Although a vein of social and political humor runs though even his earliest work, Bern's work became more explicitly political during the 2004 US presidential election campaign, with songs such as "Bush Must Be Defeated" and "President" highlighting his sometimes surreal political takes.
Bern is reflexively literate, in the style of his favorite authors, including L.A.'s legendary bohemians Charles Bukowski and John Fante, urbane fantasist James Thurber, and yarn-spinning humorist Ring Lardner. He is in love with the power of words to turn on themselves, to frolic, to bite, and his strong, friendly voice can go from earnest to ferocious within seconds. Being captivated by Dan is the easy part; describing his music to the non-initiated is more difficult. One journalist tried: "topical-poetical-sarcastic-punk-folk." An admirable effort, further elaborated by the New York Times: "He veers from comedy to anger, conjectures to shaggy-dog stories; he takes sidelong approaches to theology, science fiction, consumer culture, art, love and baseball."
Eva
Dan Bern Lyrics
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Is on Adam and the Fall of Man
Now I know exactly what they mean
I feel a lot like Adam myself these days
Fallen to the ground in a '68 Ford
Fallen from grace in the eyes of the Lord
Now I think if I had to live outside the garden of paradise
It might as well be spent looking in your eyes
The thighs might as well be your thighs
It might as well be with Eva
It might as well be with you
I wander the streets
And I wonder if there's something I should do
To prepare for the life to come
Maybe I should fall to my knees and try to repent
For the gifts that came and went
I'm fallen to the ground in a devil disguise
Fallen from grace in the angel's eyes
Now I think if I had to live as one of god's fallen ones
It might as well be spent lying in the sun
With your lips telling me I'm the one
Your fingers shooting me like a gun
It might as well be with Eva
It might as well be with
Eva's such a lucky girl
She don't have a care in the world
She sets fire to the foot of her bed
Leaves the righteous shaking their head
I won't be attending the sermon at the church this Sunday On Adam and the Fall of Man
I think I could deliver that message
As good as any preacher in Hollywood
I'm fallen to the ground in a fiery hole
Fallen with the rest of my immortal soul
Now I think if I gotta spend eternity outside Eden's gate
It might as well be worth the wait
So if you're the one buttering the bread on my plate
Then to hell and back on roller skates
It might as well be with Eva
The song "Eva" by Dan Bern is a melancholic musings of a man who feels like he has fallen from grace, and is reflecting on the biblical story of Adam and the Garden of Eden. The first stanza talks about the man attending a church sermon on Adam and the fall of man, and how he feels like Adam himself, having fallen to the ground in a '68 Ford and fallen from grace in the eyes of the Lord. But despite living outside the garden of paradise, the man feels that being with his loved one, Eva, is as close to paradise as he can get. He even goes as far as saying that the lies might as well be her lies, and her thighs might as well be her thighs, emphasizing how much he wants to be with her.
The second stanza has the man wandering the streets, wondering if there's something he should do to prepare for the life to come. He talks about repenting for the gifts that came and went, and how he's fallen in a devil disguise and from grace in the angel's eyes. But again, the thought of being with Eva seems to be the one thing that gives him solace. He talks about lying in the sun with her, with her lips telling him he's the one and her fingers shooting him like a gun. He would prefer to spend eternity outside Eden's gate but with Eva. In the final stanza, the man declares that he won't be attending church this Sunday and can probably deliver the message as good as any preacher in Hollywood. He feels like he's fallen into a fiery hole and has fallen with the rest of his immortal soul. But he concludes by saying that if he has to spend eternity outside the Garden, it might as well be with Eva.
Overall, this song is an emotional and honest reflection of a man who feels like he's lost his way and how being with someone he loves is the one thing that keeps him going. The use of the Adam and Eve story is a powerful metaphor for the feeling of losing one's innocence and the desire to reclaim it.
Line by Line Meaning
The sermon at the church on Hollywood Boulevard
The church sermon in Hollywood Boulevard
Is on Adam and the Fall of Man
The topic of the sermon is about Adam and the fall of man
Now I know exactly what they mean
I understand what the sermon means
I feel a lot like Adam myself these days
I feel like I am similar to Adam
Fallen to the ground in a '68 Ford
I have fallen to the ground in a 1968 Ford
Fallen from grace in the eyes of the Lord
I have lost favor in the eyes of God
Now I think if I had to live outside the garden of paradise
If I had to live outside paradise
It might as well be spent looking in your eyes
I would want to spend it looking at you
The lies might as well be your lies
I would rather hear lies from you than from anyone else
The thighs might as well be your thighs
I would rather see thighs like yours than anyone else's
It might as well be with Eva
I would rather spend that time with Eva
It might as well be with you
I would rather spend that time with you
I wander the streets
I walk aimlessly around the streets
And I wonder if there's something I should do
I wonder if there's something I should do
To prepare for the life to come
To prepare for the afterlife
Maybe I should fall to my knees and try to repent
Maybe I should ask for forgiveness from God
For the gifts that came and went
For the things that were given to me and then taken away
I'm fallen to the ground in a devil disguise
I feel like I am the devil in disguise
Fallen from grace in the angel's eyes
I have lost my grace in the eyes of angels
Now I think if I had to live as one of god's fallen ones
If I had to live as a fallen one
It might as well be spent lying in the sun
I would rather spend it relaxing in the sun
With your lips telling me I'm the one
With you telling me that I am the one you love
Your fingers shooting me like a gun
Your touch is like a bullet to me
Eva's such a lucky girl
Eva is a fortunate girl
She don't have a care in the world
She doesn't have any worries
She sets fire to the foot of her bed
She lights her bed on fire
Leaves the righteous shaking their head
Makes the righteous disapprove of her actions
I won't be attending the sermon at the church this Sunday On Adam and the Fall of Man
I won't go to the next sermon about Adam and the fall of man
I think I could deliver that message
I feel like I could give that sermon
As good as any preacher in Hollywood
As good as any other preacher in Hollywood
I'm fallen to the ground in a fiery hole
I feel like I am in a burning pit
Fallen with the rest of my immortal soul
My soul has fallen like everyone else's
Now I think if I gotta spend eternity outside Eden's gate
If I have to spend eternity outside of paradise
It might as well be worth the wait
It should be worth the wait then
So if you're the one buttering the bread on my plate
If you're the one taking care of me
Then to hell and back on roller skates
I'd go through anything with you
It might as well be with Eva
I'd rather go through anything with Eva
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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