Cause it’s a bittersweet[1]The bitter and the sweet go hand in hand: “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to … Continue reading symphony, that’s life
Tryna make ends meet
You’re a slave to money[2]The reason why Matthew 19:21, Acts 2:44-45, 4 Nephi 1:3, D&C 42:20-30, D&C 49:20, and etc., all explicitly and repeatedly state that the only sort of society acceptable before God is one … Continue reading then you die[3]We all die, because “all things must fail” (Moroni 7:46).
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
Where all the veins meet yeah[4]All veins and paths converge in one place, because “the course of the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:9; Alma 7:19-20; Alma 37:12-14; D&C 3:2).
No change, I can change
I can change, I can change[5]Indeed, we not only can, but must: to repent literally means to “re-think” (pent shares etymological roots with the Spanish “pensar,” to think), and to change how we think is … Continue reading
But I’m here in my mold
I am here in my mold
But I’m a million different people[6]As must we all: “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22), declared the Apostle Paul; and as Walt Whitman also declared, “I am … Continue reading
From one day to the next
I can’t change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
Have you ever been down?[7]Double-signification of both “Have you ever been down this straight-and-narrow path before?” but also, “Have you ever felt down before, depressed, low?” Given how essential … Continue reading
Well I’ve never prayed[8]“For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not … Continue reading
But tonight I’m on my knees, yeah[9]But then, any time you have expressed your sincere pain to the divine, have you not been praying indeed? In fact, if you haven’t been spilling out your sincere pain before the … Continue reading
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me,[10]Per Mosiah 18:10, our baptismal covenants are none other than to “mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.” That is, we must recognize the pain in … Continue reading yeah
I let the melody shine,
Let it cleanse my mind,
I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there’s nobody singing to me now[11]“If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask you, do you feel so now?” (Alma 5:36).
No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I’m here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And I’m a million different people
From one day to the next
I can’t change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
Have you ever been down?
I can’t change it you know
I can’t change it
‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, this life[12]Third verse, same as the first–not just a common Pop song trope, but perhaps an atavistic admission of what we all understand intuitively, subconsciously, primordially: that as it was in the … Continue reading
Tryna make ends meet
Tryna find some money then you die
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
Where all the veins meet yeah
You know I can change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I’m here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And I’m a million different people
From one day to the next
I can’t change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
I can’t change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
I can’t change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
You’ve gotta change my mold, no, no, no
It’s just sex and violence[13]The dull allure of sex and violence are the very lusts we must resist if we are to hear the song of redeeming love, which is why Moroni, standing in the ashes of his ruined nation, warned: “Be … Continue reading, melody and silence
Gotta, can’t change my violence, melody and silence
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
Been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Have you ever been down?
Have you ever been down?[14]Signature song of the UK band The Verve, released in 1997 by Virgin Records, who heavily promoted the single after picking the band up from their subsidiary label Vernon Yards–which also … Continue reading
References
| ↑1 | The bitter and the sweet go hand in hand: “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one.” (2 Nephi 2:11). |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | The reason why Matthew 19:21, Acts 2:44-45, 4 Nephi 1:3, D&C 42:20-30, D&C 49:20, and etc., all explicitly and repeatedly state that the only sort of society acceptable before God is one where there is neither rich nor poor to begin with (as innumerable posts on this very site have repeatedly cited ad nauseum), is because every other economic system ultimately enslaves us indeed. The Atonement liberates us not only because it makes us literally “at-one” with God, but also with each other, in all senses of the word. |
| ↑3 | We all die, because “all things must fail” (Moroni 7:46). |
| ↑4 | All veins and paths converge in one place, because “the course of the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:9; Alma 7:19-20; Alma 37:12-14; D&C 3:2). |
| ↑5 | Indeed, we not only can, but must: to repent literally means to “re-think” (pent shares etymological roots with the Spanish “pensar,” to think), and to change how we think is what changes who we are. |
| ↑6 | As must we all: “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22), declared the Apostle Paul; and as Walt Whitman also declared, “I am large, I contain multitudes.” |
| ↑7 | Double-signification of both “Have you ever been down this straight-and-narrow path before?” but also, “Have you ever felt down before, depressed, low?” Given how essential falling down is to becoming raised on high–for the humbled shall be exalted and the last shall be first–really, these two interpretations are one and the same. |
| ↑8 | “For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.” (2 Nephi 32:8). |
| ↑9 | But then, any time you have expressed your sincere pain to the divine, have you not been praying indeed? In fact, if you haven’t been spilling out your sincere pain before the Almighty–even if you were on your knees and opening with “Dear Heavenly Father” and finishing with “In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen”–can you really be said to have been praying at all? |
| ↑10 | Per Mosiah 18:10, our baptismal covenants are none other than to “mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.” That is, we must recognize the pain in others just as much as we must seek for those who recognize the pain in us. Even Christ himself, per Alma 7:12, had to learn how to feel our pains in particular, that he might succor us in our afflictions:
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” |
| ↑11 | “If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask you, do you feel so now?” (Alma 5:36). |
| ↑12 | Third verse, same as the first–not just a common Pop song trope, but perhaps an atavistic admission of what we all understand intuitively, subconsciously, primordially: that as it was in the beginning, so it shall be in the end. |
| ↑13 | The dull allure of sex and violence are the very lusts we must resist if we are to hear the song of redeeming love, which is why Moroni, standing in the ashes of his ruined nation, warned: “Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.” (Mormon 9:28). |
| ↑14 | Signature song of the UK band The Verve, released in 1997 by Virgin Records, who heavily promoted the single after picking the band up from their subsidiary label Vernon Yards–which also happened to be the first record label for Low. |