Season 1 of his television show, Sex, God, Rock 'n Roll, was filmed in Boulder, CO in the fall of 2008. It aired on HDNet in the US and Canada in late spring 2009 and has since been released on DVD.
Immanence
Stuart Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As if we die and combine
And then we spill our souls
In sacred folds
Every body wants to taste
A little something carbon-based
S** is proof the Holy Ghost
Yeah
There's a serpent in my body
Right below my belly
When I crave an apple
You are redder than an orchard
We tangle up like rubber bands
We make more noise than pots and pans
Bodies join in novel ways
Before they're buried and decayed
Every body wants to taste
A little something carbon-based
S** is proof the Holy Ghost
Crawls around in stuff that's...
Conflating, inter-penetrating
The lyrics of Stuart Davis’s song Immanence are a complex and intense exploration of the human experience of intimacy, sexuality, and spirituality. The opening lines, “When we c** your skin is mine / As if we die and combine / And then we spill our souls / In sacred folds,” suggest a deep interconnectedness between two people during a moment of sexual climax. The skin being referenced is the physical boundary that separates one person’s body from another’s, and the act of orgasm seems to dissolve this boundary, suggesting a merging of souls in the process.
The second verse, “Every body wants to taste / A little something carbon-based / S** is proof the Holy Ghost / Crawls around in stuff that's gross,” continues this theme of the intersection of physical and spiritual experiences. The Holy Ghost is traditionally understood as a non-physical force, but in these lines, Davis suggests that it is present in the physical act of sex. He further emphasizes the spiritual implications of sexuality in the lines “Every body wants to taste / A little something carbon-based,” implying that there is something divine in the physical sensations of sex.
The final lines of the song, “Conflating, inter-penetrating / The web of life is liberating / Every cell is music when you’re / Absorbed in immanence,” suggest a broader spiritual understanding of the interconnectedness of all things. The “web of life” Davis references creates a vision of the cosmic unity of all beings and phenomena, and the idea of being “absorbed in immanence” implies a state of being where one is fully present to and connected with this cosmic unity.
Overall, Immanence is a song that explores the complex and often contradictory connections between the physical and the spiritual, the individual and the cosmic, and the personal and the universal.
Line by Line Meaning
When we c** your skin is mine
The intimacy of orgasm creates a sense of ownership over each other's bodies.
As if we die and combine
The intensity of sexual pleasure feels like an out-of-body experience, as if one is transcending their physical boundaries.
And then we spill our souls
The emotional release that comes with sexual intimacy feels like a spiritual cleansing of sorts.
In sacred folds
This emotional release is held within oneself and is a private, sacred experience.
Every body wants to taste
Sexual desire is universal among all humans.
A little something carbon-based
We are ultimately biological beings driven by our physical desires.
S** is proof the Holy Ghost
The act of sex is a manifestation of the divine within the physical world.
Crawls around in stuff that's gross
The divine exists within the messy and imperfect aspects of human existence.
There's a serpent in my body
The physical pleasure of sex is akin to the biblical metaphor of the serpent tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Right below my belly
The physical sensation of arousal originates in the lower abdomen.
When I crave an apple
The desire for sex is a primal, instinctual urge that is difficult to resist.
You are redder than an orchard
The object of desire is seen as vibrant and all-encompassing, like a lush orchard.
We tangle up like rubber bands
The physical entwining of bodies during sex is compared to the elasticity of rubber bands.
We make more noise than pots and pans
The sounds of sexual pleasure are loud and uninhibited.
Bodies join in novel ways
Through sexual exploration, new physical sensations and experiences are discovered.
Before they're buried and decayed
Sexual pleasure is fleeting and impermanent, a reminder of the transience of human existence.
Conflating, inter-penetrating
The physical act of sex is a merging of two bodies and souls, becoming one in the moment before separating again.
Contributed by Isaac H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.