Building a Mystery
I was recently listening to this song by Sarah McLachlan on the radio. Charles Coutu always comes to mind immediately whenever I hear this song, if only because he praised the song extensively back in the day. (Congratulations to Chuck for his recent marriage on December 28th, 2005!)
I won't provide a link to the full lyrics for this song since the original CD version has one swear word that the radio version does not have. However, there is this article that provides a fairly deep analysis of both the lyrics and the chord progressions in the song.
The man in this song has built a mystery, a facade of religion from different sources to hide his true inner self. His faith is a mystery, his real character is a mystery and it's a mystery that she loves this man.
The song variously references Christian, celtic, goth, rasta, and Eastern religion and philosophy. I have seen religion used in this way. In our search for meaning and for acceptance, we'll combine a little Christianity with a little pragmatism. In the hope of peace and love, we'll take some New Age mysticism with some Eastern philosophy. In the desire for knowledge and wisdom, we'll mix a little science with some subjective experience. We paint our picture from each of these colours and then try to see what life looks like - and what we look like.
More than that, we'll use the results to hide our deep emotions and to mask our inner spirit. We'll blame our actions on the sum of our experience and the rules imposed by others. We'll direct our decisions by a set of ideas and then find that we live by a completely different set only a short while later. It's like looking in a mirror and not quite recognizing the reflection.
We are mysteries that are trying to discover mysteries. I find that I have done this myself at times. I try to conform God to my own image rather than reveal his true face. I try to pour myself into a mold created by others rather than build on what I am.
I need to remember that I am a wonderful creation. I need to discover that there is a hidden beauty in those around me. I need to see that God's mysteries are everywhere and I need to know that God himself is the greatest mystery.
5 comments:
Hmm I liked your post; and I like that song.
Whoa, good post.
I never actually heard the song in a religious context - I always heard it as basically romantic. And I always figured she was singing about one heck of an interesting person.
I always thought it was a religious person trying to find out who he was finding his identity like he was lost i never knew it was a romantic song i sure like sara Mcglauglin stuff she has crazy messages about things like worlds on fire more that i can handle more that i can take crash in to the water thats part of a lyric to her newer songs good job on your new cd Tara
Charles got... married?!
Good stuff Jamie. Reminds me of Scott McKnight's reflections on humanity as Eikons (cracked with the fall and restored after Christ). You may enjoy his blog -- www.jesuscreed.org. He's a New Testament scholar, author, and professor.
Peace,
Dan
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