Verses for contemplation on 06-18-07

There are always stories behind songs and sculptures and paintings - what it was that inspired the artist. But if that is all there was to such works, very few people would appreciate them. The themes, the forms, the tones - these resonate with other people, even if the specifics of the experiences with which these elements correlate are vastly different. So, we are free to read into these works our own connections. Take, for example, the selection below. It was written for an album about the band's experiences with an ex-band member and their less than amicable parting of the ways. Yet for some reason I can just imagine Jesus or the Buddha or someone similar sitting in a bar somewhere strumming this tune and sincerely singing these lyrics...

As you look around this room tonight,
Settle in your seat and dim the lights.
Do you want my blood, do you want my tears,
What do you want?
(What do you want from me?)
Should I sing until I can't sing any more?
Play these strings until my fingers are raw?
You're so hard to please.
(What do you want from me?)

Do you think that I know something you don't know?
(What do you want from me?)
If I don't promise you the answers would you go?
(What do you want from me?)
Should I stand out in the rain?
Do you want me to make a daisy chain for you?
I'm not the one you need.
(What do you want from me?)

You can have anything you want,
You can drift, you can dream, even walk on water,
Anything you want.

You can own everything you see,
Sell your soul for complete control,
Is that really what you need?

You can lose yourself this night,
See inside there is nothing to hide,
Turn and face the light.

What do you want from me?

-David Gilmour/Pink Floyd, "What Do You Want from Me?", from the album The Division Bell