U2: Van Diemen´s land

Hold me now, oh hold me now
Till this hour has gone around
And I’m gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen’s land

It’s a bitter pill I swallow here
To be rent from one so dear
We fought for justice and not for gain
But the magistrate sent me away

Now kings will rule and the poor will toil
And tear their hands as they tear the soil
But a day will come in this dawning age
When an honest man sees an honest wage

Hold me now, oh hold me now
Till this hour has gone around
And I’m gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Dieman’s land

Still the gunman rules and Widows pay
A scarlett coat now a black beret
They thought that blood and sacrifice
Could out of death bring forth a life

This is a one of the songs that shows that in simplicity lies beauty. It´s slow in tempo, but The Edge´s voice makes it perfect. The melody is based on the old Irish song Van Diemen’s Land is the former name for the island of Tasmania. There was an British penal colonies in Australia. Many Irishmen were amongst those sent to Australia for they have committed crimes.

The song is dedicated to Irish poet John Boyle O’Reilly (28 June 1844–10 August 1890). He was a patriotic man who fought against British rule and was arrested and sent to Van Diemen´s land.

Imagine that you´ve fought against injustices against your people. You´ve written, you´ve discussed, even committed violent acts. You want to fight for your people´s human rights. Perhaps too harsh, but still. You are waiting for the ship to arrive and take you in shackles to the other side of the world. You will spend weeks on the ship, perhaps in bad conditions, guarded all the time. And our facing a long sentence in prison, in a faraway land, in a prison with a bad reputation.

Perhaps someone is there at the docks to wish/hope/pray for a safe journey. They must´ve been thinking: “Will we ever see each other again?” What will happen to our common cause? Perhaps he thinks that my part of the struggle is over, perhaps he thinks that I will some day return. Perhaps he thinks that I´ve done many bad things and I deserve this sentence.

The last verse is only in the sleeve of the record, it´s not heard in the album. It takes the idea of the song to the troubles of Northern Ireland. Still the gunman rules, from both sides.  Have we learn anything?

This simple song has such great ideas inside, that it´s very beautiful and touching.

Redemption: Johnny Cash

From the hands it came down
From the side it came down
From the feet it came down
And ran to the ground

Between heaven and hell
A teardrop fell

In the deep crimson dew
The tree of life grew

And the blood gave life
To the branches of the tree
And the blood was the price
That set the captives free
And the numbers that came
Through the fire and the flood Clung to the tree
And were redeemed by the blood

From the tree streamed a light
That started the fight ‘Round the tree grew a vine
On whose fruit I could dine
My old friend Lucifer came
Fought to keep me in chains
But I saw through the tricks
Of six-sixty-six

And the blood gave life
To the branches of the tree
And the blood was the price
That set the captives free
And the numbers that came
Through the fire and the flood Clung to the tree
And were redeemed by the blood

From his hands it came down
From his side it came down
From his feet it came down
And ran to the ground
And a small inner voice Said “You do have a choice.”
The vine engrafted me
And I clung to the tree

The great sermon from Johnny Cash. This art of music contains a lot of touching lines for Christians. The blood of Jesus washes away our sins, even though our life isn´t totally sin-free here. Mercy is available, at Clavary we were set free. And there´s no way to reverse that, and that´s our hope. In that we can base our hope throughout all the steps of our life. Even though “old friend Lucifer” tries to bind us again in it´s lies and tries to convince that we´re still bound in sin.

A vine is a great example how Christians belong together and belong to God. We´ve been engrafted to Him. And at the same to engrafted to each other, supporting all the members and still tightly in God.

Blood has been so over-used in different movies etc. that it has negative effects on us. Still everyone knows that a human being cannot live without blood. We can donate blood to help those who need it, after car accidents etc. Spiritually blood is salvation. Jesus voluntarily left Heaven and descended to Earth, to live with us. And delivered us, connected us again in the Father.

And we are free.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Mercy Seat

It began when they come took me from my home
And put me in Dead Row,
Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know.
And I’ll say it again
I..am..not..afraid..to..die.

I began to warm and chill
To objects and their fields,
A ragged cup, a twisted mop
The face of Jesus in my soup
Those sinister dinner meals
The meal trolley’s wicked wheels
A hooked bone rising from my food
All things either good or ungood.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I’m yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
A tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I’m not afraid to die.

Interpret signs and catalogue
A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog.
The walls are bad. Black. Bottom kind.
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath at my hind
They are sick breath gathering at my hind

I hear stories from the chamber
How Christ was born into a manger
And like some ragged stranger
Died upon the cross
And might I say it seems so fitting in its way
He was a carpenter by trade
Or at least that’s what I’m told

Like my good hand I
tatooed E.V.I.L. across it’s brother’s fist
That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist.

In Heaven His throne is made of gold
The ark of his Testament is stowed
A throne from which I’m told
All history does unfold.
Down here it’s made of wood and wire
And my body is on fire
And God is never far away.

Into the mercy seat I climb
My head is shaved, my head is wired
And like a moth that tries
To enter the bright eye
I go shuffling out of life
Just to hide in death awhile
And anyway I never lied.

My kill-hand is called E.V.I.L.
Wears a wedding band that’s G.O.O.D.
`Tis a long-suffering shackle
Collaring all that rebel blood.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I’m yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway I told the truth
And I’m not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is burning
And I think my head is glowing
And in a way I’m hoping
To be done with all this weighing up of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And I’ve got nothing left to lose
And I’m not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is glowing
And I think my head is smoking
And in a way I’m hoping
To be done with all this looks of disbelief.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
And anyway there was no proof
Nor a motive why.

And the mercy seat is smoking
And I think my head is melting
And in a way I’m helping
To be done with all this twisted of the truth.
A lie for a lie
And a truth for a truth
And I’ve got nothing left to lose
And I’m not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is melting
And I think my blood is boiling
And in a way I’m spoiling
All the fun with all this truth and consequence.
An eye for an eye
And a truth for a truth
And anyway I told the truth
And I’m not afraid to die.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I’m yearning
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
A life for a life
And a truth for a truth
And anyway there was no proof
But I’m not afraid to tell a lie.

And the mercy seat is waiting
And I think my head is burning
And in a way I’m yearning
To be done with all this measuring of truth.
An eye for an eye
And a truth for a truth
And anyway I told the truth
But I’m afraid I told a lie.

This is the story about Truth, Remorse, Mercy, Punishment, Honesty and Murder.

Who is this man? I think he is a criminal who is sentenced to death. He lives the last hours of his life before his death. He is telling his last thoughts to anyone who listens. And that is you. He speaks very straight to you.

During his telling, he tries to avoid the guilty verdict, he constantly tells you that he has told the truth and you must believe him. He says he has never lied and no proof for his crime was ever found. People must believe his innocence. This man even blames his hands like he´s saying he cannot control himself. But the others don´t believe him.

He has grown tired of all the criminal processes in this matter. Like he says to you: ” Why don’t you believe me, I´m tired of going through it all again”. All this while he knows that he´s guilty. He has used all his energy by defending himself and trying to avoid the truth.

His faith is a mixture of Christianity and superstition. I think the prison pastor has spoke with him recently and/or he has some knowledge of basic Christianity in earlier life. He doesn´t know whether to believe or not, but he reaches out to God anyway. Mercy Seat is a biblical term, where God forgives the sinner his sins. He begs for mercy throughout the song. And he knows he deserves the punishment (constant “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth).

He says he doesn´t fear death so many times that I think he really does fear it. It grows, he tries to hide death, even a little while.

Pride goes away and the very last sentence of the song is remarkable. It reveals so much: He confesses that he has lied all the way, at last he´s honest to himself, to God and to you (who is listening his agony).

The revelation in the last sentence almost leaves you speechless.

Muse: Sing for absolution

Lips are turning blue
A kiss that can’t renew
I only dream of you
My beautiful

Tiptoe to your room
A starlight in the gloom
I only dream of you
And you never knew

Sing for absolution
I will be singing
And falling from your grace

There’s nowhere left to hide
In no one to confide
The truth burns deep inside
And will never die

Lips are turning blue
A kiss that can’t renew
I only dream of you
My beautiful

Sing for absolution
I will be singing
And falling from your grace

Our wrongs
Remain unrectified
And our souls
Won’t be exhumed

(MATTHEW BELLAMY)

I think this song is a song about a man who has betrayed his wife and is standing at the bedroom door with these thoughts on his head. Lips are turning blue, because there hasn´t been any connection between them for some time. Still there´s some hope left and man thinks he has killed that hope with his doings. He thinks that he must tell his wife, he cannot hide it anymore. He still loves her, but he knows he had done a terrible thing. He is crying, singing, shouting inside his head for absolution, forgiveness, because the truth burns inside of him and will cease if it remains a secret. But in the end their wrongs remain unrectified, does this means that he has given up all hope of their future?

OR how does this change if Matthew meant that the betrayer is a woman? Really changes the picture in your head, does it?

OR what if the betrayer is sleeping and his/her spouse has found this out and is struggling to get it out of his/her chest? Maybe after this song there´s a big argueing coming up. Maybe these are the final seconds before other one wakes up.

Something serious has happened and will happen after these words. Will he/she ever find peace or are they completely lost?