The first 50-or-so lines are pretty self-explanatory, and really serve as background leading up to the point of the song... the golden nugget: "No one's laughing at God/ We're all laughing with God"
When we make a punchline of someone, and realize that person is standing right behind us, we say, "we werent laughing at you!.... we were laughing with you!" It seems to me that the last lines mean to say that while in good times (cocktail parties), when we feel no need for a protector and guiding light, we may mistreat and devalue God by making a punchline of him, but during times of anguish and hardship (war), when we have no place to which to go and no one to whom to turn, we feel God's presence and our need for his help. Remembering or past indiscretions, we seek to cover our tracks and, in a way, ask for forgiveness and reconciliation, in order to beg for his guidance and intercession.
A song about tragedy, human vulnerability and mortality, but also, I believe, about the omnipresence of a loving benefactor, or at least, for those who don't believe, a security blanket (something which, in one form or another, we all need at some point in our lives). In beautiful contrast to the minor chord and accompanying despair throughout the bulk of the song, the final, major chord leaves me with a feeling of of hope and comfort, as if to say, "it'll all be OK."
In any event: quite a masterpiece Regina, to expand so simple an idea into a heartfelt, reflective piece such as this.
The first 50-or-so lines are pretty self-explanatory, and really serve as background leading up to the point of the song... the golden nugget: "No one's laughing at God/ We're all laughing with God"
When we make a punchline of someone, and realize that person is standing right behind us, we say, "we werent laughing at you!.... we were laughing with you!" It seems to me that the last lines mean to say that while in good times (cocktail parties), when we feel no need for a protector and guiding light, we may mistreat and devalue God by making a punchline of him, but during times of anguish and hardship (war), when we have no place to which to go and no one to whom to turn, we feel God's presence and our need for his help. Remembering or past indiscretions, we seek to cover our tracks and, in a way, ask for forgiveness and reconciliation, in order to beg for his guidance and intercession.
A song about tragedy, human vulnerability and mortality, but also, I believe, about the omnipresence of a loving benefactor, or at least, for those who don't believe, a security blanket (something which, in one form or another, we all need at some point in our lives). In beautiful contrast to the minor chord and accompanying despair throughout the bulk of the song, the final, major chord leaves me with a feeling of of hope and comfort, as if to say, "it'll all be OK."
In any event: quite a masterpiece Regina, to expand so simple an idea into a heartfelt, reflective piece such as this.