I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off[1]Possible allusion to the old Dead Kennedys track “Kill The Poor“, a sarcastic screed about how the neutron bomb–a low-yield thermonuclear weapon intended to wipe out a city’s … Continue reading
I wish I was a sacrifice[2]This, in turn, is a much more healthy expression of the same yearning: the release of passion that saves others, not destroys them. that somehow still lived on[3]But then, that is exactly what Christ did: sacrificed himself, but then still lived on, resurrected, on the right hand of the Father.
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
The Christmas tree[4]Lest you think my reading of Christ in these lyrics is a stretch, Eddie Vedder connects it directly to the Christmas tree that represents the birth of the Messiah who will sacrifice to save us all. … Continue reading, I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds
For 50 million hands upraised and opened toward the sky[5]Of a kind with Alma’s desire in Alma 29:1-2, “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake … Continue reading
I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me[6]Keeping with the Christ theme, this line is a possible allusion to “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen, whose second verse opens with, “And Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the … Continue reading
I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good[7]As is widely-known, the word “Gospel” is derived from the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, meaning literally, “Good News.”
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro’s hood
I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun[8]But then, are we not all aliens upon this planet–“strangers and pilgrims,” children of our Heavenly Father residing up in the heavens, yearning for our return?
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on[9]“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in … Continue reading
I wish I was the pedal break that you depended on
I wish I was the verb[10]In the Spanish translation of the Bible, John 1:1 does not read “In the beginning was the word,” but rather, “En el principio era el Verbo”, that is, “In the beginning … Continue reading “to trust” and never let you down
I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up[11]Interesting humble-brag from one of the biggest, best-selling bands of the ’90s, one that had many a radio song that people turned up; but then, this track is from 1998’s Yield, which … Continue reading
I wish I was…
References
| ↑1 | Possible allusion to the old Dead Kennedys track “Kill The Poor“, a sarcastic screed about how the neutron bomb–a low-yield thermonuclear weapon intended to wipe out a city’s population while leaving the factories in tact for enemy occupation–was never really intended for use on enemy targets, but domestic ones, as a way to kill off the poor. That is, the neutron bomb is perhaps the only sort of weapon of mass destruction that the wicked and the powerful would actually be comfortable with detonating one day.
That is because, as I’d once written before, “we were all collectively and actively exterminating the poor long before the neutron bomb was invented, and continue to do even after the last neutron bomb was dismantled in 1996. With every demolishment of a homeless encampment while giving them no other place to go, with every free school lunch cancelled, with every rise in costs for life-saving medicines and hospital care, with every rise in the cost of living but zero rise in real-wages, with every cut in social welfare but none for corporate welfare, with every poor person shot by police without cause, repercussion, or recourse, etc. and etc., we express our collective, unspoken desire to kill off the poor en masse.” The members of Pearl Jam, like Dead Kennedys, were obviously horrified by the implications of the neutron bomb. Yet though the old Dead Kennedys track is pretty straightforward in its sarcastic condemnation, Pearl Jam’s allusion here is harder to parse, in part because the track it appears on is by all appearances very sincere, heart-felt, kindly, and devoid of irony. The only charitable way I’m able to read it, then, is as a yearning to finally explode–in energy, in emotion, in passion–and he knows deep down that the only way anyone will let him is as a neutron bomb. It’s not the killing of others he yearns for, that’s actually the last thing he wants (as the rest of not only these lyrics, but Pearl Jam’s complete oeuvre, clearly indicate), but the release–and what tragedy that we only ever feel allowed to release our energies when it is for destruction! |
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| ↑2 | This, in turn, is a much more healthy expression of the same yearning: the release of passion that saves others, not destroys them. |
| ↑3 | But then, that is exactly what Christ did: sacrificed himself, but then still lived on, resurrected, on the right hand of the Father. |
| ↑4 | Lest you think my reading of Christ in these lyrics is a stretch, Eddie Vedder connects it directly to the Christmas tree that represents the birth of the Messiah who will sacrifice to save us all. Not that Vedder seeks to displace or replace Christ here (though we are all supposed to follow His example–“What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am”), he only wishes to be an ornament, not the tree itself. But then again, that is also a Christ-like statement of values: an ornament is valued not for its supposed utility, but simply for its own sake. If we, too, are to be more Christ-like, we must also value one another not for what we can do, but simply for who we are–“For the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” |
| ↑5 | Of a kind with Alma’s desire in Alma 29:1-2, “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.” |
| ↑6 | Keeping with the Christ theme, this line is a possible allusion to “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen, whose second verse opens with, “And Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water…” |
| ↑7 | As is widely-known, the word “Gospel” is derived from the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, meaning literally, “Good News.” |
| ↑8 | But then, are we not all aliens upon this planet–“strangers and pilgrims,” children of our Heavenly Father residing up in the heavens, yearning for our return? |
| ↑9 | “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” -Matthew 16:19 |
| ↑10 | In the Spanish translation of the Bible, John 1:1 does not read “In the beginning was the word,” but rather, “En el principio era el Verbo”, that is, “In the beginning was the verb.” That is, the verb is Christ. Hence why, again, this track is a yearning for Christ, for in His name we shall trust. |
| ↑11 | Interesting humble-brag from one of the biggest, best-selling bands of the ’90s, one that had many a radio song that people turned up; but then, this track is from 1998’s Yield, which would prove to be the last platinum-selling and widely-acclaimed album of their career. This would prove to be the end of their run of having songs on the radio. But then, all things must fail– |