Other Def Pages:
The Introduction to the Interpretation
~
My Def Leppard Obsession
Other Def Pages:
The Introduction to the Interpretation
~
My Def Leppard Obsession
The web of music draws you into the center of the material world. You can hear the industrial throb in the drumbeat as our seeker is born. Tired of the lies, hypocracy, and pain he doubts "god" and awakens to a desire to know the
Truth?
I've been burning and dousing the flames Questions have been popping into his head but he's tried to ignore them.
I feel the whiplash off the backlash on my face The world is "beating him up".
I melt to sleep at night but I wake to trip the day Life goes on but he has no enthusiasm for it.
Never for you, never for me, would I kiss your feet of clay. He's not going to settle for anything less than the truth.
I'm still alive and so should I soak up the wave of compromise? He wonders why it matters so much to him.
Am I a victim of youth? He wonders if he'll understand more when he gets older.
Update: Listening to this the other day I realized that it sounds like what Joe is actually saying is "Am I a victim of You?" .
Is this the truth? But he questions everything.
Why don't you tell me?
There's no conscience in charity or shame, the voice decieves me, but believe me, it's the same Conscience, "knowing yourself" does not come from giving to others or feeling guilty. These are the same in that they concern how we respond to the outside world's opinion of us.
I see the black in white and the color in the gray. Better for me, better for you, gonna bleach it all away. This refers to the black and white of "right" and "wrong", NOT race! Religion tells us that we must always judge what is "good" or "evil", but nothing is truly all good or all bad. In fact, in all judgement calls there is always the other point of view. So "bleach it all away", quit the judging.
I'm still alive and so should I soak up the wave of compromise? Should I stay with the "flock"?
Am I a victim of youth? Has someone taken advantage of my innocence?
Is this the Truth? Why don't you tell me?
The left hand gives and the right hand takes away... I believe this is referring to left/right brain thinking. The left hand is controlled by the creative, intuitive right side of the brain. The right hand is controlled by the analytical, methodical left side of the brain. We need to accept the gifts of the left hand.
I'm still alive and so should I soak up the wave of compromise? It would be easier if I didn't care.
I see the scars I hear the lies but anything less than the Truth is ultimately destructive.
So what's the Truth? Why don't you tell me?
As the guitar casts his appeal to the wind it starts to rain, which could symbolize tears or intuition. The sitar introduces ancient wisdom. He has discovered a way to understand himself better...meditation...and he discovers the first Truth: death happens.
Concentration drifts in/out of me, conversation slides away He's mastering meditative states.
Turn and face the change in apathy Life becomes interesting again, he's beginning to care.
Take a rise to fall. He's inviting you to meditate.
Won't you save me? We all fear death and want to be rescued.
Don't you blame me. So we sometimes ascribe to systems of thought just to comfort us.
I've got the fear that I'm gonna Turn to Dust.
Sentence-rape me, segregate me. Tell him he's a sinner, tell him that there are the "saved" and "un-saved" and he'll believe it.
I've got the fear that I'm gonna Turn to Dust.
Slave or sympathy, it atrophies If in your worship you're powerless or you worship because you feel guilty or it's the right thing to do it will not help you.
Save but ancient hearts. Unless you are already operating from a center of total love.
Hiding scarves and knives in symphonies. There's truth (knives) veiled in the music.
Still we rise to fall. Meditation is the key.
Won't you save me? Don't you blame me.
I've got the fear that I'm gonna turn to dust.
Sentence-rape me, segregate me.
I've got the fear that I'm gonna turn to dust.
Now close your eyes and groove on the killer guitar solo...
Won't you save me? Don't you blame me. Have compassion for people wrapped up in religious dogmas.
I've got the fear that I'm gonna turn to dust.
Sentence-rape me, segregate me. They'll accept the poison that's being fed them.
I've got the fear that I'm gonna turn to dust. They're just trying to cope.
As the seeker faces the specter of death he begins to question what life is. The only time he really feels the vibrancy of life is in the pennacle of sexual orgasm. But with the aid of meditation, he realizes that it's not right for him to take the chance of causing emotional harm to others when his main objective is satisfying his desire. Lust is a powerful force to be reckoned with, and it has nothing to do with love. We feel it, we need someone else to express it, but we don't want the emotional attatchments that usually come along with it. He decides to take matters into his own hands (if you know what I mean). Phil said this song was about phone sex, but since I'm casting my own interpretation allow me to stretch it a little, okay?
Or it could be about the people who believe if they just talk the talk of their religion without living it they'll be "saved".
Or...it could be a testament to the over-intellectualizing a lot of people delve into when it comes to religion...Uh-oh! Do I do that? :-D
SLANG!
Sittin' dark, gettin' taken 'cause I said
Something lewd in a low-down accent.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, kinda in love with those eyes,
I wanna get down honey, but I ain't your guy.
I'll rap and ruck and jam it up, but count me out!
'Cause all I ever wanna do is Slang...(alright)
Slang with me! I don't wanna get my hands dirty-
Slang with me! I just wanna get soaking wet.
Slang with me! I don't wanna get my hands dirty.
All I ever wanna get is Slang!
What's affecting my condition? What's about to knock you down?
Said wrapped and bound and a goddamn, I'd love to get connected,
But it's outta my hands.
I'll rap and ruck and jam it up but count me out!
'Cause all I ever wanna do is Slang.
[Voice of desire:]
It's my intention to be your obsession...
It's my obsession to be your addiction.
(Chorus)
Our seeker realizes more and more that he has to break away from the person he was, his old ego, his old belief systems. Our beliefs color our egoes, and become meshed as one. But we are here to grow. We must never stop growing or we die. Growth requires change. He realizes that his old ego and it's accompanying beliefs are not comforting him anymore, they aren't satisfying him him anymore. There's a decision to be made...
Take a minute to listen to the introduction of this song, two notes at first, and then the second note changes, goes a little deeper...and then Joe starts pouring his heart out, regretfully, but with growing conviction...
I don't know how to leave you, and I don't know how to stay.
I got things that I must tell you that I don't know how to say.
The man behind these empty words is crying out in shame.
Holding on to this sinking ship where nothing else remains.
All I want is everything...am I asking too much?
All I want is everything...like the feel of your touch. He feels no connection, no real warmth in his past beliefs anymore.
But all I have are yesterdays, tomorrow never comes. and it's not getting better.
It's hard to hold your head up when you're kneeling down to pray. This is really shaking him up...
And talking don't come easy now when words get in the way.
And if you could see what's going on behind these private eyes,
The truth would look so easy now, but I'm running out of lies. He's tired of lying to himself about how he really feels.
[Chorus]
Now he challenges his old ego head-on:
You think the shadow of doubt is hanging over my head, it's just an angel whose wings hide the sun, and it's myself I betray, how can I wish this away? Took my chance, now the damage is done.
All I want is everything. Am I asking too much?
All I Want is Everything, like the feel, the fell of your touch.
But all I have are yesterdays...tomorrow never comes...
Now that the seeker has realized that he must "kill off" a portion of his old self, he is open to new teachings and is introduced to the ancient wisdom of the beautiful law of love: Reincarnation & Karma. This song is a dialog between a seeker and his own inner soul- a voice he couldn't hear before because of the dogma he steadfastly believed in. This is what his soul tells him...
Day and night, black and white, you take it all for granted.
I'm the one who turns you on.
When you don't know where you belong, when nothing seems to matter
I'm the one who's holding on.
It's alright to be wrong.
All we need's a little time but nothing here can last that long...
We show the world a brand new face, we are reincarnated.
It's taken us all this time, all this time,
All of this doubt...
We get to Work it Out Through reincarnation we can make up for past mistakes against our fellow man. We get infinite "second chances".
All of this doubt.
We get to work it out.
Yesterday, lost your way, still lookin' for an answer-I'm the one who holds the key.The only place you are going to find truth is by listening to the voice of "GOD" inside you, your soul.
When you don't know where you belong, when nothing seems to matter... At the point where you finally let go of everything you "know"-
I'll unlock this mystery.
We show the world a brand-new face We're born in another lifetime
It's taken us all this time, all this time- over and over, if necessary.
All of this DoubtBut it's our own conscience who's really in change here, our own soul evolving, and it dictates whether we need to "set things a-right">
We get to Work It Out!
All of this doubt...we get to work it out...
(Work it out guys, drive that beat into the ground!)
[Repeat Chorus]
I'm the one who's holding on, holding on, holding on...
When one realizes that each individual is here to correct mistakes of the past one realizes also that each person you meet probably shared a past lifetime with you. If you are lucky you find someone who shared several. It's love that makes us want to come back and make amends, and sometimes we come back because we want to share another lifetime with someone we've loved again and again...when you find that person your soul will tell you that this relationship is especially blessed. If you're lucky and realize how blessed you are you can cherish the enhancement it brings to your life instead of missing the miracle. Phil wrote this, the most beautiful love song I think I have ever heard. Play it for your loved one in a candle-lit room and you may find that you can't keep from touching and maybe even quietly trying to not cry for joy. Instead of crying, just breathe a sigh...
Lay me down, slow and easy, 'cause there ain't nothing I can do. Amid all the turmoil of his life, our seeker finds solace in the arms of his lover.
I hope and pray my faith won't leave me when it comes down to me and you.
Try a little tenderness...I die a little for a long lost sweet caress.
(Chorus)
You lying next to me fulfills some destiny. I wanna cry but I breathe a sigh.
Just a little bit of letting go. I don't want you to know.
I wanna cry, but I breathe a sigh...
Overflow of emotions~ When you lose your temper.
And a hurt that'll never heal~ You can never erase the pain you've caused.
If you close the door forever~ If you don't talk it out.
the fate of pain is sealed.
So try a little tenderness~ Be gentle with each other.
I die a little for a long lost sweet caress~ Remember what you have.
(Repeat Chorus)
I more than long for your effection, I tell you now that that ain't so. There's more here than just physical attraction.
Not even gentle persuasion is ever gonna let me go, no!
(Repeat Chorus)
Won't you let me breathe? Won't you let me breathe? Let me breathe, breathe a sigh...
Now he flames his old religion and the false indoctrination it preaches:
It's YOU I can't believe in. [ego says] "I don't buy what I don't see", here's the definition of a skeptic - they don't believe it until they see it themselves. This is a closed-minded way to view the world. All of our senses are untrustworthy. Meditation will allow you to realize that this "reality" is not all there is. Once you realize how intangible "reality" is you start to listen to your intuition, messages from your soul, the voice of god speaking directly to your heart.
Say goodbye, 'cause I don't need.
And I'm tied to the sky as you claw at my eyes, and I wait for the flood, I swin in blood. As I crawl on my knees and I beg your disease, taste the ice on your breath as you catch your death.
I close my eyes, embrace the wave ~Abandon "Me"~ He slips out of his "ego" and into the other realm.
Save the day I won't see...deliver me.. He won't see it because it's not his reality.
Is this getting deep or what? Well, hold on to your hats, 'cause now he realizes that his old Religion id, the one that said "God" made the earth just for him to exploit, was wrong.
Now the industrial throb from Truth? has become a cacophony of deafening chaos - the Reality, our Planet, is being destroyed by mankind.
I am all desity, a trade, a grain of sand...I am the lesson to be learned. We were born into physical bodies to learn how to balance our spirituality with the material realm, the animal our bodies are.
I take the throat of innocence and leave decay we have trampled the virgin Earth with no regard, and no conscience.
I stain the way for all to see.
[***For those of you who read this before, from here on to the bottom is the missing interpretations.****]
No fear, no voice, no reason, in "God" no guiding light... We've been told by our Religion that mankind was given the planet to do with as we please, so we shouldn't feel guilt about it's condition today.
When all the guilt that's in your head turns it's back and plays for dead, scortch the earth and torch the sky, conscience low with head held high. Arrogantly, we do as we please and destroy our "nest".
[the Religion says] Indulge and multiply and sacrifice use, overpopulate, and kill...
As lack of breath chokes underground another reference to "breath"; lack of meditation (and really pondering things) or unable to breathe because of pollution?
Divulge [reveal} degenerate [my dictionary says this word means "rot decline", bring back to life] the darker side The world that exists beyond light...meditate.
From windows watch the screaming sky. You will find yourself detatched from the madness.
No fear, no voice, no reason, in god no guiding light. You abandon all these things...
When all the guilt that's in your head turns it's back and plays for dead, scortch the earth and torch the sky, conscience low with head held... and you realize with horror what is going on, but this feeling is destructive in itself, and only makes you feel worse about yourself and mankind in general. Notice now his head is being held instead of being held high.
Another great guitar solo to paint the mood...
When all the guilt that's in your head turns it's back and plays for dead, scortch the earth and torch the sky, conscience low with head held high.
The guilt can be a hindrance, keeping you from attaining a level of peace necessary for you to meditate successfully. If you can turn off the guilt you'll have a better chance of keeping your "head held high".
From all the truth comes all the shame, the curse of flesh just takes it's aim. Mankind is destructive by nature.
On hallowed ground and tortured sky, walk in fear with spirits high.
Each of us must change our individual perspectives and cherish the earth, but also don't get too wrapped up into it to the point where it's beating you up or you despise others.
The next song was very difficult for me to print. The guys in the group have said they had Steve in mind when they wrote it, but I don't think they meant it was about Steve personally ("White Lightning" was their true homage to him.) Seeing a childhood friend whither and die before your eyes kind of makes you think about things you wouldn't think of before. You question the validity of your faith. What exactly is it's purpose in our lives? Is it truly how you believe?
Faith organized has been used as a weapon for people to persecute and kill each other since the dawn of time. Not just Catholics and protestants, but Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Pagans, and even one Idol worshipper against a different Idol's worshippers.
So where does a lost soul turn to?
The seeker faces his old ego, his Religious beliefs, for the third and final time. His voice is resigned, he knows he can never go back to the way he was, and I think he's pleading for the rest of us to realize what he has learned.
The music establishes the flowing feeling of forgiveness and compassion...
I heard this line one time about tryin' to save the world, but have you ever tried to save yourself? The only way you can be "saved" is through a personal journey of your own.
a wide-eyed suicide drive [martyr] remains a fake, as if you'd ever, ever go and make that same mistake. Some would say that Jesus was a martyr, and many worship him through a feeling of guilt instead of living his teachings. I still don't understand how rational people think "God" requires human sacrifice in order to save them from eternal purgatory. It was mankind who demanded it, and prophesy that orchestrated it. And now there are suicide bombers who say "God" will award them if they martyr themselves.
Strung out as the night comes crawling, your halo of thorns is falling. If you believe "God" would condone such a horrendous plan, then that leaves you with little hope of mercy, doesn't it? The so-called love of "God" you keep hearing about is often spoken, but you don't really feel it. You feel empty, and since you are told you are a sinner, you continually measure yourself and find yourself lacking...your "halo of thorns" is your failure to live up to the standards your Religion dictates.
Blood runs cold, I feel it in my bones. But you don't know your time is up, your blood runs cold. He says goodbye to his old, dead, Religion.
Somebody somewhere is screaming out the words, but do they ever really ease the pain? From pulpits around the the globe come religious doctrine.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, whose life is it anyway? Because living, LIVING is the best revenge you can play. Instead of allowing yourself to get lost in the incriminations of being a "sinner" take control of your life.
This fall from grace Some say we fell from grace in Eden when "God" became angry with us for acting like curious human beings instead of obedient children.
I see your face He sees it all for what it is now, a method to control people.
It's over.
Blood runs cold, I feel it in my bones, but you don't know your time is up, your blood runs cold.
From you love was kind, resolved, left scarred and blind, wasted and naked in the wings. Jesus was love personified, but prophesy and the Religion of the day demanded his sacrifice.
Denying twists of fate Not recognizing the important role of karma Demanding heaven's gate and ignoring all but their goal. lying in wait above the wind... this whole doctrine serves to distract people from the true purpose of living.
As this guitar section washes over you with compassion try to forgive ignorant people for the thoughtless cruelty they enact in the name of "God". They bought what their Religion taught them, told not to question, not to think, not to feel for the "enemy": the heathen, the infandel, the unbeliever...
Strung out as the night comes crawling, your halo of thorns is falling. Blood runs cold, I feel it in my bones, but you don't know your time is up, blood runs cold... so now he sees that his "Religion" is nothing but a cold hearted institution of control over people. To enlist them in a fight over beliefs, to take on as a membership to this faith or that, with little tolerance for others outside their belief system.
Blood runs cold... So he completely abandons his old ego and beliefs.
There's two more songs to go, to reach the end of the seeker's journey to the Truth. These are the deepest and I had to meditate awhile to decipher what my heart was trying to tell me. I pray that instead of taking offense, that you open up to the possibility these songs present you.
Click on "Conclusion" below:
