Woven Hand – The Threshingfloor

Know something about this song or lyrics? Add it to our wiki.
Send "The Threshingfloor" Ringtone to Cell

look who's fan is in his hands
upon the ground of sifting
instruments with teeth
a place for the called for
we call it the floor
into the air
in this time of threshing

bara devlam
davlam bara
devlam bara
istenem

by the hooves of beasts
round this winnowing pile
golden sheaves
the gleaming plain for miles
lift up your iron heel
spin Ezekiel's wheel

him lord of hosts
him lord of hosts

every secret sin
on and of this earth
grows fierce from the ground
instruments with teeth
instruments with teeth
cut them down

Send "The Threshingfloor" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by Tester78


The Threshingfloor song meanings
Add your thoughts

2 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:"Bara devlam" means "mighty God" in Lovari Romani language, and "Istenem" means "God" in Hungarian (probably in Lovari too). There is song called "Phurde, bajval, phurde", (written by Nikoli Lakatos, a traditional gypsy musician in Austria who wrote it after the killing or four gypsy youngsters in 1995) that includes lines singing "Devlam, bara Devlam (...) bara raja Devlam". David is known as a traditional music lover, so he might have gotten some inspiration from this piece. This could be a guideline to get to this complex track (:
    Flag MichiVarelaon May 28, 2010   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +2
    General Comment:I did some research on the meaning of the chorus' words "bara devlam" and "istenem". Apparently, "istenem" in Hungarian means "God", but doing some more research I found out that these two verses might come from the Lovari Romani language. "Devlam" would mean "God" and "bara" would work as "mighty". "Istenem" would probably translate into "my Lord" or "God".

    I was curious, more than to find the meaning, to find where David could have taken something like that. Very similar lines appear in a Lovari Romani song written by Nikoli Lakatos after a bomb attack in Austria that killed four Roma young men. It's called "Phurde, bajval, phurde" (Blow, Wind, Blow): "Devlam, Devla, bara (...) Bara raja Devlam". "God, mighty God (...) Mighty God". I don't know how much David knows about traditional gypsy music, but maybe there could be an answer for his inspiration in this path.
    Flag MichiVarelaon May 28, 2010   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain