"I am not your rolling wheels; I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride; I am the sky
I am not your blowing wind; I am the lightning
I am not your autumn moon; I am the night"
Those lyrics are stuck in my head (along with the rest of the song). They have been for days. It is not some catchy jingle that infiltrates your brain and refuses to exit even though you desperately want it to leave. No, those words are welcome to stay. I think about them. What they mean. Certainly Audioslave had a specific thought they wished to convey when they wrote the song. I could probably perform a web search and find out the answer. But, I am pretty sure I would rather decide for myself what they mean. My own interpretation. Whatever feelings they stir within me are what matter.
Have you ever really loved a particular poem or song and assigned it a special meaning, then later found out what the writer was thinking when he/she penned it? And when that happened, was it almost a complete 180° from your own perception? I hate when that occurs. The magic of it is often ruined for me.
When I am extremely perplexed, sometimes I do like to know the general theme. It can get my frame of mind in place to read or listen with that theme hovering nearby. It can help me absorb the words and perhaps reach an even deeper level of understanding from them.
It is not unlike a painting in some ways. If the artist HAS to tell you what the picture is all about, then he has failed through the use of his paints to express it adequately.
And so, I will continue pondering...although I think I have a pretty solid handle on the meaning of that song. Go me!
"Pearls and swine bereft of me
Long and weary my road has been
I was lost in the cities
Alone in the hills
No sorrow or pity for leaving I feel
Chorus
I am not your rolling wheels
I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
Friends and liars don’t wait for me
I’ll get on all by myself
I put millions of miles
Under my heels
And still too close to you
I feel
Chorus
I am not your rolling wheels
I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
I am not your blowing wind
I am the lightning
I am not your autumn moon
I am the night
The night
I am not your rolling wheels
I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
I am not your blowing wind
I am the lightning
I am not your autumn moon
I am the night
The night" ~I Am The Highway by Audioslave
5 comments:
..I am in complete agreement about not wanting to know the source of inspiration or meaning that the writer had in its heart at the time of writing. Many times I have latched onto a song that resonated so deeply, it rang every bell and whistle in my soul.....then only to hear during an interview with the writer, who confessed, he came up with the message while mainlining a dose of heroin and wrote the lyrics while taking a dump! Thanks for the imagery...ya....
Thanks for passing along the lyrics...I await your take on the lyrics!
Warmth & Peace...Marc :)
This is a good entry-great graphic, great band, one of thier best songs, and you
even posted the lyrics; now do a little research and tell us what chris cornell meant by those words! ~Diane~http://journals.aol.com/dizarra/StorysFromtheCityTalesFromtheSea
Wow what an entry - very powerful indeed. I love that graphic and the lighting striking. Thanks for your comments about my paper doll post. I don't think I've ever heard these lyrics but I can certainly see how they would stick in one's head. There is deep meaning in these lyrics or at least that is how something in me want to interpret them. In one of deeper meditations I had a vision of a warrior sort of guy standing on a vista from which you could see forever, and although I didn't see me, I was there, when he spoke in a British accent and said only these four words - "It's All About God." Need I say more. I believe we are the living proof of that and if only we could remember It's all about God, everything. Enough said. Love this post and yes I'm bedzaaled by it too.
Marlene-PurelyPoetry
http://journals.aol.com/mkolasa101/PurelyPoetry
Interesting post, as it made me think , and that's not easy to make me do anymore!
I'm not familiar with the song-once the kids moved out I returned to the Dark Age if Music, lol. However, I can guess a little at these lyrics. What they mean to me is that there's so much more to the big picture than what our little piece of it can possibly contain, or understand. Sort of like what I said in my 'Thoughts on God' post. There's a lot more than meets the eye and the senses and it's impossible for we humans to fathom the big picture.
Anyhow, yes, I'm often disappointed when I discover the meaning the artist had of the song. So I also avoid finding out.
Maryanne
http://insidethegildedcage.blogspot.com/
I just never think what the writer of the song was thinking. Never. I was just thinking this morning of all the reasons Maggie Thatcher & Lance Armstrong should hook up. I doubt you will find that on VH1.
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