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.
Mercy
Stuart Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It makes a person sick
Our hunger is the same
We are here to eat each other's pain
With mercy
When the tears are tasted
Their poison is refined
We are here to drink each other's pain
With mercy
These lyrics from Stuart Davis's song Mercy speak to the human experience of pain and the capacity we have to help each other through it. The metaphors of hunger and thirst are used to describe our need for emotional and spiritual sustenance. When our gut is empty, we feel sick, and when we're hungry for connection and understanding, we can also feel sick or lost. But when we turn to each other with mercy, offering to take on each other's pain and burdens, we can find healing and wholeness.
The lines "We are here to eat each other's pain/ With mercy" suggest that we are not alone in our suffering, and that our ability to connect with others in compassionate ways is what makes us human. When we taste each other's tears, we are refining the poison of our pain and transforming it into something that can nourish and sustain us. This theme of transformation and transmutation is a common one in Davis's music, as he often explores the ways in which we can turn suffering into strength or beauty.
Overall, the lyrics of Mercy are a call to empathy and compassion, reminding us of our shared humanity and the ways in which we can help each other through the challenges of life.
Line by Line Meaning
When the gut is empty
A person's stomach being empty can cause physical illness
It makes a person sick
The emptiness of one's stomach can cause discomfort and pain
Our hunger is the same
We all experience hunger and the desire for sustenance
We are here to eat each other's pain
We can ease each other's suffering by sharing the burden of our pain through empathy and kindness
With mercy
Compassion and understanding can help alleviate the pain of ourselves and others
When the tears are tasted
When one cries, their tears can be tasted metaphorically as the essence of their emotions
Their poison is refined
The bitterness and toxicity of one's emotions can become clearer and more potent when expressed and shared
Our thirst is all the same
We all crave emotional and spiritual nourishment, just as we do physical thirst
We are here to drink each other's pain
Through empathy and understanding, we can help each other overcome and heal from emotional pain
With mercy
Showing compassion and understanding is a vital component in the healing process
Contributed by Henry V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.