The lyric is small as a wish in a well, as sweetaddy said, which fits much better... As far as the title goes, Sodom was a biblical city that God chose to destroy because of its immorality, and he told Abraham of his plan. Abraham, whose nephew lived in Sodom, pleaded with God to spare the city, and God agreed to spare it if 50 righteous people could be found in the city. Only one righteous person could be found, and this was the nephew of Abraham.
In the song, this could suggest that 'papa' is the only righteous person within the city. This explains why the rest of the city is described as a tree full of bees, buried in chirstmas bows and a blanket of weeds (a lack of respect/understanding of the holiday), and why they slept through christmas.
Papa is described as 'gone all star white'- white robes clothed angels, and represent purity.
I think that this describes Sam's ultimate understanding of the faith of his parents. When he says "Papa died Sunday and I understood
All dead white boys say, "God is good"
White tongues hang out, "God is good" I think he is realizing that there is a difference between seeming to be righteous, and actually living a righteous life- even though everyone in the city goes through the motions, only 'papa' understood what this faith really meant.
This is unquestionably an intricately beautiful song.
The lyric is small as a wish in a well, as sweetaddy said, which fits much better... As far as the title goes, Sodom was a biblical city that God chose to destroy because of its immorality, and he told Abraham of his plan. Abraham, whose nephew lived in Sodom, pleaded with God to spare the city, and God agreed to spare it if 50 righteous people could be found in the city. Only one righteous person could be found, and this was the nephew of Abraham.
In the song, this could suggest that 'papa' is the only righteous person within the city. This explains why the rest of the city is described as a tree full of bees, buried in chirstmas bows and a blanket of weeds (a lack of respect/understanding of the holiday), and why they slept through christmas. Papa is described as 'gone all star white'- white robes clothed angels, and represent purity.
I think that this describes Sam's ultimate understanding of the faith of his parents. When he says "Papa died Sunday and I understood All dead white boys say, "God is good" White tongues hang out, "God is good" I think he is realizing that there is a difference between seeming to be righteous, and actually living a righteous life- even though everyone in the city goes through the motions, only 'papa' understood what this faith really meant.
This is unquestionably an intricately beautiful song.