Love could save the world, if only everybody realised it.
"Try to realise its all within yourself no one else can make you change". You are in control of your own life, complete control. Nobody else can ever make you do anything, but they'll do a damn good job of convincing you otherwise. You are the master of your own universe, nobody else can change your life but you. "And to see your only very small and life goes on within you and without you". You are insignificant outside of your own life. Time has existed forever, and will forever more, along with space. You are such a small and insignificant part of everything that has ever happened and ever will happen, nothing really matters. Once you realise this you can truly start to live your life, true freedom. Everything is only as important as you perceive it to be.
The final stanza refers back to the themes covered at the beginning of the song. The people who gain the world but lose their soul, all the money in the world won't give you peace of mind, to do that you need to realise the truth, break free of the illusion, experience and live life. Come to the realisation that you are only what you think you are, you are so insignificant outside of your own life, we're all just the same bunch of energy and vibrations experiencing our own life individually, or so we think we are. I really can't possibly put this into words, that's why George Harrison wrote a song.
Life goes on within you and without you. Listen to this song, live life to its fullest, cherish every moment, enjoy yourself, realise everything is only as important as you think it is, and please for the good of humanity and your sanity, try some LSD.
God is outside of us. He came into the world in the person of Christ and laid down his life for those who are saved.
Nothing wrong with sitars and synaptic transmissions - but go easy on the LSD...
And PLEASE don't do 'puja" to those ridiculous idols with the 6 arms and the blue skin and the 3rd eyes etc. etc.
This song depicts the spiritual universe as a cosmic void - an impersonal "oneness" like the Hindu concept of Brahman, as does another favorite Beatles song Tomorrow Never Knows, butthat is not what the Bible tells us about spiritual reality or about God...
And yet there are many lines in this song that are universally true. And it is a hauntingly beautiful song.
Have you ever taken LSD? It's an extremely spiritual and moving experience, and while I agree with you that the song itself is not about LSD, it most certainly incorporates what is revealed to you after you trip. You see life completely differently after tripping... so the song isn't about the drug, but it's about the change in perspective, if that makes sense.
"LSD isn't a real answer. It doesn't give you anything. It enables you to see a lot of possibilities that you may never have noticed before, but it isn't the answer. You don't just take LSD and that's it forever, you're okay.
". . . It can help you to go from A to B, but when you get to B, you see C. And you see that to get really high, you have to go it straight. There are special ways of getting high without drugs--with yoga, meditation, and all those things. So this was the disappointing thing about LSD.
lifeofthebeatles.blogspot.com/2009/12/…
,confirmed by a continuous spontaneous frisson (aka Goose Bumps) 'were all one and life will flow within you and without you'... the Subtle self notification in the form of a frisson can easily be misconceived. So be awake and aware, observe this self presenting acquaint clue and follow it to its source... the spirit molecule.
PS - its not about drugs but intoxication with substance generally helps in allowing people to shut up for a second and actually listen to the song and grasp the concept rather then hype about trivia
'Space between us all' i think its a literal interpretation, matter (frozen energy) energy (Consciousness) the premise of the song.
'wall of illusion' our limited perception in waking like aka a facade, 'never glimpse the truth' no esoteric experience
'with our love, we could save the would, if they only new' practically the beatles slogan, 'our' is everyone. excluding nothing, even inanimate objects are unique
'try to realize its all within yourself' the consciousness is inside us, it cannot be grasped by sense perception its literally inside, self awareness
'no one else can make you change' essentially you cannot be told but you have to have the experience it for your self (entheogenic experience - god head -Transcendental Meditation)
'love gone so cold' 'gain the world and lose thier soul' capitalism a method for self destruction or static evolution as we truly grow with love not greed, which clouds the soul with material wealth
'beyond your self' forgetting your human experience and grasp the idea of the one self we our but a manifestation of our selves
'time will come when you see were all one' 'never glimpse the truth, then its far to late, when they pass away' when you die your losing your earth identity but in essence your going home to the one self
We our the children of the universe
do not ever forget that,
the answer is not hiding from you
it is you...
peace
...OHM...
"We were talking-about the space between us all"
Talking about the space between atoms, and how it relates to how a person feels they are not connected to anyone else. Yet on the atomic level matter is all interconnected, but at the same time serperate. For example if we blew up a atom to a visible scale, a nucleus of an atom would be the size of a golf ball in the center of a baseball stadium with electrons whizing around at the edges of the stadium, an atom is made of more space then matter. And like the atom we are from a certain perspective one and from another, seperated.
"And the people-who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion"
Ignoring the fact we are all one, and what seperates us is our own image of our "selfs" our ego.
"Never glimpse the truth-then it's far too late-when they pass away.
We were talking-about the love we all could share-when we find it
To try our best to hold it there-with our love
With our love-we could save the world-if they only knew."
Not really going to get into this, deals alot with love which in my opinion is highly subjective just like this interpretation of what this song says to me, but really I don't really understand what they are really trying to say here. I have an idea but like I said before it's too subjective.
"Try to realize it's all within yourself
No-one else can make you change"
Could be talking about how if everyone realized we were one body in some senses, and stop fighting over this or that and being "self" centered we could change for the better. Or that we have to realize change comes from within our selves rather then out in the world. "Be the change you seek in the world".
"And to see you're really only very small,
And life flows ON within you and without you."
We really are very small in the Universe, a tiny ant crawling on the surface of this planet. Which
is also very small in size compared to other objects in the Universe such as, the Sun, Jupiter, ect. floating in the vast cosmos. And life flows on within us, and without us. Viruses live in us and every skin cell and brain cell, so on and so forth is living within us. And life has existed since before man has been able to record history, and will exist probably after his demise. Depending on your belief ofcourse.
"We were talking-about the love that's gone so cold"
Well as far as the love maybe they were talking about the connection between humans and living animals on the planet and the planet it-self and how we have slowly made it out to be that the world is here to serve us for our own personal gains. Rather then give thanks to the earth for supplying us with life.
"And the people
Who gain the world and lose their soul-
They don't know-they can't see-are you one of them?"
The ones who follow their self centered plan to get what they want from the earth and loose them selves in the process. They turn to greed to satisfy their burning desire to feel something, maybe it is happiness, power, success or whatever and find they are much less happy because they disregarded human life or other ethical values in order to achieve that certain degree of relative success or happiness. Sometimes they may not even know they've lost their soul to greed, soul meaning morals or ethics, and since they have, they can't even tell they are so disillusioned by their own personal agenda they "can't see" if they are "one of them".
"When you've seen beyond yourself-then you may find, peace of mind,
Is waiting there-
And the time will come when you see
we're all one, and life flows on within you and without you."
When you finally see beyond your "self", your ego, your self centeredness you will see that a less stressfull place awaits. And that life flows on inside of your body and outside of your body like a river, bumping against rocks making way for the flow of life.
We were talking-about the love we all could share-when we find it
To try our best to hold it there-with our love
With our love-we could save the world-if they only knew."
I'll give you a hand with this one if you don't mind. I think it is probably what you thought it was. I think "Never glimpse the truth-then it's far too late-when they pass away" has to do with people who follow society's rules of living the "right way" in order to find peace and happiness and at the end they find all the time they spent mowing the lawn and planting flowers for the neighbors to look at, would have been better spent enjoying the company of those they love best. People work so hard to make a happy life for their families and all of that stress makes them unable to really connect with anyone on a deep emotional level.
The part about "when we find it (love) to try our best to hold it there with our love" means that love is not easy to maintain. Petty arguments and lack of communication cause hurt feelings and a seperation of people who were once so close. The only way to maintain love is with more love. To steal a line from another song "the love you take is equal to the love you make." If everyone in the world shifted their priorities to maintaining healthy loving relationships with others, nobody would steal or cheat or think of others as evil. Instead of world peace seeming insurmountable, it would be the normal, and it would be inconceivable to start a war.
*The Beatles were NOT on LSD during the recording of Sgt. Peppers.