Le Bon is singled out by critics for her "beautiful, haunting voice". She described writing and performing music as "important to me, it's just an expression and sometimes it's not necessary to moralise it". Le Bon claimed that "early experiences with a string of pet deaths had a profound lasting effect on me" and informed her initial self-admitted "abnormal fixation with death". She describes her lyric writing as "foraging for [the right] words and then everything falls into place".
No God
Cate le Bon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pulling at the wheel
Hammering the bell
If all the mental folds I'll wear it well
Wear it well for you
Rule it out for me
In reams of sapless doubt
I... I saw a face again
I pulled it from my head
No looking, I know it well
No god
When the lead is good
How′d you make a deal?
How'd you break first?
Before the metal folds, I'll call it first
Call it out in twos
Crying out in threes
When leading lambs lose track
Hands hold me back
I... I saw a face again
I pulled it from my head
No looking, I know it well
No god
No god, no god
No god, no god
No god, no god
No god, no god
The lyrics to Cate Le Bon's song "No God" are cryptic in nature and open to interpretation. However, at its core, the song appears to be about the realization that there is no divine force or higher power that can offer guidance or salvation. The opening lines, "There's an old light on/Pulling at the wheel," suggest a sense of feeling lost or directionless. The next line, "Hammering the bell," could be interpreted as a plea for help or a search for answers. However, the following line, "If all the mental folds I'll wear it well," suggests that the singer is willing to bear the weight of their own thoughts and emotions, rather than relying on an external force.
The chorus, which consists solely of the repeated phrase "No god," further reinforces this sense of disillusionment with religion or spirituality. The lines "I saw a face again/I pulled it from my head/No looking, I know it well" suggest that the singer has come to a realization on their own, without the aid of any outside influence. The second verse continues in a similarly mysterious and metaphorical vein, with references to lead, metal folds, and lambs losing track. However, the overall sense of the song remains one of grappling with the absence of a guiding force.
Overall, "No God" is a haunting and enigmatic song that invites multiple interpretations. It could be seen as a rejection of religious dogma, a meditation on the nature of faith and doubt, or simply an expression of the universal human experience of feeling lost and seeking answers.
Line by Line Meaning
There's an old light on
There is an aged illumination turned on
Pulling at the wheel
Exerting force on the steering mechanism
Hammering the bell
Striking the bell repeatedly
If all the mental folds I'll wear it well
Even if my thoughts are chaotic, I will handle it properly
Wear it well for you
I will manage it effectively for your sake
Rule it out for me
Deny it to myself
In reams of sapless doubt
In vast amounts of indecisiveness and disappointment
Hands pulled me out
Someone helped me
I... I saw a face again
I had a vision of a face once more
I pulled it from my head
I retrieved it from my thoughts
No looking, I know it well
No need to examine it, I am familiar with it
No god
No deity or higher power exists
When the lead is good
When the situation is favourable
How'd you make a deal?
How did you come to an agreement?
How'd you break first?
How did you concede first?
Before the metal folds, I'll call it first
I will predict it before it happens
Call it out in twos
Indicate it twice
Crying out in threes
Shouting it out three times
When leading lambs lose track
When those in charge falter
Hands hold me back
Someone restrains me
No god, no god
There is no divinity, there is no divinity
No god, no god
There is no deity, there is no deity
No god, no god
There is no higher power, there is no higher power
No god, no god
There is no supreme being, there is no supreme being
Writer(s): Cate Le Bon
Contributed by Blake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@humongoushomunculus8020
I have never been so jealous of a gnome and a sharply dressed little dog.
@humongoushomunculus8020
Did you know that if you like something twice, you unlike it? I had to like this 3 Times.
@sabrinasjourney
Love the simplicity of this
@jiles7726
Your songs are amazing strange wonders Cate. You weave magic. Its 10 years since this video. Of all your songs, I always wondered about this song... its ambiguous ...no god as in atheist statement ... or: I saw her face again... an illusion -- no, it is God.
@wonkylommiter6364
Beautiful.
@joepossejlg3162
Niiice, keeep it up till midnight, proper.
@garmit61
Art for art's sake. Gwych!
@krainey
Perfect❤🙂🙂🙂🙂😍
@jasonscott2592
Do a B-sides album with this track or something! Such a great version!
@jiles7726
We need a Cate retrospective, her great songs are gathering in CDs, I hope to hear them brought out again one day -- her greatest hits would be the best album out there ever