Great album. I love having to go to the bible and read about the situation and then think about how it applies to the song and my own life.
I would echo everyone's opinion about the themes we're seeing:
1) Kidnapping/torture (our evil on this earth). clouds exploding=violence, mop this floor=blood, hands tied behind the back, etc...
2) Drugs. The whole second verse is drug related. Blast off when I get a chance=taking uppers, clear as an insects wings=he's high, trying to sing to the radio but having trouble.
And I will add one more theme not really covered yet - FLEEING/RUNNING.
I feel this is a HUGE part of the song. Fleeing from gods wrath and judgement. Fleeing from our own horrible actions and insecurities. Fleeing from Gods grace. Trying to physically and mentally leave it behind. Notice the references to driving all night. Running from Gods wrath and ignoring the grace that could have been. Like Ezekiel says it's too late. God has set ruin upon the world. He is running from God, from the ruin, the mistakes.
I find the title of the song very intreguing, "Permanent Efficacy Of Grace." In the following I am assuming grace is always efficacious. It is always strong. It is mans concept for the word of God that makes it less meaningful. By itself it will have meaning, with or without, our acknowledgement. Is John saying that Grace is there for the character and he struggles with this but still flees from it? Or is this a snide remark about the Permanent Efficacy Of Grace being a bunch crap? I guess I read the former as being true due to this character running so hard from it.
Really interesting interpretation, and I think I agree with the vast proportion of what you say. I read it that the character's use of drugs IS his attempt to reconnect with God! In the bliss he finds in the grip of meth or heroin or whatever, he is pure and without sin. He is communing with his better nature, and seeing tantilising glipses of a life lived well. His car is a cathederal, his use of drugs takes him high as the clouds and while he has tied the hands of God as he has tied the hands of his...
Really interesting interpretation, and I think I agree with the vast proportion of what you say. I read it that the character's use of drugs IS his attempt to reconnect with God! In the bliss he finds in the grip of meth or heroin or whatever, he is pure and without sin. He is communing with his better nature, and seeing tantilising glipses of a life lived well. His car is a cathederal, his use of drugs takes him high as the clouds and while he has tied the hands of God as he has tied the hands of his victim, God is always there watching, caring, his companion.
I believe John is saying that we can all find 'God' in our own way, be it music or poetry or drugs, and that even as we run from the real, genuine love into anger and hatred and selfishness, nevertheless we will be drawn time and time to love, and will seek to find it in any way left open to us.
I feel very sad for the protagonist, and his folly, but I also find this song incredibly uplifting. To the point where I could almost cried tears of joy first hearing it. The Permanent Efficacy of Grace: that even in this darkest of men, at the darkest of times there beats the faintest heartbeat of compassion, like his victim, not quite dead! :)
Great album. I love having to go to the bible and read about the situation and then think about how it applies to the song and my own life.
I would echo everyone's opinion about the themes we're seeing: 1) Kidnapping/torture (our evil on this earth). clouds exploding=violence, mop this floor=blood, hands tied behind the back, etc... 2) Drugs. The whole second verse is drug related. Blast off when I get a chance=taking uppers, clear as an insects wings=he's high, trying to sing to the radio but having trouble.
And I will add one more theme not really covered yet - FLEEING/RUNNING. I feel this is a HUGE part of the song. Fleeing from gods wrath and judgement. Fleeing from our own horrible actions and insecurities. Fleeing from Gods grace. Trying to physically and mentally leave it behind. Notice the references to driving all night. Running from Gods wrath and ignoring the grace that could have been. Like Ezekiel says it's too late. God has set ruin upon the world. He is running from God, from the ruin, the mistakes.
I find the title of the song very intreguing, "Permanent Efficacy Of Grace." In the following I am assuming grace is always efficacious. It is always strong. It is mans concept for the word of God that makes it less meaningful. By itself it will have meaning, with or without, our acknowledgement. Is John saying that Grace is there for the character and he struggles with this but still flees from it? Or is this a snide remark about the Permanent Efficacy Of Grace being a bunch crap? I guess I read the former as being true due to this character running so hard from it.
Thoughts?
Really interesting interpretation, and I think I agree with the vast proportion of what you say. I read it that the character's use of drugs IS his attempt to reconnect with God! In the bliss he finds in the grip of meth or heroin or whatever, he is pure and without sin. He is communing with his better nature, and seeing tantilising glipses of a life lived well. His car is a cathederal, his use of drugs takes him high as the clouds and while he has tied the hands of God as he has tied the hands of his...
Really interesting interpretation, and I think I agree with the vast proportion of what you say. I read it that the character's use of drugs IS his attempt to reconnect with God! In the bliss he finds in the grip of meth or heroin or whatever, he is pure and without sin. He is communing with his better nature, and seeing tantilising glipses of a life lived well. His car is a cathederal, his use of drugs takes him high as the clouds and while he has tied the hands of God as he has tied the hands of his victim, God is always there watching, caring, his companion.
I believe John is saying that we can all find 'God' in our own way, be it music or poetry or drugs, and that even as we run from the real, genuine love into anger and hatred and selfishness, nevertheless we will be drawn time and time to love, and will seek to find it in any way left open to us.
I feel very sad for the protagonist, and his folly, but I also find this song incredibly uplifting. To the point where I could almost cried tears of joy first hearing it. The Permanent Efficacy of Grace: that even in this darkest of men, at the darkest of times there beats the faintest heartbeat of compassion, like his victim, not quite dead! :)