wow, this song was written in 1998 so i was way off with my previous post about the millenium meaning 2000.
however...i redeemed myself by doing the necessary research. the meaning of the song is as follows (as i see it):
Remember how it all began
The apple and the fall of man
(adam and eve eating the forbidden fruit)
The price we paid
(getting kicked out of the garden/no longer being perfect)
So the people say
(author doesn't buy the story)
Down a path of shame it lead us
Dared to bite the hand that fed us
(God gaev us all but man dared to disobey him; also refers to eating forbidden fruit)
The fairy tale
The moral end
(again suggests this story was untrue (a fairy tale))
The wheel of fortune
Never turns again
(Bible says we'll never have a that chance again)
The worst of it has come and gone
In the chaos of millennium
In the falling out of the doomsday crowd
Their last retreat is moving slow
They burn their bridges as they go
The heretic is beatified
(heretic=anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle
He'll teach the harlot's child to smile
Wracked again by indecision
Should we make that small incision
Testify to the bleeding heart inside?
(bleeding heart = A term, usually critical and politically loaded, for someone who is held to be overly sympathetic to another person's (or group of people's) plight. Someone who is emotionally concerned about a person, idea, or event but still refuses to act. i think maybe she's saying we ready to show everyone we are this "bleeding heart" type
We cut, we scratched
We rent, we slashed
(rent is the verb form of 'rend' =to separate into parts with force or violence)
And when he opened up at last
Found a cul-de-sac
(i think we know "cul-de-sac as a dead-end road, but it also means the bottom of a bag or an opening or hole. when i looked it up though i found it interesting that another defenition is: any situation in which further progress is impossible. In anatomy it can mean a a saclike cavity, open only at one end.
Deep and black
Of smoke and ash
(i'm not sure of the smoke and ash part, but it's obviously saying we found in our hearts something other than we expected; a big hole)
The wicked king of parody
(God)
Is kissing all his enemies
On the seventh day
Of the seventh week
(refers to Christian Premillennialism and the beliefe that: in the apocalypse, weeks 1-7 retell the biblical history from the creation of humanity to the author’s time of writing (possibly during the Maccabean crisis). However, after the seventh "week", the temporary earthly messianic age begins and occurs for a period of three more “weeks”. After the temporary messianic kingdom, the creation of the new heavens and the new earth occurs.)
The tyrant's voice is softer now
But just for one forgiving hour
Before the rise of his
Iron fist again
(The apocryphal book was apparently an attempt to explain the difficulties associated with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple to the Jewish people.During one of the visions in the book, Ezra received a revelation from the angel Uriel. The angel explained that prior to the last judgment, the Messiah will come and establish a temporary kingdom lasting 400 years after which all of creation will be obliterated including the Messiah. The Author in this song is perhaps refering to this 400 year period as the "forgiving hour" afterwhich he will rise his "iron fist" and begin destroying all.)
I've come tonight
I've come to know
The way we are
The way we'll go
Come to measure this
The width of the wide abyss
(i think she's saying we should take things with a grain of salt as they say and not jump onto every bandwagon that comes along)
I come to you in restless sleep
Where all your dreams turn bitter-sweet
With voodoo doll philosophies
And day-glo holy trinities
(I believe she is saying we're filled with beliefs which aren't backed by reality)
The crooked raft that leaves the shore
Ferries drunken souls aboard
(?? crooked raft would suggest a dangerous trip ahead or ill-planned perhaps for "drunken souls" which may mean the souls (us) are not in our right minds or mislead)
Pilgrims march to Compestella
(Compestella = ancient Campus Stellae, Eng Compostella 42°52N 8°37W, pop (2000e) 106 000. City in La Coruña province, Galicia, NW Spain, on R Sar; former capital of the Kingdom of Galicia; world-famous place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages (shrine of St James))
Visions of their saint in yellow
(St. James shrine located there)
All follow deep in trance
Lost in a catatonic dance
(deliberate movements but without thought; robotic)
Know no future
Damn the past
Blind, warm, ecstatic
Safe at last...
Thanks for putting the time and religious knowledge into this song. I appreciate the depth.
Thanks for putting the time and religious knowledge into this song. I appreciate the depth.
One thing that strikes me about Natalie Merchant (aside from her haunting and beautiful voice combined with intelligent lyrics) is her mastery of tempo and flow in a song.
One thing that strikes me about Natalie Merchant (aside from her haunting and beautiful voice combined with intelligent lyrics) is her mastery of tempo and flow in a song.
wow, this song was written in 1998 so i was way off with my previous post about the millenium meaning 2000. however...i redeemed myself by doing the necessary research. the meaning of the song is as follows (as i see it):
Remember how it all began The apple and the fall of man (adam and eve eating the forbidden fruit)
The price we paid (getting kicked out of the garden/no longer being perfect)
So the people say (author doesn't buy the story)
Down a path of shame it lead us Dared to bite the hand that fed us (God gaev us all but man dared to disobey him; also refers to eating forbidden fruit)
The fairy tale The moral end (again suggests this story was untrue (a fairy tale))
The wheel of fortune Never turns again (Bible says we'll never have a that chance again)
The worst of it has come and gone In the chaos of millennium In the falling out of the doomsday crowd Their last retreat is moving slow They burn their bridges as they go The heretic is beatified (heretic=anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle
He'll teach the harlot's child to smile
Wracked again by indecision Should we make that small incision Testify to the bleeding heart inside? (bleeding heart = A term, usually critical and politically loaded, for someone who is held to be overly sympathetic to another person's (or group of people's) plight. Someone who is emotionally concerned about a person, idea, or event but still refuses to act. i think maybe she's saying we ready to show everyone we are this "bleeding heart" type
We cut, we scratched We rent, we slashed (rent is the verb form of 'rend' =to separate into parts with force or violence)
And when he opened up at last Found a cul-de-sac (i think we know "cul-de-sac as a dead-end road, but it also means the bottom of a bag or an opening or hole. when i looked it up though i found it interesting that another defenition is: any situation in which further progress is impossible. In anatomy it can mean a a saclike cavity, open only at one end.
Deep and black Of smoke and ash
(i'm not sure of the smoke and ash part, but it's obviously saying we found in our hearts something other than we expected; a big hole)
The wicked king of parody (God)
Is kissing all his enemies On the seventh day Of the seventh week (refers to Christian Premillennialism and the beliefe that: in the apocalypse, weeks 1-7 retell the biblical history from the creation of humanity to the author’s time of writing (possibly during the Maccabean crisis). However, after the seventh "week", the temporary earthly messianic age begins and occurs for a period of three more “weeks”. After the temporary messianic kingdom, the creation of the new heavens and the new earth occurs.)
The tyrant's voice is softer now But just for one forgiving hour Before the rise of his Iron fist again (The apocryphal book was apparently an attempt to explain the difficulties associated with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple to the Jewish people.During one of the visions in the book, Ezra received a revelation from the angel Uriel. The angel explained that prior to the last judgment, the Messiah will come and establish a temporary kingdom lasting 400 years after which all of creation will be obliterated including the Messiah. The Author in this song is perhaps refering to this 400 year period as the "forgiving hour" afterwhich he will rise his "iron fist" and begin destroying all.)
I've come tonight I've come to know The way we are The way we'll go Come to measure this The width of the wide abyss (i think she's saying we should take things with a grain of salt as they say and not jump onto every bandwagon that comes along)
I come to you in restless sleep Where all your dreams turn bitter-sweet With voodoo doll philosophies And day-glo holy trinities (I believe she is saying we're filled with beliefs which aren't backed by reality)
The crooked raft that leaves the shore Ferries drunken souls aboard (?? crooked raft would suggest a dangerous trip ahead or ill-planned perhaps for "drunken souls" which may mean the souls (us) are not in our right minds or mislead)
Pilgrims march to Compestella (Compestella = ancient Campus Stellae, Eng Compostella 42°52N 8°37W, pop (2000e) 106 000. City in La Coruña province, Galicia, NW Spain, on R Sar; former capital of the Kingdom of Galicia; world-famous place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages (shrine of St James))
Visions of their saint in yellow (St. James shrine located there)
All follow deep in trance Lost in a catatonic dance (deliberate movements but without thought; robotic)
Know no future Damn the past Blind, warm, ecstatic Safe at last...
('Ignorance is bliss', to put it quite plainly)
Thanks for putting the time and religious knowledge into this song. I appreciate the depth.
Thanks for putting the time and religious knowledge into this song. I appreciate the depth.
One thing that strikes me about Natalie Merchant (aside from her haunting and beautiful voice combined with intelligent lyrics) is her mastery of tempo and flow in a song.
One thing that strikes me about Natalie Merchant (aside from her haunting and beautiful voice combined with intelligent lyrics) is her mastery of tempo and flow in a song.