Faithfull

DOSW

This song confuses me... at times it seems like it criticizes organized religion, at others it seems like it's criticizing religion in general, and at others it seems like it is criticizing agnosticism or athiesm. But there are times when Ed has said that it is just about believing in something and having faith to pull through.

It's a tough nut to crack. It's a good song, for sure, but the lyrics baffle me.

"Plaque on the wall says that, 'No one's slept here.'
It's rare to come appon a bridge that has not been around, or been stepped on.
Whatever the notion we lace in our prayers, the man upstairs is used to all of this noise.
I'm through with screaming.

It echoes. Nobody hears, it goes, it goes, it goes.
Like echoes. Nobody hears, it goes, it goes, it goes, like this.

We're faithfull. We all believe, we all believe it.
We're faithfull. Oh, we all believe, we all believe it.
We're faithfull. We all believe, we all believe it. (x2)
We are... Woo. Haa haa.

Echoes. Nobody hears, it goes, it goes, it goes. (x2)

We're faithfull. We all believe we all believe it. (x3)
So faithfull. Oh, we all believe, we all believe it.

M-Y-T-H is belief in the game.
Controls that keeps us in a box of fear.
We never listen. Voice inside so drowned out. Drowned...
You are, you are, you are everything thing.
And everything is you. Me you, you me, it's all related.
What's a boy to do?
Just be a darling and I will be too, faithfull to you."

cookies

I always see that as saying believe in yourself. The voice inside will guide you but it is drowned out, from the faith we were taught to believe. Not that what you were taught is wrong but don't forget what you have naturally. Lets face it to be safe in this world, we were told no don't do this don't do that since we were infants. Which also taught us not to trust ourselves. And we grew away from that inner spirit. I truely believe that that as an infant we were the most we could ever be as a human. But as humans we seem to place that faith in one basket and this song is just saying don't forget the other one. Your spirite will always be faithful to you....

Ms. Haiku

It's hard for me to create a visual in my head about it, so I'm not attached to it. Is it about applying the term "faith" from the social to the personal. The protagonist figured out how faith can apply to his life, and it's more concrete, I guess, you think? I don't think it disses organized religion as much as "well, that just didn't work for me" attitude.

ledbetteroregon

to me its about everyone having faith in something other than themselves. but the truth is to look inside for your own faith and wisdom

slightofjeff

in a nutshell, it's this: The world is full of religions (or faiths, hence 'Faithfull," with two ls) that prescribe a different path to heaven. Not all of them can be correct. If Christians are right, then Buddhists are going to hell. Practitioners of most religions, according to the song, are offering up only "echoes that nobody hears."

There's no telling which faith is correct. So what's a boy to do? The best bet, ed, seems to be to just take the concept common to most all of them and do that. Just love one another. Be a good person. Most religions teach to be faithful to their version of God .. ed's solution is just to be faithful to one another.

just be darling and I will be too ... faithful to you

MrFadedGlory

It is one of my favorites because it suggests that if you have faith in yourself everything will work out. The song tells you to reach down deep and don't worry about what others think; regardless of your religion or lack thereof we all have a voice that tells us something and it is okay to listen to that voice and be faithfull to it rather than buy into something that you just don't feel; or worse yet be completely hypocritical. It doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong, just be darling; meaning if you just love yourself and mankind and accept people for who they are I will be TOO faithfull to you.

Love everyone regardless of what you consider to be their faults and stop trying to change others, because we all believe in our own faith, right or wrong, left or right, upside down or backwards...this will never change, EVER.

You can be a Muslim and we're still brothers, but its not too darling to fly planes into skyscrapers...

"what went wrong" -Marker in the sand

MichaelMcKevin

slightofjeff wrote:

in a nutshell, it's this: The world is full of religions (or faiths, hence 'Faithfull," with two ls) that prescribe a different path to heaven. Not all of them can be correct. If Christians are right, then Buddhists are going to hell. Practitioners of most religions, according to the song, are offering up only "echoes that nobody hears."

There's no telling which faith is correct. So what's a boy to do? The best bet, ed, seems to be to just take the concept common to most all of them and do that. Just love one another. Be a good person. Most religions teach to be faithful to their version of God .. ed's solution is just to be faithful to one another.

just be darling and I will be too ... faithful to you

Excellently put... and so true. I'm a confirmed catholic but i rarely attend church. I figure I'm only Catholic because my parents told me that's what to be... how do i know that islam or judiasm aren't the correct way to worship? I don't and i never will as long as I'm a living human being. I follow the basic principles you mentioned and i like your interpretation of the song.

VEDHEAD27

Wow. Very interesting stuff here. And agreed, very nicely summed up slightofjeff. That's always how I've felt it as well. YES! Love one another, lead a good life...be a good person. Have faith in each other and yourself...BE faithfull to each other and to yourself. Live by this! And I don't know but this song certainly makes me "believe".

*sigh*

I honestly don't have anything really in depth to add...I just wanted to say that I adore this song to no end. I smiled when I saw a new thread about it. It always makes me smile. It's been "my most listened to" PJ song (according to my Itunes) for quite sometime.

armanHammer

On the Garden DVD, Ed says we should all have faith in 'something bigger', then corrects himself ("I don't know about that.. maybe.. faith that it's all gonna work out.")

DOSW

armanHammer wrote:

On the Garden DVD, Ed says we should all have faith in 'something bigger', then corrects himself ("I don't know about that.. maybe.. faith that it's all gonna work out.")

Yeah, that made me think it's definitely a positive song about believing in something, rather than criticism against organized religion.

darthvedder88

While I see all these interpretations as logical, I always felt that it was about two lovers who shared different religious beliefs. I mean, it's a "bridge that has not been around nor been stepped on." And both of the lovers have to look to their own higher power they believe in for guidance on what should be done, hence "Whatever the notions we lace our prayers the man upstairs is used to all of this noise I'm through with screaming." And at the end of the song they agree to only be faithful to eachother.

MrFadedGlory

darthvedder88 wrote:

While I see all these interpretations as logical, I always felt that it was about two lovers who shared different religious beliefs. I mean, it's a "bridge that has not been around nor been stepped on." And both of the lovers have to look to their own higher power they believe in for guidance on what should be done, hence "Whatever the notions we lace our prayers the man upstairs is used to all of this noise I'm through with screaming." And at the end of the song they agree to only be faithful to eachother.

I've always interpeted the bridge line as a Virgin Mary reference meaning that the basis of Christian beliefs revolves around something we all know is not possible. Other times I've thought maybe a reference to how Christian worshippers who otherwise might step outside the boundries of their religion by having sex before marriage etc. still consider themselves faithfull Christians.

Anyone else feel like this song picks back up on the Avocado with Marker in the Sand??

wahine

slightofjeff wrote:

in a nutshell, it's this: The world is full of religions (or faiths, hence 'Faithfull," with two ls) that prescribe a different path to heaven. Not all of them can be correct. If Christians are right, then Buddhists are going to hell. Practitioners of most religions, according to the song, are offering up only "echoes that nobody hears."

There's no telling which faith is correct. So what's a boy to do? The best bet, ed, seems to be to just take the concept common to most all of them and do that. Just love one another. Be a good person. Most religions teach to be faithful to their version of God .. ed's solution is just to be faithful to one another.

just be darling and I will be too ... faithful to you

This is one of my favorites b/c of the emotions it brings out. I have struggled with my spirituality, and belonging to one religion over another. I recently had a friend who was brought up in the Catholic faith who doesn't practise now and in fact calls himself an atheist.. I digress, he and I spoke a long time and he said " you love all people, you want the best for all people, your spirituality is based on you being a humanitarian. It's why you became a nurse and it is why you are a nurturer. " I always felt a connection between my spirituality and Faithful. Thanks for putting it into words for me, slightofjeff.

NathBr

DOSW wrote:

Yeah, that made me think it's definitely a positive song about believing in something, rather than criticism against organized religion.

I agree !!!!! And I believe that the song says that exist something bigger than humam being, which knows all this noise (The man upstairs is used to all of this noise), but we just feel scare because we don´t have faith. At first, the echoes goes, but if you believe, you can be quite off the "box of fear" !!!!