Radio Deconstruction: God-Like, Gogol Bordello
Good morning. Welcome to Radio Deconstruction. Today I'll tell you about Gogol Bordello's God-Like. It is the ugliest song I know.
Not the worst song, not the saddest song -- though there's a lot of sorrow in there, if you look -- but the ugliest. It's unflinching, and an interesting example of calculated, artistic use of ugliness as theme.
This song has dual vocalists, male and female, which I note as HIM and HER in the lyrics. The voices are expressive, ringing with weariness and contempt. The characters are in Hell -- I mean here Hell in the broader, philosophical sense that is not tied to a specific religious interpretation, but rather that separation from the Divine that that is imposed by the self.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. There is in classical Christianity a concept of the 'sin against the Holy Spirit' which is said to be unforgivable. This concept at first blush can prove difficult to square with the notion of infinite divine mercy, until some explanation happens. As I understand it -- and as I've come to integrate the concept into my own admittedly baroque structure -- the Divine does not abrogate the individual's will. The sin against the Holy Spirit is the act that makes you truly believe you're unforgivable, that you don't deserve mercy. Since that mercy cannot be forced on you, and you won't accept it, you cannot be forgiven.
God-Like is, to me, all about that concept. The speakers are so far past that line they can't remember what it looked like when they crossed it. They exist in a squalid gutter of the soul that makes me quail just to think of. And the worst part is, they're dimly aware of what they've lost, that awareness fuels the flashes of rage that show in a couple of places in the song.
Every time it comes on, it's like a car crash -- terrible to behold, but compelling. Artistically, I find it a very uncomfortable piece of craftsmanship, but a highly skilled one.
HIM+HER: You and I resemble God
Made by Him to go after Him
Everything in us resembles God
Except for one thing...
Everything in us resembles God
Except for one thing:
HIM: I am a liar
You are a cheater
HER: I am a thief
And you are a traitor
HIM: I'm downright stupid
And you are paranoid
HER: Ha ha! There's more than one
HIM+HER: Oh well, let's just keep on going then!
HIM: When I screw I don't care for the beauty
HER: I drape myself over hands that are crooked
HIM: When I'm hurting myself
HIM+HER: I just try to hurt you
You respond with tears, but they are never true
HIM: And as we tremble night gets thinner and thinner
Tell me, which one of us here is golden middle?
HIM+HER: Golden middle of that heavenly road
That I've heard is laying somewhere in this world
(Music starts to spin, slowly increasing tempo)
One thing
One thing
One thing
One thing...
HER: And as we tremble night gets thinner and thinner
Tell me, which one of us here is golden middle?
HER+HIM: Golden middle of that heavenly road
That I've heard is laying somewhere in this world
HIM: I'm paranoid
And you are downright stupid
HER: I know you'd flick me off
But your finger is too crooked
HIM: When I'm hurting myself
HER+HIM: I just try to hurt you
You respond with tears
But they are never true
(Music spins again, faster)
HIM+HER: You and I resemble God
Made by Him to go after Him
Everything in us resembles God
Except one thing...
(faster still)
HER+HIM: You and I resemble God
Made by Him to go after Him
Everything in us resembles God
Except one thing...
One thing
One thing, one thing
One thing, one thing...
(Music returns to original tempo, suddenly, as if exhausted. Voices sound ragged and defeated.)
HIM+HER: Everything in us resembles God
Except for one thing
Everything in us resembles God
Except for one thing
Not the worst song, not the saddest song -- though there's a lot of sorrow in there, if you look -- but the ugliest. It's unflinching, and an interesting example of calculated, artistic use of ugliness as theme.
This song has dual vocalists, male and female, which I note as HIM and HER in the lyrics. The voices are expressive, ringing with weariness and contempt. The characters are in Hell -- I mean here Hell in the broader, philosophical sense that is not tied to a specific religious interpretation, but rather that separation from the Divine that that is imposed by the self.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. There is in classical Christianity a concept of the 'sin against the Holy Spirit' which is said to be unforgivable. This concept at first blush can prove difficult to square with the notion of infinite divine mercy, until some explanation happens. As I understand it -- and as I've come to integrate the concept into my own admittedly baroque structure -- the Divine does not abrogate the individual's will. The sin against the Holy Spirit is the act that makes you truly believe you're unforgivable, that you don't deserve mercy. Since that mercy cannot be forced on you, and you won't accept it, you cannot be forgiven.
God-Like is, to me, all about that concept. The speakers are so far past that line they can't remember what it looked like when they crossed it. They exist in a squalid gutter of the soul that makes me quail just to think of. And the worst part is, they're dimly aware of what they've lost, that awareness fuels the flashes of rage that show in a couple of places in the song.
Every time it comes on, it's like a car crash -- terrible to behold, but compelling. Artistically, I find it a very uncomfortable piece of craftsmanship, but a highly skilled one.
HIM+HER: You and I resemble God
Made by Him to go after Him
Everything in us resembles God
Except for one thing...
Everything in us resembles God
Except for one thing:
HIM: I am a liar
You are a cheater
HER: I am a thief
And you are a traitor
HIM: I'm downright stupid
And you are paranoid
HER: Ha ha! There's more than one
HIM+HER: Oh well, let's just keep on going then!
HIM: When I screw I don't care for the beauty
HER: I drape myself over hands that are crooked
HIM: When I'm hurting myself
HIM+HER: I just try to hurt you
You respond with tears, but they are never true
HIM: And as we tremble night gets thinner and thinner
Tell me, which one of us here is golden middle?
HIM+HER: Golden middle of that heavenly road
That I've heard is laying somewhere in this world
(Music starts to spin, slowly increasing tempo)
One thing
One thing
One thing
One thing...
HER: And as we tremble night gets thinner and thinner
Tell me, which one of us here is golden middle?
HER+HIM: Golden middle of that heavenly road
That I've heard is laying somewhere in this world
HIM: I'm paranoid
And you are downright stupid
HER: I know you'd flick me off
But your finger is too crooked
HIM: When I'm hurting myself
HER+HIM: I just try to hurt you
You respond with tears
But they are never true
(Music spins again, faster)
HIM+HER: You and I resemble God
Made by Him to go after Him
Everything in us resembles God
Except one thing...
(faster still)
HER+HIM: You and I resemble God
Made by Him to go after Him
Everything in us resembles God
Except one thing...
One thing
One thing, one thing
One thing, one thing...
(Music returns to original tempo, suddenly, as if exhausted. Voices sound ragged and defeated.)
HIM+HER: Everything in us resembles God
Except for one thing
Everything in us resembles God
Except for one thing