this song is the essence of what music is. hell, it's what truth and beauty are too.
forget what ricky fitts said in american beauty. yeah the paper bag dancing on that just-perfect day is really cool, but so is chris o'connors offering to the gods with the amazing aura of his standing outside a broken phone booth.... the music is first class but the lyrics take it to the preeminent level of recording feats.
despite o'connors apparent religious distaste, the lines "we sit outside and argue all night long/about a God we've never seen/but never fails to side with me" touches on a profound level that many never grasp. not only so-called religious fanatics, but also stubborn agnostics and atheists. it's a poignant commentary on religious disagreements as well as pride. who of us really considers in the heat of the discussion that there's a possibility that we just might be wrong? maybe God isn't always allied with our views.
the following two verses are filled with thoughtfulness. "am i alive or thoughts that drift away?" and "can money pay for all the days i lived awake but half asleep?" it always leaves me speechless...
the key theme of the song, in my humble opinion is "you ride the waves and don't ask where they go". all of us think that we call the shots in our lives, but it's astounding how much is beyond our reach. often we meet some of the most intriguing people of our lives simply by "chance". it's nothing of our own accord, it just happens while we ride the waves. and we don't ask where they go, because we don't want to see the tragedies waiting for us down the line. ultimately the last harbor we reach is death. "the seconds ticking killed us all a million years before the fall".
pretty much where do all of these thoughts leave us? standing outside a broken phone booth, money in hand, but there's way to explain it all and it doesn't matter, because the phone's out of order anyway.
chris o'connor created a classic with this one and that's final.
You make an excellent point about the God discussion also applying to atheists and agnostics. To take your other points further, I think that this song might be more concerned with individuals taking the time to think as opposed to a discussion about "fate."
You make an excellent point about the God discussion also applying to atheists and agnostics. To take your other points further, I think that this song might be more concerned with individuals taking the time to think as opposed to a discussion about "fate."
"We ride the waves and don't ask where we go" could mean that people just act without much thought as to the consequences of their actions. This song hints on some existential philosophy when it questions as to if humans are just their thoughts. "Does Summer come for everyone" also hints towards existentialism with a question of human perception. When he questions human experiences and human perceptions, he also wonders if our inability to think (or speak) will be forgivable with physical goods (money).
The author gives us a mixed approval of individual perception. On one hand, he questions if currency could replace thought. We're only "half asleep" (or half-awake) if we don't think. He also hints that we are prone to mindless violence (lion-like behavior and swimming through zebra flesh).
On the other hand, if we are thinking, then we do run a risk of isolating ourselves with our own flawed perceptions. He cites those with the argument of god.
Though I agree with much of your analysis, it is a bit offputting that someone who DOES seem to know what he is talking about lumps athiests and agnostics into the same category. The conclusion you drew about the religion-related lines in this song is actually that of an agnostic, if you examine the definition: "ag·nos·tic (g-nstk) One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God."
Though I agree with much of your analysis, it is a bit offputting that someone who DOES seem to know what he is talking about lumps athiests and agnostics into the same category. The conclusion you drew about the religion-related lines in this song is actually that of an agnostic, if you examine the definition: "ag·nos·tic (g-nstk) One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God."
Though the definition does not truly do agnosticism justice, because it is a FACT, not an opinion, that proof for or against Creationship cannot be given because there is no empirical evidence for either side. Agnostics would, therefore, be agreeing with you on the idea that perhaps everyone in the circle of tense, defensive belief argumentation is incorrect.
this song is the essence of what music is. hell, it's what truth and beauty are too.
forget what ricky fitts said in american beauty. yeah the paper bag dancing on that just-perfect day is really cool, but so is chris o'connors offering to the gods with the amazing aura of his standing outside a broken phone booth.... the music is first class but the lyrics take it to the preeminent level of recording feats.
despite o'connors apparent religious distaste, the lines "we sit outside and argue all night long/about a God we've never seen/but never fails to side with me" touches on a profound level that many never grasp. not only so-called religious fanatics, but also stubborn agnostics and atheists. it's a poignant commentary on religious disagreements as well as pride. who of us really considers in the heat of the discussion that there's a possibility that we just might be wrong? maybe God isn't always allied with our views.
the following two verses are filled with thoughtfulness. "am i alive or thoughts that drift away?" and "can money pay for all the days i lived awake but half asleep?" it always leaves me speechless...
the key theme of the song, in my humble opinion is "you ride the waves and don't ask where they go". all of us think that we call the shots in our lives, but it's astounding how much is beyond our reach. often we meet some of the most intriguing people of our lives simply by "chance". it's nothing of our own accord, it just happens while we ride the waves. and we don't ask where they go, because we don't want to see the tragedies waiting for us down the line. ultimately the last harbor we reach is death. "the seconds ticking killed us all a million years before the fall".
pretty much where do all of these thoughts leave us? standing outside a broken phone booth, money in hand, but there's way to explain it all and it doesn't matter, because the phone's out of order anyway.
chris o'connor created a classic with this one and that's final.
You make an excellent point about the God discussion also applying to atheists and agnostics. To take your other points further, I think that this song might be more concerned with individuals taking the time to think as opposed to a discussion about "fate."
You make an excellent point about the God discussion also applying to atheists and agnostics. To take your other points further, I think that this song might be more concerned with individuals taking the time to think as opposed to a discussion about "fate."
"We ride the waves and don't ask where we go" could mean that people just act without much thought as to the consequences of their actions. This song hints on some existential philosophy when it questions as to if humans are just their thoughts. "Does Summer come for everyone" also hints towards existentialism with a question of human perception. When he questions human experiences and human perceptions, he also wonders if our inability to think (or speak) will be forgivable with physical goods (money).
The author gives us a mixed approval of individual perception. On one hand, he questions if currency could replace thought. We're only "half asleep" (or half-awake) if we don't think. He also hints that we are prone to mindless violence (lion-like behavior and swimming through zebra flesh).
On the other hand, if we are thinking, then we do run a risk of isolating ourselves with our own flawed perceptions. He cites those with the argument of god.
Well, that's my stab at it...
Though I agree with much of your analysis, it is a bit offputting that someone who DOES seem to know what he is talking about lumps athiests and agnostics into the same category. The conclusion you drew about the religion-related lines in this song is actually that of an agnostic, if you examine the definition: "ag·nos·tic (g-nstk) One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God."
Though I agree with much of your analysis, it is a bit offputting that someone who DOES seem to know what he is talking about lumps athiests and agnostics into the same category. The conclusion you drew about the religion-related lines in this song is actually that of an agnostic, if you examine the definition: "ag·nos·tic (g-nstk) One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God."
Though the definition does not truly do agnosticism justice, because it is a FACT, not an opinion, that proof for or against Creationship cannot be given because there is no empirical evidence for either side. Agnostics would, therefore, be agreeing with you on the idea that perhaps everyone in the circle of tense, defensive belief argumentation is incorrect.
Aside from that, relatively solid analysis.