faultline Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I know that there are many who feel an affinity with the lyrics of "Faithless", and I know that there are many who don't. The song gives the illusion of one standing alone against the masses in defiance of having faith in God; nearly being persecuted. " Like a stone in the river against the floods of spring, I will quietly resist" or "Like a flower in the desert that only blooms at night, I will quietly resist" These metaphors make it seem like it it is with great triumph and resistance that one does not succumb to to the cultural onslaught of faith in God. Actually , it seems like everywhere in the culture, except in the Temple, Faith is mocked. Yet,Faith is not mocked that badly though . It is not that big of a persecution that it is in other parts of the world and other historical context. For those who agree with the sentiments of the song "Faithless" would it be offensive, silly, ridiculous, or idiotic if the the song was called "Faith" and read like the following: I've a broken moral compass to steer by My guiding star has left me wondering why And all the godless voices Empty vessels ring so loud As they move among the crowd Fools and thieves are well disguised In the classroom and marketplace. Like a stone in the river Against the floods of spring I will quietly resist I have faith in Faith I don't believe in unbelief You can say I have faith You can say I have faith With faith I cling to hope And I believe in Love In these three, I do believe I look to God to keep my life in balance To tell if my choice is leading up or down And all the shouting voices Try to throw me off my course Some by speeches some by force Fools and thieves are dangerous In the media and marketplace. Like a forest bows to winter Beneath the deep white silence I will quietly resist Like a flower in the desert That only blooms at night I will quietly resist I have faith in Faith I don't believe in unbelief You can say I have faith You can say I have faith With Faith I cling to hope And I believe in love In these three, I do believe. So does this version of the song sound pompous or arrogant? Does this sound like someone pushing their religion down other peoples throats? How is different from the original? Or does it sound ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 No offense, but those lyrics suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hulkhogan Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (Kudzu @ May 21 2007, 12:54 AM) No offense, but those lyrics suck. i second that statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProgRocker Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 What's the point of this thread? Neil has stated several times before that he doesn't believe in religion, so it's pretty clear where he stands on the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCFIELDS Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I don't get it either..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustard Death Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Hey does this mean it's ok if I go rewrite Crime and Punishment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 This thread is just daft... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 To be serious, though (although seriously, those lyrics really do suck), if I wanted to listen to Christian rock music, I'd go listen to a Christian rock band. I have no problem with Christian rock music. A lot of people like it. I usually don't really have much of an appetite for it. If Christian rock music is okay, then what the hell is wrong with agnostic rock music? After "Freewill", "Roll the Bones", "Ghost of a Chance", "Totem", "Resist", and "The Stars Look Down", are people really that shocked to find out that Neil isn't religiously affiliated after all? For that matter, why are people ragging on Neil for being agnostic? Geddy and Alex are agnostic too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeddyRulz Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I preferred it much better the old way. Faithless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theredtamasrule Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I liked this song better when it was called Resist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReflectedLight Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Music is good in faithless, but I bypass the song because of the lyrics. "I don't have faith in faith....." Neil wrote what was on his mind and made his point, but I'm just not into the lyrics, and this drive's me away from the song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerxt Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Offense. Those lyrics suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReflectedLight Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I know he doesn't care but maybe next time, leave the faith/religious stuff at home. No offense Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeddyRulz Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 07:35 AM) I know he doesn't care but maybe next time, leave the faith/religious stuff at home. No offense Neil. Nah, I like the "religious" stuff - at least from his perspective. I wish he'd even hit organized religion harder than he already did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReflectedLight Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ May 21 2007, 07:57 AM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 07:35 AM) I know he doesn't care but maybe next time, leave the faith/religious stuff at home. No offense Neil. Nah, I like the "religious" stuff - at least from his perspective. I wish he'd even hit organized religion harder than he already did. easier to like something when your in agreement and vice versa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faultline Posted May 21, 2007 Author Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ May 21 2007, 01:28 AM) I don't get it either..... The point I am making is that , as a believer, I would never write my version of the song either. It is exaterated, overly dramatic, and sort of has a martyr's complex, but that is sort of how I look at "Faithless". In our culteral contex, it does not seem to deem such a reaction. Of course , Neil is allowed to feel how he wants. I did my best to invert the song, and some of the way guys responded to it is how I responded to the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeddyRulz Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 08:02 AM) QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ May 21 2007, 07:57 AM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 07:35 AM) I know he doesn't care but maybe next time, leave the faith/religious stuff at home. No offense Neil. Nah, I like the "religious" stuff - at least from his perspective. I wish he'd even hit organized religion harder than he already did. easier to like something when your in agreement and vice versa Yep. I agree with Neil's opinions 98% of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReflectedLight Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ May 21 2007, 08:07 AM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 08:02 AM) QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ May 21 2007, 07:57 AM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 07:35 AM) I know he doesn't care but maybe next time, leave the faith/religious stuff at home. No offense Neil. Nah, I like the "religious" stuff - at least from his perspective. I wish he'd even hit organized religion harder than he already did. easier to like something when your in agreement and vice versa Yep. I agree with Neil's opinions 98% of the time. I don't, at least not in this song. I still love his drumming and music though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ May 21 2007, 05:57 AM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 07:35 AM) I know he doesn't care but maybe next time, leave the faith/religious stuff at home. No offense Neil. Nah, I like the "religious" stuff - at least from his perspective. I wish he'd even hit organized religion harder than he already did. Same. But that might be a bit over the top for most listeners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Cromartie Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I feel for people who are so troubled by the lyrics that they have to rearrange them to try & rationalize Neil's beliefs to their own. I admit I would have a lot more trouble enjoying this CD if I didn't share the viewpoint of the lyrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReflectedLight Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I wish the faithless lyrics were different lyrics, because I really like the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerxt Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE Same. But that might be a bit over the top for most listeners. No lets get this straight. To most people the initial post is bizzare in the extreme. Most people totally agree with Neil's point of view. You should note that the religious radicals that are described in TWTWB include you. You no doubt don't see it that way but the majority of this world do. Tell me you didn't vote for GWB and his Iraq war? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwrgirl35 Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 09:27 AM) I wish the faithless lyrics were different lyrics, because I really like the music. I wouldn't change a thing about those lyrics. I think they are interesting, and actually go well with the music. Just because I don't FEEL the same way, doesn't lessen my love of that song. I don't know why, but maybe I'm just tolerant of other people's point of view. And it doesn't make me love RUSH any less. It's a SONG...not a mantra. If my religious beliefs restricted my musical tastes, I wouldn't be listening to most rock groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReflectedLight Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (Gerxt @ May 21 2007, 09:53 AM) QUOTE Same. But that might be a bit over the top for most listeners. No lets get this straight. To most people the initial post is bizzare in the extreme. Most people totally agree with Neil's point of view. You should note that the religious radicals that are described in TWTWB include you. You no doubt don't see it that way but the majority of this world do. Tell me you didn't vote for GWB and his Iraq war? Most people on TRF do agree with what Neil says. I don't know. There's alot going on in the world, and I see Neil's point of view but the "I don't have faith in faith..." could have been worded differently. Not to make the ones who are religious happy, but just from a neutral standpoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test4VitalSigns Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2007, 11:12 AM) QUOTE (Gerxt @ May 21 2007, 09:53 AM) QUOTE Same. But that might be a bit over the top for most listeners. No lets get this straight. To most people the initial post is bizzare in the extreme. Most people totally agree with Neil's point of view. You should note that the religious radicals that are described in TWTWB include you. You no doubt don't see it that way but the majority of this world do. Tell me you didn't vote for GWB and his Iraq war? Most people on TRF do agree with what Neil says. I don't know. There's alot going on in the world, and I see Neil's point of view but the "I don't have faith in faith..." could have been worded differently. Not to make the ones who are religious happy, but just from a neutral standpoint. Why? Neil has every right to express his personal feelings just like the rest of us do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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