Sunday, February 15, 2009

Sheep

Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away;
Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air.
You better watch out,
There may be dogs about
I've looked over Jordan, and I have seen
Things are not what they seem.

What do you get for pretending the danger's not real.
Meek and obedient you follow the leader
Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel.
What a surprise!
A look of terminal shock in your eyes.
Now things are really what they seem.
No, this is no bad dream.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by.
With bright knives He releaseth my soul.
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places.
He converteth me to lamb cutlets,
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger.
When cometh the day we lowly ones,
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication
Master the art of karate,
Lo, we shall rise up,
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water.

Bleating and babbling I fell on his neck with a scream.
Wave upon wave of demented avengers
March cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.

Have you heard the news?
The dogs are dead!
You better stay home
And do as you're told.
Get out of the road if you want to grow old.




- Released January 23, 1977

- The song was
originally titled "Raving and Drooling". (Or being insane)

- The sheep represent the lowest class of the social system, the proletariat. They are oblivious and exploited, "only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air".


- "Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away; only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air." This indicates the sheep are peacefully grazing - unaware that they are soon to be brought to a slaughterhouse.

- "You better watch out, there may be dogs about." They are warned of the presence of dogs, the iron-handed guardians of the system.

- "I've looked over Jordan, and I have seen things are not what they seem." is a reference to Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and has become an idiom for having an ecstatic vision, especially one involving death, particularly one's own. In the book of Exodus, the Israelites must cross the river Jordan to get to the "Promised Land" after their escape from Egyptian Slavery.

- "Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel. What a surprise! A look of terminal shock in your eyes." The awful truth suddenly dawns on them and with "terminal shock in (their) eyes" they realize that they are being led into the "valley of steel", which is a metaphorical phrase, because it also represents the high-rise buildings (hence the steel framework), home of the corporate world as well as the slaughterhouse.

- "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want He makes me down to lie through pastures green. He leadeth me the silent waters by..." This entire stanza is a mock biblical verse in which the sheep describe their dedicated belief in their master with "great power and great hunger." But in a humorous turnabout the sheep, "through quiet reflection and great dedication" master the art of karate and rebel against the dogs.

- Bleating and babbling I fell on his neck with a scream. Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream." This verse describes the sheep's revolt, as they fall "on his neck with a scream." They might have had enough but they are still undereducated and uncivilized as they are described as "demented avengers."

- "Have you heard the news? The dogs are dead!" The sheep, because of their strength in numbers, overpower and kill the dogs.

-
Starting at 6:27 and ending at 7:08, a parody of Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...") is spoken in the background by means of a vocoder, with the words changed to suit the subject of the song. Reference

-
The lyrics spoken in the background are:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me down to lie, Through pastures green, He leadeth me the silent waters by. With bright knives, He releaseth my soul. He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places. He converteth me to lamb cutlets. For lo! He hath great power and great hunger. When cometh the day we lowly ones, Through quiet reflection and great dedication, Master the art of karate, Lo! we shall rise up And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water."

- During the breakdown section, in-between the 2nd chorus and the synthesizer solo, various sound effects used in the middle section of "Dogs" are once again utilized in this section, including the repeated "Stone" line that was sung by David Gilmour and echoed to produce a dog like sound.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" as sung by Joan Baez (1969)



The traditional lyrics: (chorus in bold)

Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home

I looked over Jordan and what did I see
Coming for to carry me home
A band of angels coming after me
Coming for to carry me home

(chorus)

Sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down
Coming for to carry me home
But still my soul feels heavenly bound
Coming for to carry me home

(chorus)

The brightest day that I can say
Coming for to carry me home
When Jesus washed my sins away,
Coming for to carry me home.

(chorus)

If I get there before you do
Coming for to carry me home
I'll cut a hole and pull you through
Coming for to carry me home

(chorus)

If you get there before I do
Coming for to carry me home
Tell all my friends I'm coming too
Coming for to carry me home

(chorus)



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