ummmm... the song is about love for G-d and the desire for the coming of the mashiach(messiah). the demons of which he sings are not The Dark One. i know the song has been published, but it is a prayer to G-d from the soul of the singer, and it makes me a bit uncomfortable to see it used in this way. like how if you changed the words to a hymn to fit the WOT, it might make a christian feel uncomfortable. not that you've done anything wrong, just shocking to some people's sensibilities maybe...

i think matisyahu is trying to bring the wisdom of kabbalah to the greater world in order to bring about the kingdom of G-d via the mashiach more quickly. but maybe sometimes it's not understood that way. it's one of the dangers of worldliness, though the benefits may ultimately outweigh the costs.

I do understand what the song actually means, and I apologize if what I said offended you. I do know Matisyahu is not talking about "The Dark One." I took this song to be what it was--a piece of entertainment--for the purpose of comparison to the kind of themes we see in WoT. I also think it would be somewhat of a stretch to compare this to a church hymn; this is not the Mourner's Kaddish. And don't forget, this song also talks about how he doesn't want to smoke because it would cloud his brain -- not exactly a subject matter that would be sung about in a synagogue.

i'm not offended. just uncomfortable.

it is a true prayer, a prayer from the soul asking for Hashem to bring the pray-er closer to Him, to bring the world closer to Him.

though it has not been made part of a ritual, it is the very deepest, and according to kabballah, the only true form, of prayer. the soul's crying out for the need of G-d, for the understanding of G-d, for the salvation of G-d.

true prayer need not happen in shul. in fact, it very often doesn't.

and nothing is off limits when talking to G-d, least of all one's personal demons. (thou nothing in the torah demonizes smoking, it may still be a personal demon to any given individual).

really didn't want to argue with you, and i won't continue to. just wanted to put it out there that this is a song of holiness, to some. to me. as i said, there are dangers to worldliness, and one of them is secularization. it's out there now for people to purchase for entertainment, and to interpret any way they like. if anyone's interested in the writer's intent, they can probably figure out where to look into it.

peace, and apologies for my offense.

No argument here, I just didn't want you to think I was completely ignorant of what the song's original "intended" meaning is. However, I'm curious where did you find that he wrote this as a prayer with no intention of putting it on a record to make money off of it? He may be very observant, but he is also an entertainer.

You speak of the "dangers to worldliness" but there can also be pitfalls to avoiding any sort of worldliness. If I had used some song that had nothing to do with religion, we wouldn't be having this conversation. However, this song (like all the infinite number of other songs) is a piece of entertainment and thus is open to being thought of in ways it was not originally intended--that's the beauty of art. There's a song from a cartoon that makes me bawl like a babe if I hear it--because the words remind me of the loss I felt when my brother died at 19 ten years ago. The song itself has nothing to do with death or siblings or anything of the sort...however, the words and emotions coming from the song can be seen in a different light and thusly applied to a different situation. That was all I was doing with this--showing a path to look at the song slightly differently so as to see similarities in emotions, which there are many.

to go farther here would only serve to argue.

you are free to make what you want of the song because it has been published and sold.

feel free to edit my comments out if you want to. i doubt they mean anything to anyone here but me.

Kate, I can see what you mean. The title of the song in itself makes me think of Lan and the more I read of the lyrics, the more it made me think of him. So yeah, a big chunk of this song portraits his inner feelings quite well. He's a very hard man who's been hardened over the years by fighting, in a way, a battle that's been lost years ago. Nynaeve seems to have softened the walls he puts up and that, too, comes across from this song.

I think it's pretty awesome that you came across this song and made the connection. Obviously this song was made by the author with a completely different idea in mind but I think it's a positive thing to be be able to derive from such an emotionally charged song and have it mean something to you. I think any singer that writes his own music would be delighted at the fact that his compositions inspire others. It doesn't matter in what way.... just as long as it did in some manner. Music touches us all, after all and as long as the emotion comes through, it's all that matters :)

Nyn

Kate, I can see what you mean. The title of the song in itself makes me think of Lan and the more I read of the lyrics, the more it made me think of him. So yeah, a big chunk of this song portraits his inner feelings quite well. He's a very hard man who's been hardened over the years by fighting, in a way, a battle that's been lost years ago. Nynaeve seems to have softened the walls he puts up and that, too, comes across from this song. I think it's pretty awesome that you came across this song and made the connection. Obviously this song was made by the author with a completely different idea in mind but I think it's a positive thing to be be able to derive from such an emotionally charged song and have it mean something to you. I think any singer that writes his own music would be delighted at the fact that his compositions inspire others. It doesn't matter in what way.... just as long as it did in some manner. Music touches us all, after all and as long as the emotion comes through, it's all that matters :)Nyn

I'm glad you see what I did. Lan is my favorite "off-the-radar" character, with his and Nynaeve's relationship my favorite of the series (followed closely by the Rand/Aviendha relationship.) I know RJ has said that Lan was the "man he wished he could be" so I wonder if that's where we get such a realistic, deep emotional view of him. His character seems so much deeper and just "more" than most of the rest of the characters.

I agree. I think it's rather obvious who my favorite character is *laughs* But I love Lan just as much, and not just because he's the one who hooks up with Nynaeve. Their relationship is my favorite WoT relationship by far, followed by Siuan and Bryne's relationship.

In regards to Nynaeve herself, I like her the most when she's around Lan. I loved her character from her first mention in the first book, but with Lan it gives her a softer side that I have grown to really like. The dynamics between them is just perfect and what with Lan's back story it makes for a really fascinating read.

I am on p.130 on book 12 right now so I hope there will be more fun Lan and Nynaeve bits to look forward to :D

Nyn

I agree. Scenes between the two of them rank some of the best in the series. And I, too, have liked Nynaeve from the beginning...with the exception of the scene in EotW when Tam was dying...I felt like she was a bit standoffish to Rand. When she showed up looking for them was when I decided how much I like her.

I've actually not gotten that far, by far. I'm nearly finished with FoH ...but I've read every spoiler known to man so I pretty much know what's to come. I'm excited for all the Lan-Nynaeve action to come!

That's cool. I tried doing a reread before approaching the last two books, but I only got as far as FOH and then I caved and started reading book 12 lol Trust me, you have awesome things coming up in regards to Lan (and Nynaeve) :)

It's kind of obsessive of me but I have a piece of paper somewhere where I kept writing the pages of every Nynaeve mention lol Back when I was still a teenager... it's pretty amusing xD

Nyn

Haha...no worries. I have a few scenes locations written down in an email to myself of favorite Lan & Nynaeve moments. XD. Such as him finding out about Tanchico or giving her his signet ring. They are such fun reads on a quick whim.

I hope neither dies in the last book...or, if one does, I feel like it might be less cruel to have the other die as well. A little Lupin-Tonks-esque, if you know what I mean. Then again, didn't RJ once address that if Lan died, Nynaeve would be able to move on or something like that? Hopefully that was merely a hypothetical attestment to her strength as a person. ;-)