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.
While sensitive people may regard Heavy Metal as too hard, Metallica's To Live Is To Die shows very subtle sensitivity, which can be related to Taoist wisdom.
A lyrical masterpiece supporting a variety of interpretations, we look at the song from the perspective of a fallen soul seeking the path of salvation.
Oh Sister, like many Dylan songs, can be interpreted on various levels: a relationship of siblings, a love affair, possibly with biographical references? From a spiritual perspective, it may be the spirit aspect addressing the soul aspect in man.
Harry Styles' Sign of the Times may remind us to accept lessons of karma, let go of our old life, and break through to a new state of being.
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.