Cockburn's early albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his brilliant guitar playing. In fact, there were a good number of instrumental guitar numbers on those early recordings. A Christian element came into his music around the time of the album Salt, Sun and Time, and over time his writing has taken on a stronger and stronger political orientation.
Perhaps the most consistent element of Cockburn's music has been his willingness to change and evolve over time. In this way, he is similar to fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
He has had a couple of radio hits in the United States, including (Wondering Where the Lions Are and If I Had a Rocket Launcher).
His albums in the 80s are considered some of his strongest, including Humans, Inner City Front, Stealing Fire, and Big Circumstance. After Big Circumstance he struggled with writer's block, and his output began to slow down; but he recovered with the formidable Nothing But a Burning Light, which led the way back to a sparer, more folk-oriented form of music. His later album The Charity of Night contains one of his most thoughtful songs, Pacing the Cage.
His 2006 album Life Short Call Now was preceded by Speechless, a collection of instrumentals, many of them from earlier albums. The album highlights Cockburn's prodigious abilities as a guitarist.
Cockburn's 31st studio album,Small Source of Comfort was released in March, 2011. BruceCockburn.com called the album "an adventurous collection of songs of romance, protest and spiritual discovery. The album, primarily acoustic yet rhythmically savvy, is rich in Cockburn’s characteristic blend of folk, blues, jazz and rock."
Going Up Against Chaos
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Squatting on the roof
Of the dirty gray bank
Like a cop with no proof
We were lying in bliss
Love was cooling into sleep
There was a dream on the horizon
We were lying on the mountain
by the satellite dish
Humming with the tremors of
Every envy, rage and wish
Orchids and radar
In the dazzling night
The stars were all racing like satellites
Going up against chaos
Going up against chaos
Two hearts full of tough love
We were bodies of light
Like we'll be someday
The sirens and the curses
Were light years away
We were Lot on the mountain
We were Noah on the Ark
Flying hand in hand
From the doghowl dark
Going up against chaos
Going up against chaos
Two hearts full of tough love
The lyrics of Bruce Cockburn's song "Going Up Against Chaos" read like a stream-of-consciousness poem, filled with vivid and surreal imagery that invites interpretation. The opening lines describe a moonlit scene of urban decay, with the moon "squatting" on the roof of a "dirty gray bank." The moon is compared to a cop with no proof, suggesting a sense of unease or surveillance. From this setting, the singer shifts to a more intimate scene with a lover, lying in bed together as love cools into sleep. However, the dream horizon is contrasted with a "punch-up in the street," a reminder of the violence and chaos of the world outside.
The scene then shifts again, this time to a mountain with a satellite dish humming with the "tremors of every envy, rage, and wish." This line is particularly rich with meaning, suggesting both the literal vibrations of technology and the emotional turmoil of the human heart. The image of orchids and radar juxtaposes natural beauty with man-made tools of control and surveillance. The night is described as "dazzling," but the stars are "racing like satellites," blurring the line between the natural and the artificial.
Throughout the song, the singer and their lover are described as "going up against chaos" with "two hearts full of tough love." The song suggests a struggle to maintain a sense of connection and love in a world filled with violence, surveillance, and technology. The final lines, which compare the lovers to "bodies of light" and liken their flight to that of Lot and Noah, suggest a spiritual dimension to their struggle. Overall, the song is a powerful meditation on the struggle for love and connection in a world that frequently seems to be working against it.
Line by Line Meaning
Moon across the valley
The moon could be seen shining over the valley
Squatting on the roof
The moon appeared as if it were sitting on the roof of the bank
Of the dirty gray bank
The color of the bank's building is gray and it looks unclean
Like a cop with no proof
The moon appeared to be like a police officer, but without any evidence or proof of wrongdoing
We were lying in bliss
We were lying together in a state of happiness and contentment
Love was cooling into sleep
Our love for each other was gradually fading as we drifted off to sleep
There was a dream on the horizon
We could sense that there was a dream or goal in the distant future that we were working towards
And a punch-up in the street
There was a fight or altercation happening outside
We were lying on the mountain
We were resting on a high point overlooking the valley
by the satellite dish
There was a satellite dish nearby that we could see
Humming with the tremors of
We could feel the vibrations of
Every envy, rage and wish
All of the emotions we were feeling, including envy, anger, and desire
Orchids and radar
There were elements of nature, such as orchids, as well as signs of technology, like radar equipment
In the dazzling night
Everything around us was bright and vibrant in the darkness
The stars were all racing like satellites
We could see the stars moving quickly across the sky as if they were satellites
Going up against chaos
We were fighting and struggling against the randomness and disorder of the world
Going up against chaos
We were determined to resist chaos, even if it meant facing hardship
Two hearts full of tough love
We were together, and our love for each other was strong enough to help us face whatever chaos came our way
We were bodies of light
In that moment, we felt as if our bodies were filled with light or energy
Like we'll be someday
We imagined that one day we might become beings of pure light or energy ourselves
The sirens and the curses
We could hear the sounds of sirens and people cursing in the distance
Were light years away
The chaos and conflict of the world felt far removed from us in that moment
We were Lot on the mountain
We felt as if we were like Lot, who escaped from Sodom and Gomorrah by fleeing to the mountains
We were Noah on the Ark
We felt as if we were like Noah, who built an ark to survive the great flood
Flying hand in hand
We were together, supporting each other as we faced the challenges of the world
From the doghowl dark
We were leaving behind the noise and chaos of the world behind and entering a place of peace and tranquility
Contributed by William S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.