Elvis Costello, Mark Twain, King Solomon, and certainly
countless others from all cultures do a great job of identifying what is wrong.
It seems that a solution is all too rare. How do you get “two little Hitlers”
to live together? This song was a huge hit in the 70’s…
If you remember this song, leave a note about listening to
this in the 70’s
I admit it, Elvis Costello is on my short list of "go-to" music. Elvis has a keen grasp of so much that is wrong in the world. He actually reminds me of Mark Twain. (Interestingly both men are known by their pen names rather than their given names, Declan MacManus and Samuel Clemens) Another similarity is that while both of them have/had a keen sense of the problem, they do/did not see the answer. That saddens me deeply. But I digress....
Here's an astute look into the world of relationships, and probably marriage. All of the problem, none of the solution. How to get two inherently selfish people to live together?
I really love this song. Such a powerful metaphor, if only he had a more powerful solution. What is your solution to the "problem of Hitler"?
Ah, I remember it well. A beautiful song that I pretty much hated. It seemed the rest of the world loved this song but I found it soooooooo depressing. Funny that I now resonate so strongly with Ecclesiastes.
For your listening pleasure and metaphysical pondering I offer Kansas' highest charting single from the album "Point of no Return,"
Gotta love those 70's outfits and hairstyles.
While this idea is not taken directly from Ecclesiastes but is more closely aligned with Gen 3:19 (the first book in the Old Testament of the Bible and attributed to Moses) and Psalm 103:14 (a book in the Old Testament, much of which was penned by Solomon's father, King David), the rather depressing nature of the inevitability of death is reminiscent of Solomon's writing in Ecclesiastes. Solomon wasn't the only guy thinking about mortality and meaning. Apparently, the line "all we are is dust in the wind" is found in a Native American poem and certainly, the topic of mortality and "dust" is found in many other writings from various cultures.
Every time I hear this song I am reminded of 3 powerful images:
Hearing this on the radio while driving an orange VW Beetle and hating the song
Trying to slow dance to this decidedly unromantic tune
Kathy Hosfelt loved this song
I am older and wiser now. I always appreciated the musicianship and arrangement of the song. Now I understand more clearly Kerry Livgren's, the man who wrote this song, perspective. Ultimately, life without God is meaningless. If there is no God we are left with nihilism and vacuous moral relativism.
