Musical Interlude: Magnificent
May 27, 2009
Sometimes, we just need to stop everything else, and praise…
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I know some say otherwise, but the lyrics really cry out that this is a song about God, and, in this way, I think a great presentation of Christian theology of love and beauty from a popular cd.
I agree with you, Henry. It seems like there are definite allusions to psalms and to the manificat.
Bono said it was a song about a couple, the lyrics influenced by Cole Porter(C’est magnifique) & Bach (Magnificat). From what I understand, he’s an Evangelical of sorts, a rarity in Europe. Of the harmless, non-gay-bashing etc. sort, of course. During my college years, I was on-stage with U2 and many other bands as a security guard. Axl Rose and U2 knockin’ on heaven’s door. Ah, nostalgia.
Sadly, the last really good U2 album was Achtung Baby. One can’t say “He found god and lost his talent” though, the “confessing” business goes back decades. Too much garbled static since, especially on the current album, where Brian Eno’s noise is the most prominent feature and melodies are sparse. Shoulda stuck with Rick Rubin.
Re: Gerald’s comment.
“Sometimes, we just need to stop everything else, and praise…”
Gerald,
The one does not preclude the other. The Song of Songs comes to mind (though I know you probably would reject the traditional interpretation of it). But I (as a Christian) would say that the relationship between God and the soul as a “couple in love” always end up reflected in lovers, and likewise, the couple in love reflects the ultimate example of love, which is Trinitarian (a couple which joins together in praise with a third!)
Oh I didn’t mean one excluded the other. All forms of love are related. Lyrically, he obviously is blending the respective vernaculars of romance and religion. On a tangent, reminds me of the St. Teresa of Avila statue in Rome and its orgasmic expression. Per se, it looks sexual. And who knows, the ‘spiritual ecstasy’ may well have manifested itself physically.
Song of Songs’ traditional interpretation … ? the lovers being allegories of Israel and “G-d” ? If that’s how it’s meant, there’s no reason to reject it. It’s certainly effective to give the people some spice :) It’s a shame that was lost to a large degree in the three “religions of the book”. Islam had very sensual poetry and literature, eg. It seems to me that Eastern spirituality/sexuality (of old, that is) is frequently more holistic and positive. One just has to eschew goofy English translations :)
Btw, if you haven’t come across it before, check out this (loose) translation of the Tao http://www.beatrice.com/wordpress/tao-te-ching
As an interesting side note, “Magnificient” was originally titled “French Disco”, before they reworked it to what it is now.
The traditional was the soul with Christ or the Church with Christ, which is like, as you said, Israel with God. And yes, it helps provide a way of understanding our relationship with God, and is used as such from Origen to St Gregory of Nyssa to the works of St John of the Cross and Teresa as you mentioned.