The WELL: deadsongs.vue.200: Throwing Stones

#9: Christian Crumlish (xian) Tue 21 Sep 04 09:59

Tue, 21 Sep 2004 09:59:00 PDT

<jera>, i agree with your analysis. didn't mean to equate the line and the idiom it rhythmically recalls. [Read entire topic]

#8: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sun 19 Sep 04 00:58

Sun, 19 Sep 2004 00:58:00 PDT

Thanks, Ganzo. 18 months ago plus a week, who wouldda thunk? Anyway, i still stand by that analysis... [Read entire topic]

#7: David Gans (tnf) Sun 19 Sep 04 00:06

Sun, 19 Sep 2004 00:06:00 PDT

Here is it, David:

gd.2121: Your Favorite Grateful Dead Line

gd.2121.596: sink like a stone, float like a feather... (mntnwolf) Tue 11 Mar 03 04:50

> "If the spirit's sleeping then the flesh is ink" Well, "ink" has often been used in literature in phrases like "his heart was dark as ink" "a mind as black as ink" "the inky darkness" right? (from back in the days when all ink was black). Refers to evil, darkness, hatred, lack of (in)sight & such -- the opposite of "light" and all its synonyms.

"The flesh" is the opposite of spirit and (speaking traditional Christian here) is supposed to be its servant. Means our actual body and by extension its actions, behavior. Without the proper guidance of the spirit, the flesh tends towards corruption, evil. Without inspiration of what is sacred (the "Holy Spirit"), the flesh does the work of the Devil... becomes "ink".

The preceding line speaks of "powers" (the PTB) that "try to tell us what to think" -- we can infer that the line in question means two ways, simultaneously: 1. the spirit(s) of the Powers is asleep, so their actions are evil. 2. if we do permit them to "tell us what to think" [Fox News], our own spirits are then "sleeping", so our resulting behavior then becomes inky-evil or at least fails to resist evil's advancement.

The next two lines are a different thought -- that hindsight makes history look determined, but it isn't, we have Free Will -- the destruction of the Earth is not inevitable, we can change the course. [Read entire topic]

#6: Gary Burnett (jera) Sat 18 Sep 04 17:33

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 17:33:00 PDT

But oh so different. It's one thing to say that the flesh is without strength, but another to say that it is only an instrument in the act of being written ... if the spirit's sleeping, then the flesh is just something that is used by others to say what *they* want to say.

At least that's how I always heard that line. [Read entire topic]

#5: neatly carved in stone (xian) Sat 18 Sep 04 12:03

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 12:03:00 PDT

i also love the way hunter effortlessly evokes idioms and metaphors and sayings but always dares to remake them, never resting on the received meaning or sounds.

for example, "if the spirit's sleeping then the flesh is ink" clearly echoes without restating "the spirit's willing but the flesh is weak" [Read entire topic]

#4: neatly carved in stone (xian) Sat 18 Sep 04 12:01

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 12:01:00 PDT

i've always loved that line, knowing what ink is for a writer (song- or otherwise) [Read entire topic]

#3: Freakishly Happy (izzie) Sat 18 Sep 04 07:33

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 07:33:00 PDT

that'd be cool, mntnwolf. I've wondered about that line for a long time! [Read entire topic]

#2: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sat 18 Sep 04 02:52

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 02:52:00 PDT

over in [gd] a year or so ago, i wrote a decent analysis of the "If the spirit's sleeping then the flesh is ink" line... Would anybody know how to find that, and re-copy it over here? Thanks... [Read entire topic]

#1: Alex Allan (alexallan) Mon 8 Sep 03 19:59

Mon, 08 Sep 2003 19:59:00 PDT

Throwing Stones Lyrics: John Barlow Music: Bob Weir

Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission.

Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free Dizzy with eternity Paint it with a skin of sky, brush in some clouds and sea Call it home for you and me A peaceful place, or so it looks from space A closer look reveals the human race Full of hope, full of grace, is the human face But afraid we may lay our home to waste

There's a fear down here we can't forget Hasn't got a name just yet Always awake, always around Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Now watch as the ball revolves and the night-time falls And again the hunt begins and again the blood wind calls By and by, again, the morning sun will rise But the darkness never goes from some men's eyes (Well I know) It strolls the sidewalk and it rolls the streets Staking turf, dividing up meat Nightmare spook, piece of heat It's you and me, you and me

Click flash blade in ghetto night Rudy's looking for a fight Rat cat alley, roll them bones Need that cash to feed that Jones And the politicians throwing stones Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Commissars and pinstripe bosses roll the dice Anyway they fall, guess who gets to pay the price? Money green, or proletarian gray Selling guns instead of food today So the kids they dance and shake their bones And the politicians throwing stones Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Heartless powers try to tell us what to think If the spirit's sleeping then the flesh is ink History's page will be neatly carved in stone The future's here, we are it, we are on our own On our own, on our own, we are on our own

If the game is lost, then we're all the same No one left to place or take the blame We will leave this place an empty stone Or that shining ball of blue we call our home

So the kids, they dance, they shake their bones And the politicians throwing stones Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Shipping powders back and forth Singing black goes south and white comes north And the whole world full of petty wars Singing I got mine and you got yours While the current fashions set the pace Lose your step, fall out of grace The radical, he rant and rage Singing someone got to turn the page And the rich man in his summer home Singing just leave well enough alone But his pants are down, his cover's blown And the politicians throwing stones So the kids, they dance, they shake their bones 'Cause it's all too clear we're on our own Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free It's dizzying, the possibilities

Ashes, ashes, all fall down [Ashes, ashes, all fall down] Ashes, ashes, all fall down [Ashes, ashes, all fall down] Ashes, ashes, all fall down [Ashes, ashes, all fall down] Ashes, ashes, all fall down [Ashes, ashes, all fall down] [etc] [Read entire topic]

#0: David Dodd (ddodd) Mon 8 Sep 03 09:41

Mon, 08 Sep 2003 09:41:00 PDT

Throwing Stones w: Barlow m: Weir AGDL: http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/throwing.html LASF: http://www.whitegum.com/songfile/THROWING.HTM [Read entire topic]