There's certainly room for a Christ analogy here in that you hear the lament of a heart struggling against all odds to claim their identity, their mission, their purpose. But then the song (like most biblical stories) can be a useful analogy for anyone with a mission whether it be a messiah headed for martyrdom or a nervous man at a crossroads (marriage, career, lost love, lost family, etc) who is starting to ignore all the voices and push forward confidently.
Midlake creates such an incredible amount of emotion in that otherwise calm verse where the author declares he's found an answer in spite of the many votes of no-confidence from his peers and states his name. They retain the somber mood of the song but still communicate this overwhelming, triumphant feeling (at least this is how I feel when I hear it). I'm too used to my other favourite bands who would celebrate such a lyrical victory with either power chords or obscene amounts of distortion. I'd like to hear Yo La Tengo or Sonic Youth cover this song just to see what they'd do for Van Occupanther's self proclamation.
Anyway, I can't help but be uplifted by hearing such a simple (to the point of being abstract) statement of identity and purpose. It's hard to nail that in a pop lyric. Truly inspiring to the right set of ears.
There's certainly room for a Christ analogy here in that you hear the lament of a heart struggling against all odds to claim their identity, their mission, their purpose. But then the song (like most biblical stories) can be a useful analogy for anyone with a mission whether it be a messiah headed for martyrdom or a nervous man at a crossroads (marriage, career, lost love, lost family, etc) who is starting to ignore all the voices and push forward confidently.
Midlake creates such an incredible amount of emotion in that otherwise calm verse where the author declares he's found an answer in spite of the many votes of no-confidence from his peers and states his name. They retain the somber mood of the song but still communicate this overwhelming, triumphant feeling (at least this is how I feel when I hear it). I'm too used to my other favourite bands who would celebrate such a lyrical victory with either power chords or obscene amounts of distortion. I'd like to hear Yo La Tengo or Sonic Youth cover this song just to see what they'd do for Van Occupanther's self proclamation.
Anyway, I can't help but be uplifted by hearing such a simple (to the point of being abstract) statement of identity and purpose. It's hard to nail that in a pop lyric. Truly inspiring to the right set of ears.
In other words... great song.