Pillar Of Davidson
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning
are not machines that can only make money
past perfect tense
words for a feeling and all I've discovered
I'll be along son
with medicine supposed to designed to
make you high
I'll be along son
with words for a feeling and all I've discovered
old bad eyes
old bad eyes
old bad eyes
on loneliness comes
go see the foreman go see the profiteer
on loneliness drives
we're takin' our time movin' shit for
this holy slime
old, bad eyes
old, bad eyes
old, bad eyes, almighty fear
the shepherd won't leave me alone
he's in my face and I
the shepherd of my days
and I want you here by my heart
and my head, I can't start till I'm dead
The opening line of Live's Pillar Of Davidson, "warm bodies I sense are not machines that can only make money" suggests a feeling of disconnection and disillusionment with society. It seems as though the songwriter believes that people are more than just cogs in a machine that exists to make money, and that there is a deeper human connection that is being missed. The "past perfect tense" references feelings of nostalgia and longing for a time gone by, where perhaps things felt more authentic.
The chorus, "I'll be along son with medicine supposed to make you high, I'll be along son with words for a feeling and all I've discovered" suggests that the singer has found some kind of personal truth or enlightenment, and wants to share it with others. However, the use of the word "medicine" suggests that this truth may come from a place of pain or struggle, and that it is not necessarily an easy path to walk.
The song also features references to loneliness, fear, and a sense of being lost. The line "the shepherd won't leave me alone, he's in my face" could be interpreted as a nod to religion or spirituality, and the idea of a higher power watching over and guiding the singer. Ultimately, the closing lines of the song express a desire for human connection and a feeling of being lost without it - "I want you here by my heart and my head, I can't start till I'm dead."
Line by Line Meaning
warm bodies I sense
I sense the presence of living beings around me
are not machines that can only make money
They are not mere machines capable of just making money, they have emotions and other facets to them
past perfect tense
It refers to a grammatical tense that emphasizes the completion of a task or an event in the past
words for a feeling and all I've discovered
I have found words that can describe feelings and emotions
I'll be along son with medicine supposed to designed to make you high
I will come with medicine that is supposed to get you high
I'll be along son with words for a feeling and all I've discovered
I will come with words that can describe emotions and feelings
old bad eyes
It refers to someone with aged and troubled eyes
on loneliness comes go see the foreman go see the profiteer
When loneliness creeps in, go out and work or try to make money
on loneliness drives we're takin' our time movin' shit for this holy slime
Loneliness drives us to work slowly on meaningless, mundane tasks that are of little to no value
old, bad eyes, almighty fear
The speaker is afraid owing to old age, poor eyesight, and other problems
the shepherd won't leave me alone he's in my face and I the shepherd of my days
Metaphorically speaking, the speaker is being followed by a shepherd who represents death or fear thereof, and the speaker is the shepherd of their remaining days on this earth
and I want you here by my heart and my head, I can't start till I'm dead
The speaker wants the person they love to be close to them both physically and mentally, but can't start living fully until they're dead
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHAD ALAN GRACEY, CHAD DAVID TAYLOR, EDWARD JOEL KOWALCZYK, PATRICK DAHLHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
A song about the Harley plant workers bustin' their humps for the man for a measly $5 and a half bucks an hour.
Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk introduced “Pillar of Davidson” during concerts as: “It’s a song that that you can sing, and maybe feel a little bit less lonely.”
Tartarian Samurai
Ria Watmough
Pillar of Davidson is Jesus
The Shepard that won't leave him alone is Jesus as well.
"I can't start till I'm dead" or reborn.
The stallion is satan...
The beginning lyrics represent disenchantment with evangelical/religious organizations subverting or suppressing spiritual awakening.
Old bad eyes then Almighty Fear comes as the awakening begins and the Shepard is staring him in the face unsettling him.
IMO cheaper than all the souls lyric refers to true spiritual awakening costing nothing monetarily speaking, which ties back into the beginning lyrics.
Once he's found the Pillar of Davidson (Jesus being descended from King David, hence David's "son" in a sense) he won't go down.
ChumleyChumchizer
It is my belief that this is one of the last great rock concept albums. Listen from start to finish, don't cheat yourselves kids.
Confused Hessian
mate - couldn't agree more
Jo Dert
@kenny fleck I am 100% in agreement with you. Lil Nas x is another prime example of everything that's wrong in the world. I have 2 boys but neither of them are into that kind of music and neither of them are confused about their gender or have identity issues. They dodged that bullet thank God.
kenny fleck
@Jo Dert yeah, not only is that song ridiculously bad, it shows a lot about society right now, and idk, just glad i never had kids.... I guess. I feel it would be like a sitcom. Trying to teach my son how to treat a lady, then my daughter does a dance way too adult while jamming that song. Ugh don't get me started...
Jo Dert
@kenny fleck Yes I get where you're coming from. Sometimes too much choice is actually more limiting. There is definitely something to be said for the randomness of radio. I believe Spotify will also generate a random playlist based on your listening history. That's one way to find some gems you haven't heard before.
TBH these days I don't listen to much of the popular music. I don't know how we got from songs like this one.. to WAP by Cadrdi B.
Eww 🤢🤣
kenny fleck
@Jo Dert admittedly, the first time I realized that I could play any, ANY song via the internet, I sat there for a good half an hour before I could think of one, simply because it boggled my mind that I would have to pick from the yens of thousands of songs I had heard by that time. Yeah, it's cool, but I do miss the times radio was the only option, and often just hoping some song I recently fell in love with played during however long I had. I also immediately turned and looked at my very "valuable" CD collection I had spent approximately 3-4 years putting together and trying not to think about how much money I had spent over that time on music, only to now have so many choices...for free that it seems to good to be true, so it probably is. Radio was instrumental in, (pun intended) introducing me to new music. I spent a few years of only listening to the CDs I owned and missed out on a few bands that are now amongst my favorites. I do remember though that there was a period that it seemed a lot of the popular music was not appealing to me, either.
AmanDUH! FlawdHog
One of THE MOST underrated bands AND songs in existence. People just don't know unless you MAKE them listen then they love it. AMAZING.
lesterine77
This song is amazing. But I don't think live was an underrated band. Maybe I'm wrong bc I've always listened to them.
Pedro Gonzalez
That is very true. I made my buddies listen to this album and they loved it as well! cheers!
capslock capable
I think it had to be a certain place and a certain time, and we were fortunate enough to be there and then. I don't think it translates