Jacobs Ladder

[LyndseyG]

Ok people, I feel silly asking this question but:

 

Why is this track called Jacobs Ladder? Does it have an underlying theme I haven't picked up?

Edited September 26, 2011 by LyndseyG

[liddybuck01]

maybe this??

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_ladder

[HowItIs]

It's what it's called when the rays of the sun break through a cloud. Like so:

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TCSvWEuTkUU/TcmhYAZuYeI/AAAAAAAAA_I/a0sQz1zJ0Ig/s1600/the-sun-breaking-through-the-clouds.jpg

 

Neil is a weather buff....

[drbirdsong]

I think it is both the Biblical and meteorological meanings combined in a way that NP doesn't do much anymore.

[trenken]

Probably not worth looking too deep into this one. There's so few lyrics, unless Neil has ever talked about it, or ever will, we'll never know what he was thinking when he wrote it, and it doesn't matter. Just one of those songs that may not even mean much anything at all.

 

Neil loves nature and the weather. Chose a name which I believe is from the bible, but Im not sure there's much you can pull from so few lines.

[trenken]

BTW, I think this is one of those songs that you can make it mean a lot things, which to me are the best kinds of lyrics.

 

Read on another site, some guy said this, and to someone else it will mean something entirely different:

 

It also is a great piece of philosophical poetry. The first section represents the philosophical darkness of the past. Clouds are something that are very ethereal and shapeless. They grow darker and darker until they begin to release their energy violently.

 

And suddenly, someone understands. The philosophies of old fall impotent before this comprehension. "Light streams down in bright unbroken beams." And the result? The dreams of men are finally able to be acheived.

 

 

[trenken]

Another guy wrote this:

 

Jacob left Beersheba, and went toward Haran. He came to the place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it [or "beside him"] and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you." Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it." And he was afraid, and said, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

[trenken]

And as expected, yet another wrote this entirely different take:

 

This song has absolutely nothing to do with religion or philosophy. It is a simple and pure piece of descriptive writing created by Neil when he was inspired by a thunder storm and the natural phenomenon called "Jacob's Ladder" that occured afterwards and the sheer beauty of those sun beams breaking through the clouds.

 

Folowed by:

THERE'S NOTHING MORE TO IT THAN THAT. STOP LOOKING FOR WHAT ISN'T EVEN THERE.

Edited September 26, 2011 by trenken

[HowItIs]

QUOTE (trenken @ Sep 26 2011, 03:50 PM)

And as expected, yet another wrote this entirely different take: This song has absolutely nothing to do with religion or philosophy. It is a simple and pure piece of descriptive writing created by Neil when he was inspired by a thunder storm and the natural phenomenon called "Jacob's Ladder" that occured afterwards and the sheer beauty of those sun beams breaking through the clouds. Folowed by: THERE'S NOTHING MORE TO IT THAN THAT. STOP LOOKING FOR WHAT ISN'T EVEN THERE.

^ This ^

 

The name is Biblical because those who named the phenomenon chose that name. Neil had nothing to do with that. So, yeah, it might be applied to ANY breakthrough from dark to light but not necessarily on purpose.

[drbirdsong]

I would be the first to agree that Neil Peart is probably not alluding to the Biblical meaning of the name, but what is nice is the fact that you can read into it whatever meaning you like. He has left it open to interpretation and that is a worthy talent. He doesn't do that as much anymore and has become a bit more direct. Both methods have merit, but I like the first one better.

[Khan]

They knew this guy named Jacob and he had a ladder..

[LyndseyG]

Thanks for your help everyone! (even Kahn!)

 

To be honest I never knew about the bible story til I read your replies so I didn't make that connection, or that the sun breaking through the clouds like that was called Jacobs Ladder. I was just curious.

 

Cheers!

[duper]

It is also a term for a high voltage travelling arc between two wires that slowly move away from each other....... also named after the "ladder to heaven"

[LyndseyG]

QUOTE (duper @ Sep 28 2011, 05:11 AM)

It is also a term for a high voltage travelling arc between two wires that slowly move away from each other....... also named after the "ladder to heaven"

I didn't know that!