They’re playing in Central Park[1]Polaris was the “house-band” for the 1990s, golden-age Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete and Pete; Polaris is who played the theme-song “Hey Sandy,” provided the … Continue reading
Check out him, he’s shouting at the gate
Billy[2]Presumably Billy Graham–that is, the evangelical preacher featured in these songs lyrics would even consider old Billy Graham to be too moderate for this moment. didn’t tell you everything
Or did he mention the magic day?[3]Not a reference to witches on broomsticks or vampire bats or what have you, but the Rapture, when “he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his … Continue reading
Well I figured it out from a fig tree[4]“And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree … Continue reading
It’s the chosen fruit of the devil himself
Now you’ve been bad for 50 years
And now it looks like daddy’s taking off his belt[5]We all create God in our own image; and if our earthly father was abusive, we are more likely to see our Heavenly Father in the same way, sadly.
Waiting for October
I cross my fingers
Cross my heart
And hope to die
Waiting for October
I’m in the book
And I’ll be learning how to fly[6]Again, not a reference to Halloween itself (despite how the track features in a Halloween special), but to the Rapture so earnestly awaited by conservative evangelicals everywhere.
We of course … Continue reading
He’s coming down but he’s not alone
He’s gonna bring an army of saints[7]“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints” -Jude 1:14
And he’s taking all his back home
And then destroying what remains[8]“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the … Continue reading
Waiting for October
I cross my fingers
Cross my heart
And hope to die
Waiting for October
I’m in the book
And I’ll be learning
To be winged
To be winged
Hoping that the end
Will start it all again[9]Here, then, is the real crux of the matter: why are we all so morbid, looking forth with such expectancy and delight towards the reputed End of the World? Partly it’s because we won’t … Continue reading
And that’s when human history will die
I said it must be what’s so right about the day
Cause it all ends in 1999[10]Oh my, remember when Y2K and the end of the millennium heralded the end of the world? Were we ever so young?
And commences on the 28th, the 28th, the 28th[11]“The 28th” is a reference to the Dami Mission, a Christian religious movement founded in South Korea by a man named Lee Jang Rim. The movement received worldwide attention after Lee … Continue reading
Waiting for October
I cross my fingers
Cross my heart
And hope to die
Waiting for October
I’m in the book
And I’ll be learning how to fly
Waiting for October
I cross my fingers
Aross my heart
And hope to die
Waiting for October
I’m in the books
And I’ll be learning how to fly
Hopin’ that the end
Will start it all again[12]“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” -2 Peter 3:13
Hopin’ that the end
Will start it all again
Hopin’ that the end
Will start it all again
Hopin’ that the end
Will start it all again[13]“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away” -Revelations 21:1
References
| ↑1 | Polaris was the “house-band” for the 1990s, golden-age Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete and Pete; Polaris is who played the theme-song “Hey Sandy,” provided the love-theme for Big Pete and Ellen “She Is Staggering,” and even cameo’d in Pete and Pete‘s single greatest episode, “Hard Day’s Pete,” wherein little Pete stumbles upon an elusive garage band performing “Summerbaby,” becomes smitten, then flummoxed when the band disappears without a trace and he has no idea how to hear his new favorite song again. Seriously, that entire episode is magical.
“Waiting for October,” however, features in their excellent Halloweenie episode–and, well, tis the season. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Presumably Billy Graham–that is, the evangelical preacher featured in these songs lyrics would even consider old Billy Graham to be too moderate for this moment. |
| ↑3 | Not a reference to witches on broomsticks or vampire bats or what have you, but the Rapture, when “he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other”, and “There shall be two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” -Matt. 24:31, 40-42. |
| ↑4 | “And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.” -Matt. 21:19 |
| ↑5 | We all create God in our own image; and if our earthly father was abusive, we are more likely to see our Heavenly Father in the same way, sadly. |
| ↑6 | Again, not a reference to Halloween itself (despite how the track features in a Halloween special), but to the Rapture so earnestly awaited by conservative evangelicals everywhere.
We of course don’t believe in a literal, Left Behind style Rapture in our faith; but we do insist upon calling ourselves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, before we judge our evangelical neighbors as being a touch too morbid, let us remember that we are living in expectancy of only a variation of that same cataclysmic event. And, real talk, I did find all our Latter-day talk upsetting as a child! |
| ↑7 | “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints” -Jude 1:14 |
| ↑8 | “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” -2 Peter 3:10 |
| ↑9 | Here, then, is the real crux of the matter: why are we all so morbid, looking forth with such expectancy and delight towards the reputed End of the World? Partly it’s because we won’t have to deal with the mundanity of life anymore–no more getting up for work in the morning, no more bills to pay, no more seeing the doctor, no more blasted hopes and dreams, no more lives of quiet desperation.
But our collective yearnings for the Endtimes isn’t just a death-drive rejection of life, but also a life-drive desire to start all over. The line “Hoping that the end/Will start is all again” cuts through all of the toxic evangelical fearmongering to instead exercise some charity, and instead gets to the heart of the very real human impulse beneath all the morbidity: a desire to start over, to be young again, to erase our mistakes, to finally get it right this time, to see the world with wondrous eyes, as when everything was new. That is, it is a desire to be like unto a little child again, for of such is the kingdom of God. |
| ↑10 | Oh my, remember when Y2K and the end of the millennium heralded the end of the world? Were we ever so young? |
| ↑11 | “The 28th” is a reference to the Dami Mission, a Christian religious movement founded in South Korea by a man named Lee Jang Rim. The movement received worldwide attention after Lee predicted that the Rapture and end of the world would occur on October 28th, 1992. After the prediction failed, Lee was convicted of defrauding his followers out of millions of dollars. The “Halloweenie” episode of Pete and Pete aired only two years later, and this song makes direct allusion. |
| ↑12 | “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” -2 Peter 3:13 |
| ↑13 | “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away” -Revelations 21:1 |