Obviously, the theme of the song is religion. The lyrics are a little disconnected (intentionally) so you have to look at the verse's seperately:
/and to love: a god
/and to fear: a flame
/and to burn a crowd that has a name
/and to right or wrong
/and to meek or strong
Here he's just going over some common religious themes and imagery, basically just introducing the theme of the song.
The first two lines mean that religion attaches imagery to emotions, i.e., love is symbolized by god, fear is symbolized by hell. The third line refers to preachers who incite or energize their church members. The "name" of the crowd is whatever religion he happens to be preaching. The last two lines don't mean anything, they're just some common religious themes.
/it is known, just scream it from the wall
Here he's saying all the specifics of all these various religious themes aren't important, but the religious feeling in general, "it", is what's important. "scream it from the wall" (a reference to the wailing wall, sacred place where jews go to pray).
/I've willed, I've walked, I've read
/I've talked, I know, I know,
/I've been here before
Here he's expressing some frustration with the religious experience, that he's been through all these themes he mentioned earlier time and again and isn't finding the answers he wants (you can't tell the frustration from the words alone, you have to hear the emotion in his voice).
/hey, now we won't be raped
/hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Now his frustration has grown to full-blown anger. His fruitless search for god has hurt him, it has "raped" and "scarred" him and now he (and, presumably others) won't take it anymore.
/it's the sun that burns
/it's the wheel that turns
/it's the way we sing that makes 'em dream
Here, the anger and frustration have passed, and a new insight is born: Life goes on...everything is basically OK...and finally, more personally, it's his songs that make them (his fans) dream. (a line that represents a return to "reality" or "his reality" in his thoughts.
/and to christ: a cross
/and to me: a chair
/I will sit and earn the ransom
/from up here
At last, he's figured it all out, and this is his answer: Christ had to pay a ransom for his life (a new-age, alternative understanding of the Christian story), and he did so by dying on the cross.
However, that was Christ's life. The singer's life is different, and he must earn his ransom in his own way. In this case, he'll earn it with a chair (That is, sitting at a chair, singing to the crowd).
The moral of the song is that a person doesn't have to live in a particular way, or follow a particular religion, to find redemption. Rather, you earn redemption simply by accepting and living the life that was given to you.
Alright, people...here it is....
Obviously, the theme of the song is religion. The lyrics are a little disconnected (intentionally) so you have to look at the verse's seperately:
/and to love: a god /and to fear: a flame /and to burn a crowd that has a name /and to right or wrong /and to meek or strong
Here he's just going over some common religious themes and imagery, basically just introducing the theme of the song.
The first two lines mean that religion attaches imagery to emotions, i.e., love is symbolized by god, fear is symbolized by hell. The third line refers to preachers who incite or energize their church members. The "name" of the crowd is whatever religion he happens to be preaching. The last two lines don't mean anything, they're just some common religious themes.
/it is known, just scream it from the wall
Here he's saying all the specifics of all these various religious themes aren't important, but the religious feeling in general, "it", is what's important. "scream it from the wall" (a reference to the wailing wall, sacred place where jews go to pray).
/I've willed, I've walked, I've read /I've talked, I know, I know, /I've been here before
Here he's expressing some frustration with the religious experience, that he's been through all these themes he mentioned earlier time and again and isn't finding the answers he wants (you can't tell the frustration from the words alone, you have to hear the emotion in his voice).
/hey, now we won't be raped /hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Now his frustration has grown to full-blown anger. His fruitless search for god has hurt him, it has "raped" and "scarred" him and now he (and, presumably others) won't take it anymore.
/it's the sun that burns /it's the wheel that turns /it's the way we sing that makes 'em dream
Here, the anger and frustration have passed, and a new insight is born: Life goes on...everything is basically OK...and finally, more personally, it's his songs that make them (his fans) dream. (a line that represents a return to "reality" or "his reality" in his thoughts.
/and to christ: a cross /and to me: a chair /I will sit and earn the ransom /from up here
At last, he's figured it all out, and this is his answer: Christ had to pay a ransom for his life (a new-age, alternative understanding of the Christian story), and he did so by dying on the cross.
However, that was Christ's life. The singer's life is different, and he must earn his ransom in his own way. In this case, he'll earn it with a chair (That is, sitting at a chair, singing to the crowd).
The moral of the song is that a person doesn't have to live in a particular way, or follow a particular religion, to find redemption. Rather, you earn redemption simply by accepting and living the life that was given to you.