A thin line between clever and stupid...
Posted by Paul Waring on 6 January 2008 - 5:31pm.
Listening to iPod in the car today and it threw up (almost literally, you might argue) Pictures of an Exhibition by ELP. And I was struck by the hugely profound, but completely meaningless, lyric at the climax, which as I'm sure you all know, goes:
"There's no end to my life, no beginning to my death..... Death is life!"
Any other fond examples of grandiose philosophical claptrap out there for our consideration and bemusement? I'm not after gibberish (Jon Anderson, I'm looking at you here) or poor lyrics or rhymes, just the 'big statements about life' that on close (or even cursory) inspection turn out to be complete and utter bobbins.
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I've always thought that
I've always thought that these words from Sting's tantric quill were attempting to convey something very meaningful and profound, the trouble is I've absolutely no idea what.
Hey there mighty brontosaurus
Don't you have a message for us.
You thought your rule would always last
There were no lessons in your past.
You were built three stories high
They say you would not hurt a fly
If we explode the atom bomb,
Would they say that we were dumb
Good grief...
It rocks though, that's the main thing
Prog rock and metal are, of course the natural habitat of the ridiculous lyric. So you can imagine the kinds of lyrics you get in prog metal.
Here's a bit of Dream Theater's 1992 opus "Metropolis Part I: The Miracle & The Sleeper" (ahem)
I was told there's miracle for
each day that I try (kinda vague)
I was told there's a new love
that's born for each one that
has died (fair enough)
I was told there'd be no one to
call on when I feel alone and
afraid (a bit morose)
I was told if you dream of the
next world
You'll find yourself swimming
in a lake of fire (who was it precisely told him that? I reckon it was Ronnie James Dio)
part two is even better