We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
We are nearing the end of Lent, and I am reminded that I have reflected in the past about the idea that a function of life is to teach us enough humility to bring us to God - while our self-love fights to hold onto our precious fantasies of specialness, extraordinary integrity, appealingness, brilliance, and self-sufficiency despite the world's giving us abundant evidence to the contrary. Everybody's foot of pride comes down sometime, and often more than once. It can be brutal, but I guess we need it. Still, we must push forward as best we can and if we can do it with Christ as companion, so much the better.
This is a mystifying, rambling song which might sort-of be about a funeral, sins of pride and grandiosity, and man's Fall. Like a voice crying in the wilderness thing. Thus the contradictions of this half- crazy genius. It begins:
Like the lion tears the flesh off of a man So can a woman who passes herself off as a male They sang “Danny Boy” at his funeral and the Lord’s Prayer Preacher talking ’bout Christ betrayed It’s like the earth just opened and swallowed him up He reached too high, was thrown back to the ground You know what they say about bein’ nice to the right people on the way up Sooner or later you gonna meet them comin’ down...
He was never satisfied with any production of the song. That above with the lyrics which err: I believe it is "sordid" love affair with Errol Flynn, not "sword" , but who knows? Full lyrics here.The guy can pack more words into a line than anybody - or make fewer words fill a line completely.
For what it's worth, Lou Reed took a stab at the song:
On a related theme, i.e.: that our weakness brings us closer to God and to others than our strengths, this: http://www.womenpriests.org/classic/buckley.asp
Lou Reed did a terrific job with this song at 30tg anniversary concert although, to your point about elyrics I don't think he ever took his eyes off the TelePrompTer.
