Spiritual Impulses in Rock and Pop Music Lyrics
It was only quite recently that I became aware of the spiritual context of Bob Dylan‘s Señor (Tales of Yankee Power) even though it was released on the B side of Changing of the Guards as well as the 1978 album Street Legal, which also contains Love in Vain.
Santana not only describes the world of opposites and suffering, but also hints at a way out. The solution is already present, if only we learn to perceive it.
Jethro Tull's Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day can be read as a description of how a seeker leaves his old life behind and overcomes karma.
It is a crucial moment for a seeker to realize: Nothing in this world can satisfy my deepest longing. I have reached the border - time to embark on a new path.
This song may be regarded as presumptuous: God talking directly to Leonard Cohen. We can also read a very humble attitude from the lyrics.
John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's Imagine has often been viewed as an atheist song. From a spiritual perspective, it can be associated with Sufi wisdom.
Anthem, released in 1992 on the album The Future, is among the first songs that come to my mind when asked about a song with a spiritual core message.