This is the verse from "The Faith" - and I am still wondering what kind of "club" is it?
Any ideas? Interpretations?
Mirek
"The club, the wheel, the mind..."
I go with Paula. Do you remember the beginning
of the movie "2001 - A Space Odyssey"?? -- how
those primitive men found out how to use a tool?
of the movie "2001 - A Space Odyssey"?? -- how
those primitive men found out how to use a tool?
Last edited by jarkko on Mon Sep 20, 2004 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Or maybe you refer to year 2001?Ahhh... now I get it - and I really like your idea!Paula wrote:A club would have to be one of the first instruments/weapons used by man, because it is so basic. It is just a bit of wood but effective as a tool to kill your meal. I was just thinking of the steps of mankind from the beginning and the advent of various religions.
Mirek - still fighting with the translation...
Ah! I have my interpretation now. I'd done it previously [honest 
! It's serendity/synchronicity, whatever the right word would be; I'm not really copy-cat'ing], and had planned to just find and transport it over here, via copy-and-paste [the topic of the day 
], but couldn't locate it 
! I'm glad it surfaced, as I would not have the energy to try to recreate it.
I was thrilled to see that my and Paula's and Jarkko's interpretations pretty much aligned; it serves as a kind of confirmation [always desirable when it comes to Leonard's writing ].
This writer [Leonard] seems to be returning to 'origins' and to symbolically speak to the 'progression' of things, i.e. our life here on earth. The sea and the sun are very basics of nature. (1) "The club" ~ the caveman's tool that you see in various depictions of that era [seen quite often in comics] ~ generally understood to be the basic tool of Neanderthal man; slightly hunched, wielding his 'baseball bat' wooden tool that is oversized at the 'hitting' [vs. 'holding'] end of it, and looks irregularly constructed [they often show them as being 'spiked']. Life was about survival. (2) "The wheel" [i.e. the infamous invention of the wheel, giving mobility beyond walking and transportation] and man is allowed to branch out, get through his day easier and quicker, and expand his horizons. (3) "The mind" ~ we finally emerged into the space where we had the luxury of contemplation, using our minds [which has certainly had its drawbacks, and gotten us into some trouble], and speculating through theory, philosophy, religion, etc. about the world around us, and our place/role in it! Man became a 'thinking' creature ~ which seems to have brought a whole new set of problems; and maybe we should have just stayed in the 'stone age.'
That's one interpretation. I have another one, but it doesn't fit the overall 'nature' of this song nearly as well.
~ Lizzy
! It's serendity/synchronicity, whatever the right word would be; I'm not really copy-cat'ing], and had planned to just find and transport it over here, via copy-and-paste [the topic of the day ], but couldn't locate it ! I'm glad it surfaced, as I would not have the energy to try to recreate it. I was thrilled to see that my and Paula's and Jarkko's interpretations pretty much aligned; it serves as a kind of confirmation [always desirable when it comes to Leonard's writing
]. This writer [Leonard] seems to be returning to 'origins' and to symbolically speak to the 'progression' of things, i.e. our life here on earth. The sea and the sun are very basics of nature. (1) "The club" ~ the caveman's tool that you see in various depictions of that era [seen quite often in comics] ~ generally understood to be the basic tool of Neanderthal man; slightly hunched, wielding his 'baseball bat' wooden tool that is oversized at the 'hitting' [vs. 'holding'] end of it, and looks irregularly constructed [they often show them as being 'spiked']. Life was about survival. (2) "The wheel" [i.e. the infamous invention of the wheel, giving mobility beyond walking and transportation] and man is allowed to branch out, get through his day easier and quicker, and expand his horizons. (3) "The mind" ~ we finally emerged into the space where we had the luxury of contemplation, using our minds [which has certainly had its drawbacks, and gotten us into some trouble], and speculating through theory, philosophy, religion, etc. about the world around us, and our place/role in it! Man became a 'thinking' creature ~ which seems to have brought a whole new set of problems; and maybe we should have just stayed in the 'stone age.'
That's one interpretation. I have another one, but it doesn't fit the overall 'nature' of this song nearly as well.
~ Lizzy
By the way, is The Faith sang on very slow melody of Un Canadien Errant? ("old Quebecois song")?
Leonard Cohen Newswire / bookoflonging.com (retired) / leonardcohencroatia.com (retired)
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