“Someone Else?” by Queensrÿche

Promised Land
EMI
1994

"Someone Else?" is a picture of Jesus reflecting on his life and vocation as Messiah. He still harbors doubt that he is Messiah but he obediently puts one foot in front of the other as he heads down the road before him. This journey of obedience leads Jesus to a place of total transformation.

When I fell from grace

I never realized

How deep the flood was around me

A man whose life was toil

Was like a kettle left to boil

And the water left these scars on me

I know now who I am

If only for a while

I recognize the changes

I feel like I did before the

Magic wore thin and the

Baptism of stains began

They used to say I was

Nowhere, man

Heading down was my destiny

But yesterday, I swear

That was someone else not me

Here I stand at the crossroads edge

Afraid to reach out for eternity

One step, when I look down

I see someone else not me

Looking back and I see someone else

All my life they said I

Was going down

But I'm still standing

Stronger, proud

And today I know there's

So much more I can be

From where I stand at

The crossroads edge

There's a path leading out to sea

And from somewhere

Deep in my mind

Sirens sing out loud

Songs of doubt

As only they know how

But one glance back reminds

And I see, someone else not me

I keep looking back at someone else, me?

Interpretation

When I fell from grace
I never realized
How deep the flood was around me
A man whose life was toil
Was like a kettle left to boil
And the water left these scars on me

Jesus reflects on his newfound awareness of vocation after his baptism. Falling “from grace” connotes his being sent from the Father to earth. That his “life was toil” is a description of his upbringing as a carpenter. In addition, Jesus felt the pressure, resentment, and oppression (like boiling water) typical of a Jewish man in the Roman Empire and was molded (scarred) by these experiences.

I know now who I am
If only for a while
I recognize the changes
I feel like I did before the
Magic wore thin and the
Baptism of stains began
At his baptism, Jesus was indwelt with God’s spirit giving him a clear understanding of his vocation. That moment in the water was a transcendent (magical) moment that changed Jesus. He feels new and fresh, almost childlike ("before the magic wore thin"). But now he must instigate his vocation, which will involve rejection, torture, and execution (a “baptism of stains”).

They used to say I was
Nowhere, man
Heading down was my destiny
But yesterday, I swear
That was someone else not me
As a man from Nazareth in the region of Galilee Jesus was subject to the stereotypes associated with that region. John 1:46 has one person asking, “can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Again in John 7:41 someone else inquires incredulously, “Surely Messiah isn’t going to come from Galilee, is he?” This is the first meaning of Jesus being called a “nowhere man”. The other meaning involves the Roman perception of him. Galilee was an obscure corner of the Roman kingdom and the periodic rebel groups there were put down ruthlessly. If Jesus aspired to insurrection then he would meet a violent end. Jesus says that until his baptism that was who he was but now he has grasped his divine vocation.

Here I stand at the crossroads edge
Afraid to reach out for eternity
One step, when I look down
I see someone else not me
Jesus confesses his fear about walking the path before him. With his self-discovery has come the knowledge where it will lead. However, he takes “one step” and finds he is becoming a new man; one that is no longer afraid.

Looking back and I see someone else
Free from fear he strides confidently down that path.

All my life they said I
Was going down
But I'm still standing
Stronger, proud
And today I know there's
So much more I can be
Because he worked as a carpenter, Jesus probably did not make it very far in his rabbinical schooling. This means he failed (he "was going down") in a certain sense to attain a high level in the Jewish religious structure. However, despite all these stereotypes, Jesus knows God’s will and this strengthens him. The “so much more I can be” refers to him realizing he is Messiah. This realization probably occurred over time since the Jewish expectation of Messiah was so different from what Jesus actualized.

From where I stand at
The crossroads edge
There's a path leading out to sea
And from somewhere
Deep in my mind
Sirens sing out loud
Songs of doubt
As only they know how
But one glance back reminds
And I see, someone else not me
The scene jumps forward to the garden where Jesus is praying, asking God to remove this cup from him. This cup (execution) is the “path leading out to sea”. Jesus wrestles with doubt and fear about what is coming. Once again though, Jesus goes forward and, when he looks back, discovers a changed man.

I keep looking back at someone else, me?
Jesus looks back and sees someone so different from who he is now, the similarities are few. This leads him to conclude he has become someone totally new.

“That I Would Be Good” by Alanis Morissette

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Maverick
1998

When God calls something good it’s a moment of grace—complete acceptance. The narrator in this song wonders if her life can receive that judgment of worth. She’s seeking grace, for God to love her regardless of her efforts or lack of efforts. The narrator suggests a series of life circumstances in which she might find herself. In each case she asks if God will accept her.

That I would be good

Even if I did nothing

That I would be good

Even if I got a thumbs-down

That I would be good

If I got and stayed sick

That I would be good

Even if I gained ten pounds

That I would be fine

Even if I went bankrupt

That I would be good

If I lost my hair and my youth

That I would be great

If I was no longer queen

That I would be grand

If I was not all-knowing

That I would be loved

Even when I numb myself

That I would be good

Even when I'm overwhelmed

That I would be loved

Even when I was fuming

That I would be good

Even if I was clingy

That I would be good

Even if I lost sanity

That I would be good

With or without you

Interpretation

That I would be good
Even if I did nothing
The first line of this couplet introduces the desire for grace even if the narrator does nothing. She wonders if God will deem her worthy of value if she makes no effort to be "good".

That I would be good
Even if I got a thumbs-down
“Thumbs-down” refers to a negative response from people in general or one person in particular. The narrator questions if God will reject her as have other people.

That I would be good
If I got and stayed sick
Society marginalizes people with mental and physical handicaps or diseases and the narrator asks if God sees people that way or calls them “good” despite their sickness.

That I would be good
Even if I gained ten pounds
Here the narrator wants to know if God will call her “good” even if her physical appearance becomes unattractive by society’s standards; something as trivial as gaining “ten pounds”.

That I would be fine
Even if I went bankrupt
The first line in this couplet changes here to “fine” and sees the narrator asking if she can trust God even if she becomes destitute or “bankrupt”. “Fine” then refers to physical needs and brings to mind Matthew 6:26-34 where Jesus describes how God will provide for us in our need just as birds and flowers are cared for.

That I would be good
If I lost my hair and my youth
This couplet returns to using the original “good”. The narrator recognizes that society places less value on elderly people and asks if God will value her in old age (when she is without her “hair and [her] youth”) even when society will not.

That I would be great
If I was no longer queen
The first line in this couplet switches to “great” and the narrator wonders if God will see her as famous (if God will put her on a pedestal) when her worldly fame fades; when she is “no longer queen”.

That I would be grand
If I was not all-knowing
The first line switches to “grand” in this couplet implying that even when the narrator makes mistakes (when she is “not all-knowing”) she can trust in God and find peace; she can be “grand”.

That I would be loved
Even when I numb myself
The first line in this couplet changes again this time to “loved”. The narrator wonders if God will love her even if she is “numbed”. The numbing could refer to substances, experiences, depression, or anything else that would dull the narrator’s mind to God.

That I would be good
Even when I'm overwhelmed
The first line reverts to “good” here and describes the narrator’s hope that God will value her even when she doesn’t have her life under control; when she is “overwhelmed”.

That I would be loved
Even when I was fuming
Back to “loved” in this couplet. The narrator hopes that God loves her even when she loses her temper; even when she is “fuming” at God.

That I would be good
Even if I was clingy
Back to “good” here. The image painted in this couplet is one of a child hanging on to a parent. The narrator wonders if God dislikes her when she is “clingy” and needy.

That I would be good
Even if I lost sanity
This couplet is the narrator concluding her list of life situations in which she might find herself and in which she wonders if God will love her and value her. Here the situation is the loss of “sanity”. This could mean actual clinical insanity or living life in a way that makes the world think she has gone off the deep end. If we truly follow God the latter will be the case.

That I would be good
With or without you
The narrator longs for this final statement to be true. She wants to see value in herself; the same value God saw in creation. The whole song has been her hoping God finds value in her but now, even without God, she hopes her life has worth.

“Dissident” by Pearl Jam

Vs.
Epic Records
1993

This song expands on the Biblical story of the high priest Eli and the boy Samuel. Eli, the narrator, is uncertain what to make of the child who God calls to be a prophet. The chorus and second stanza reveal that Eli is speaking from a point several years after Hannah, the boy’s mother, leaves Samuel in the Temple. This then is not a chronology of Eli’s feelings but instead him reflecting on these events in hindsight. From this perspective Eli knows Samuel is a prophet and, with this new information, Eli looks back on Hannah’s struggle with new eyes.

She nursed him there, over a night

I wasn't so sure she wanted him to stay

What to say? What to say?

But soon she was down. Soon he was low

At a quarter past, a holy no

She had to turn around

When she couldn't hold, she folded

A dissident is here

Escape is never the safest path

A dissident. A dissident is here

And to this day she's glided on

Always home but so far away

Like a word misplaced

Nothing said, what a waste

But when she had contact with the conflict

There was meaning but she sold him to the state

She had to turn around

When she couldn't hold she folded

A dissident is here

Escape is never the safest path

A dissident. A dissident is here

She gave him away when she couldn't hold

No, she folded

A dissident is here

Escape is never the safest path

A dissident, a dissident is here

Oh, couldn't hold on. She couldn't hold

No, she folded. A dissident is here

Escape is never the safest place

A dissident is here

Interpretation

She nursed him there, over a night
I wasn't so sure she wanted him to stay
What to say? What to say?
But soon she was down. Soon he was low
At a quarter past. A holy no
She had to turn around
First Samuel 1-2 tells the story when God grants Hannah’s request for a son after years of failing to conceive. In return, Hannah promises to give her child back to God for service in the Temple. In this first stanza, Eli, the high priest, describes the struggle he sees in Hannah. He wonders if she will renege on her promise. Eli wonders if he should intercede, “What to say?” But when Samuel, her son, is done nursing (1 Samuel 1:24), she brings him to the temple and leaves him in Eli’s care. There is still a struggle going on in Hannah but she remains obedient, turns around (away from her child) and goes back home.

When she couldn't hold, she folded
A dissident is here
Escape is never the safest path
A dissident. A dissident is here
In this stanza Eli describes Hannah’s actions; she didn’t resist God but let her son go, “she folded”. Then Eli calls Samuel a dissident. As a boy Samuel is called by God to be a prophet, which made him a routinely hated figure, “a dissident”, because he spoke God’s truth. Despite this tricky relationship, Eli recognizes that God has called Samuel and it is not the “safest path” for Eli to “escape” or go against God.

And to this day she's glided on
Always home but so far away
Like a word misplaced.
Nothing said, what a waste
But when she had contact with the conflict
There was meaning but she sold him to the state
She had to turn around
Eli again describes Hannah this time in the absence of her son. He portrays her as getting on with her life though he imagines her as not entirely happy and maybe even depressed “always home but so far away”. When she faced her promise to God, she fulfilled it; she gave Samuel up to service in the temple “the state”. She wanted to hold onto her son but she obeyed God and she walked away from the temple leaving Samuel there “she had to turn around”.

When she couldn't hold she folded
A dissident is here
Escape is never the safest path
A dissident. A dissident is here

She gave him away when she couldn't hold
No, she folded
A dissident is here
Escape is never the safest path
A dissident, a dissident is here
Oh, couldn't hold on. She couldn't hold
No, she folded. A dissident is here
Escape is never the safest place
A dissident is here
The repetition of this stanza indicates Eli’s apprehension towards the boy prophet. Perhaps he is anticipating the calamity about to befall Israel. Eli knows Israel’s history and understand that a prophet is raised up in a time of need. 1 Samuel 2-5 describes the sin of Eli’s sons and their corresponding defeat in battle against the Philistines. In this battle, both of Eli’s sons are killed, the ark of the covenant (Israel’s holiest object) is taken by the enemy, and when Eli hears the news he falls out of his seat, breaks his neck, and dies. If Eli has any idea that this misfortune is about to occur, his words in the song may a wish that Hannah had “folded”, broken her promise and kept Samuel away from the temple. These dissident prophets are never a good omen.

“The Playboy Mansion” by U2

Pop
Island Records
1997

This song describes the cost of pursuing material wealth and popular approval. The narrator sees the Playboy Mansion as her best chance for achieving her goal of fame and fortune. The pursuit of material wealth and popular acclaim represented by the Playboy Mansion is juxtaposed with our desire for God to accept us into heaven (another kind of mansion). We often mistake society's definition of success for God's. Take particular notice of the gambling theme. U2 equate a destructive gambling habit with our blind pursuit of material wealth and renown.

If Coke is a mystery

Michael Jackson, history

If beauty is truth

And surgery the fountain of youth

What am I to do?

Have I got the gift to get me through

The gates of that mansion?

If OJ is more than a drink

And a Big Mac bigger than you think

If perfume is an obsession

And talk shows, confession

What have we got to lose

Another push and we'll be through

The gates of that mansion

I never bought a Lotto ticket

I never parked in anyone's space

The banks feel like cathedrals

I guess casinos took their place

Love, come on down

Don't wake her, she'll come around

Chance is a kind of religion

Where you're damned for plain hard luck

I never did see that movie

I never did read that book

But love, come on down

And let my numbers come around

Don't know if I can hold on

Don't know if I'm that strong

Don't know if I can wait that long

'Til the colors come flashing and the lights go on

Then will there be no time for sorrow

Then will there be no time for shame

And though I can't say why

I know I've got to believe

We'll go driving in that pool

It's who you know that gets you through

The gates of the Playboy mansion

But they don't mention, the pain to reach

Then will there be no time for sorrow

Then will there be no time for shame

Then will there be no time for sorrow

Interpretation

If Coke is a mystery
Michael Jackson, history
If beauty is truth
And surgery the fountain of youth
What am I to do?
Have I got the gift to get me through
The gates of that mansion?
In the first stanza, the narrator considers the mystery of Coca-Cola (its secret recipe and iconic cultural status) and wonders if this intangible quality with which it projects commercial success is the "truth" she seeks. Or, she wonders, if she could attain Michael Jackson's legendary status by pursuing the same sort of cosmetic reengineering of her appearance. At the very least it might stave off the effects of aging as a "fountain of youth”. But then the narrator asks, “what am I to do?” She wonders if she has the “gift” to be admitted into the Playboy Mansion; more specifically, the sex appeal of “Coke” and the physical modifications of “Michael Jackson”.

If OJ is more than a drink
And a Big Mac bigger than you think
If perfume is an obsession
And talk shows, confession
What have we got to lose?
Another push and we'll be through
The gates of that mansion
The narrator now considers the downside of her dream. She reflects on “OJ” (Simpson) and the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and realizes that celebrity sometimes brings danger. Next she thinks about her weight. She describes the calorie content of McDonald’s “Big Mac” as being “bigger than you think”; it can make her fat and steal her dream. She must keep her weight down and maintain a broader façade of beauty represented by the Calvin Klein perfume, “Obsession”. To reach her goal the narrator will be exposed to media scrutiny. “Talk shows, confession” describes a less-than-private life of celebrity she would experience with paparazzi and non-stop media appearances. However, she shrugs and says, “what have we got to lose?” The narrator believes the future costs are insignificant compared to fame and fortune.

I never bought a Lotto ticket
I never parked in anyone's space
The banks feel like cathedrals
I guess casinos took their place
Love, come on down
Don't wake her, she'll come around
Next, the narrator laments (in a sort of prayer) never trying to cut corners (she “never bought a Lotto ticket”) or cheating (she “never parked in anyone’s space”) because she’s falling on hard times as she strives to enter the Playboy Mansion. “The banks feel like cathedrals” because the narrator feels out of place and in awe when she enters since she has no money. In pursuit of the Playboy Mansion, the narrator took a big gamble (“casinos” took the place of “banks”). This line also hints at her admitting that she has exchanged her real self (a solid bank-type investment) for a phony self (the instability of a casino). But rather than divert from this path she appeals to “Love” to “come on down”. This reference is the first spiritual shade painted into the song. The narrator is speaking to God (U2 often speaks of God in the feminine) asking for help in reaching her goal. When no answer comes the narrator backs off, not wanting to disturb God (“don’t wake her”) but remaining convinced that God will “come around”.

Chance is a kind of religion
Where you're damned for plain hard luck
I never did see that movie
I never did read that book
But love, come on down
And let my numbers come around
The narrator continues seeking God’s assistance in a clumsy prayer. She admits her approach in gaining celebrity status is a gamble, which “is a kind of religion”. The narrator feels “damned” for her “plain hard luck” and blames the media for not showing her the downside of chasing celebrity; she hasn’t seen “that movie” or “read that book” about the people who have made wrecks of their lives by pursuing the Playboy Mansion. She concludes her prayer with one more entreaty. She asks God to “let [her] numbers come around”; to be picked to go through those doors.

Don't know if I can hold on
Don't know if I'm that strong
Don't know if I can wait that long
'Til the colors come flashing and the lights go on
The narrator is at a very low place and wonders if she “can hold on”, if she’s “that strong”, and if she “can wait that long”. She’s waiting for God to change her fortunes and help her become a celebrity. Arriving at her goal will be characterized by “flashing” colors and “lights”, which is a depiction of a photo shoot, movie set, or runway appearance.

Then will there be no time for sorrow
Then will there be no time for shame
And though I can't say why
I know I've got to believe
This stanza reveals the narrator’s belief that achieving celebrity status will bring her happiness. As a celebrity “there will be no time for sorrow” or “shame”. She can’t put her finger on why these things will make her happy but since she has taken this path she has to believe it or face the fact that her dream was foolish. This stanza also opens the possibility that the narrator is considering the other kind of mansion. In God’s kingdom (the other kind of “mansion”) there will be “no time for sorrow” or “shame”.

We'll go driving in that pool
It's who you know that gets you through
The gates of the Playboy mansion
But they don't mention, the pain to reach
The narrator laments the dream that is slipping from her grasp. She really liked the idea of “driving in that pool” (maybe a limo with a built-in pool). Her self-fulfillment was based on popularity and material wealth and it is now gone. She believes “it’s who you know” that gets your foot in the door. This also alludes to knowing God as the only way to enter the other mansion—God’s kingdom. With this dual meaning the final line makes sense. There is great pain associated with striving to enter the Playboy Mansion, which amounts to self-degradation and dehumanization. The great pain associated with entering God’s mansion is giving up our hopes and dreams of material wealth and popular fame.

Then will there be no time for sorrow
Then will there be no time for shame
Then will there be no time for sorrow
This final stanza describes reality in God’s mansion. By giving up her dreams of celebrity, the narrator is now dreaming of God’s mansion where her “sorrow” and “shame” will melt away.