While this is obviously a gospel song done in a traditional style, I think a lot of you folks are reading a bit too far into it, not that Waits doesn't fill his songs with symbolism layers of meaning. But I think it has less to do with Waits' religion and more to do with the fact that Waits likes to touch on just about every genre.
The song seems to be about being down on your luck, feeling mentally and emotionally depleted, possibly even at rock bottom, and finding help, hope, and salvation at a church or at least something like it. And the "The world is not my home I'm just passing through" is a way of expressing the transitory nature of life.
The reason I'm ready to dismiss the bible thumping that you folks seem to be accusing Waits of is so many of his other songs. Songs like "Chocolate Jesus" which is pretty tongue in cheek about Christianity, and "God's Away On Business", or "Heartattack and Vine" in which he says "Don't you know there ain't not devil, there's just god when he's drunk". This and the number of times he portrays himself as the devil, like the music video for "I Don't Wanna Grow Up", and the movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
He's quoted as saying "With the God stuff I don't know. Everybody ponders it. I don't know what's out there any more than anyone else, cause no one's really come back to tell me. I don't know if I'm on a conveyer belt or if I'm on the tongue of a very angry animal about to be snapped back into his mouth. I think everyone believes in something; even people who don't believe in anything believe that." Which sounds like he's relatively ambivalent on the subject
I think "The House" could be a number of things. The most direct line of symbolism is the church, but that's just the top layer. This can stand for anything that serves this same function, somewhere you can go for help and forgiveness from a power out of your hands. This could be a church, a temple, a mosque, the home of your family, rehab, a community outreach center. Somewhere you can go when your world is falling apart, when your outcry cannot be heard, and you have nowhere else to turn, you have to go to that place where they cannot turn you away.
Tom Waits is many things, but I hate to see him painted as a bible thumping "devout christian" because that is one thing he is definitely not.
I agree with everything that was said here. It does seem to me to be very spiritual song, that does not necessarily mean it's a Christian song. If people are going along religious lines does anybody else think that it could relates more to Buddhism than Christianity. Anyway I suppose the beauty of the song is that its ambiguity means that people can relate it to their own experiences, I relate it to a friend of mine who committed suicide, which probably would not sit too well with the Christians.
I agree with everything that was said here. It does seem to me to be very spiritual song, that does not necessarily mean it's a Christian song. If people are going along religious lines does anybody else think that it could relates more to Buddhism than Christianity. Anyway I suppose the beauty of the song is that its ambiguity means that people can relate it to their own experiences, I relate it to a friend of mine who committed suicide, which probably would not sit too well with the Christians.
@Slightly_Shinobi Waits doesn't have to be a Christian to write a Christian song. I don't see where anyone with a Christian interpretation of the song has tried to claim Waits is a Christian himself. But I do see you trying to say that since he's not a professed Chrostian his songs can't be Christian. And in that case, is say you're the one foisting a flawed logic.
Waits has clearly done some study of Christian religion and has apparently found some things about beautiful. Just because he hasnt made a public confession of faith doesn't mean...
@Slightly_Shinobi Waits doesn't have to be a Christian to write a Christian song. I don't see where anyone with a Christian interpretation of the song has tried to claim Waits is a Christian himself. But I do see you trying to say that since he's not a professed Chrostian his songs can't be Christian. And in that case, is say you're the one foisting a flawed logic.
Waits has clearly done some study of Christian religion and has apparently found some things about beautiful. Just because he hasnt made a public confession of faith doesn't mean such a talented artist couldn't draw from such a wealth of material and be inspired to write.
This song is not vague. It is downright Orgodoxy.
While this is obviously a gospel song done in a traditional style, I think a lot of you folks are reading a bit too far into it, not that Waits doesn't fill his songs with symbolism layers of meaning. But I think it has less to do with Waits' religion and more to do with the fact that Waits likes to touch on just about every genre.
The song seems to be about being down on your luck, feeling mentally and emotionally depleted, possibly even at rock bottom, and finding help, hope, and salvation at a church or at least something like it. And the "The world is not my home I'm just passing through" is a way of expressing the transitory nature of life.
The reason I'm ready to dismiss the bible thumping that you folks seem to be accusing Waits of is so many of his other songs. Songs like "Chocolate Jesus" which is pretty tongue in cheek about Christianity, and "God's Away On Business", or "Heartattack and Vine" in which he says "Don't you know there ain't not devil, there's just god when he's drunk". This and the number of times he portrays himself as the devil, like the music video for "I Don't Wanna Grow Up", and the movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
He's quoted as saying "With the God stuff I don't know. Everybody ponders it. I don't know what's out there any more than anyone else, cause no one's really come back to tell me. I don't know if I'm on a conveyer belt or if I'm on the tongue of a very angry animal about to be snapped back into his mouth. I think everyone believes in something; even people who don't believe in anything believe that." Which sounds like he's relatively ambivalent on the subject
I think "The House" could be a number of things. The most direct line of symbolism is the church, but that's just the top layer. This can stand for anything that serves this same function, somewhere you can go for help and forgiveness from a power out of your hands. This could be a church, a temple, a mosque, the home of your family, rehab, a community outreach center. Somewhere you can go when your world is falling apart, when your outcry cannot be heard, and you have nowhere else to turn, you have to go to that place where they cannot turn you away.
Tom Waits is many things, but I hate to see him painted as a bible thumping "devout christian" because that is one thing he is definitely not.
I agree with everything that was said here. It does seem to me to be very spiritual song, that does not necessarily mean it's a Christian song. If people are going along religious lines does anybody else think that it could relates more to Buddhism than Christianity. Anyway I suppose the beauty of the song is that its ambiguity means that people can relate it to their own experiences, I relate it to a friend of mine who committed suicide, which probably would not sit too well with the Christians.
I agree with everything that was said here. It does seem to me to be very spiritual song, that does not necessarily mean it's a Christian song. If people are going along religious lines does anybody else think that it could relates more to Buddhism than Christianity. Anyway I suppose the beauty of the song is that its ambiguity means that people can relate it to their own experiences, I relate it to a friend of mine who committed suicide, which probably would not sit too well with the Christians.
@Slightly_Shinobi Waits doesn't have to be a Christian to write a Christian song. I don't see where anyone with a Christian interpretation of the song has tried to claim Waits is a Christian himself. But I do see you trying to say that since he's not a professed Chrostian his songs can't be Christian. And in that case, is say you're the one foisting a flawed logic. Waits has clearly done some study of Christian religion and has apparently found some things about beautiful. Just because he hasnt made a public confession of faith doesn't mean...
@Slightly_Shinobi Waits doesn't have to be a Christian to write a Christian song. I don't see where anyone with a Christian interpretation of the song has tried to claim Waits is a Christian himself. But I do see you trying to say that since he's not a professed Chrostian his songs can't be Christian. And in that case, is say you're the one foisting a flawed logic.
Waits has clearly done some study of Christian religion and has apparently found some things about beautiful. Just because he hasnt made a public confession of faith doesn't mean such a talented artist couldn't draw from such a wealth of material and be inspired to write.
This song is not vague. It is downright Orgodoxy.