Breathe- How many character POVs and what is its point?

solemole · 02-20-2009, 10:36 AM

So reading the lyrics, and listening to the song, it seems like there's at least TWO character POV... The first one is in the first person in the first verse... The second one is the Man at the door explaining himself at the second verse... So the question is: Which POV is singing in the chorus and what does he mean by the embolded text below?---

16th of June, nine 0 five, door bell rings
Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer
There’s a few things I need you to know. Three

Coming from a long line of travelling sales people on my mother’s side
I wasn’t gonna buy just anyone’s cockatoo
So why would I invite a complete stranger into my home
Would you ?

These days are better than that
These days are better than that

Every day I die again, and again I’m reborn
Every day I have to find the courage
To walk out into the street
With arms out
Got a love you can’t defeat
Neither down or out
There’s nothing you have that I need
I can breathe
Breathe now

16th of June, Chinese stocks are going up
And I’m coming down with some new Asian virus
Ju Ju man, Ju Ju nab
Doc says you’re fine, or dying
Please
Nine 0 nine, St John Divine, on the line, my pulse is fine
But I’m running down the road like loose electricity
While the band in my head plays a striptease

The roar that lies on the other side of silence
The forest fire that is fear so deny it

Walk out into the street
Sing you hear out
The people we meet
Will not be drowned out
There’s nothing you have that I need
I can breathe
Breathe now
Yeah, yeah

We are people borne of sound
The songs are in our eyes
Gonna wear them like a crown

Walk out, into the sunburst street
Sing you hear out, sing you hear out
I’ve found grace inside a sound
I found grace, it’s all that I find
And I can breathe
Breathe now

LyricalDrug · 02-21-2009, 04:22 PM

I think maybe the man at the door is the rock singer, Bono, pushing his ideals and music on the narrator. The song's narrator is actually the U2 fan, who's standing up to the rock star, and taking control of his own life, by absorbing the singer's love and then redirecting it outwards, toward the world. "Breathe" symbolizes the give-and-take of love: you breathe in other people's love, and then you breathe out your own, back to them and to the world.

The line "the songs are in our eyes" is the narrator/U2 fan's acknowledgment of Bono's line from Miracle Drug, "the songs are in your eyes". The singer/travelling salesman / Bono "breathes" love to the fans, who then in turn "find grace" in U2's sound .. and can "breathe" it back to the world.

Jeannieco · 02-21-2009, 07:30 PM

I just posted this in WTAHAN..

Wow, this song blows me away. I love the complexity of the lyrics...
I would love to know what Bono is talking about with the dates in the first verse 6/16 anybody know?
The only thing I can come up with is ( don't laugh I just googled it) 616 supposedly the new number that marks the "beast" in the bible. ??? Google it.
And the 3 things he needs to know? The Holy Trinity? Father Son and Holy Ghost?
Also, 909 St. John the Divine, is he talking about the bible verse John 9:9?

Here's the verse and if you read the commentary below the verse I found online when I googled the verse, it kinda makes sense..the bit about grace. How cool is that? So it's the beast at the front door, hahaha and Bono is telling him he doesn't have anything he needs because he has grace everyday, he is reborn everyday.

JOHN 9:9 Some said, This is Him, others said, He is like him: but he said, I am He.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:

9:8-12 Those whose eyes are opened, and whose hearts are cleansed by grace, being known to be the same person, but widely different in character, live as monuments to the Redeemer's glory, and recommend his grace to all who desire the same precious salvation. It is good to observe the way and method of God's works, and they will appear the more wonderful. Apply this spiritually. In the work of grace wrought upon the soul we see the change, but we see not the hand that makes it: the way of the Spirit is like that of the wind, which thou hearest the sound of, but canst not tell whence it comes, nor whither it goes.

iota · 02-21-2009, 07:38 PM

What is a ju ju man? That's all I need to know to understand this song!

Jeannieco · 02-21-2009, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iota

What is a ju ju man? That's all I need to know to understand this song!

A witch doctor.

solemole · 02-21-2009, 10:07 PM

Thanks Lyrical Drug, that makes more sense.

But one more question, ... whose POV is singing the chorus "Walk out to the streets..."?

solemole · 02-21-2009, 10:21 PM

June 16, 1904, refers to the day in the life of the fictional character Leopold Bloom as he goes about his business in Dublin-- James Joyce's novel Ulysses (agreed among scholars as the 20th century's greatest English novel)... it is also the day in that same year Joyce proposed to his wife, which is of particular importance for one of the story arcs in the novel.

Dubliners now celebrate that day as Bloomsday.

AEON · 02-22-2009, 12:30 AM

I think the man at the door is a door-to-door evangelist.
"Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer
There’s a few things I need you to know. Three"

TRANSLATION = if you want to have eternal life there's three things you need to know 1) you are a sinner, 2) Jesus paid for your sins, 3) you must accept Him to be forgiven and get to Heaven

The Bono-type of character responds that he is privy to this type of "sales pitch" and he has a much different take on Love and God and Grace...which is the whole theme of the album if you ask me.

Reead · 02-22-2009, 12:47 AM

The key line in the song is "There’s nothing you have that I need". The narrator is a guy being bombarded by the outside world, being suffocated by a world filled with terminal diagnoses, a fluctuating stock market as well as a world constantly trying to sell you something, whether it's knowledge, religion, or even charity.

That line (combined with the later verse explaining it more thoroughly) is the realization that through music, he has found grace. And with that grace he can breathe once more, because it's all he needs.

last unicorn · 02-22-2009, 02:48 AM

Ju Ju is the Nigerian word for a "Voodoo doctor".

And 16th of June is indeed Bloomsday.

I love lyrics that are so complex, yet open to interpretation. Breathe is intriguing, there's so much going on, I like these lyrics a lot.

Jeannieco · 02-22-2009, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AEON

I think the man at the door is a door-to-door evangelist.
"Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer
There’s a few things I need you to know. Three"

TRANSLATION = if you want to have eternal life there's three things you need to know 1) you are a sinner, 2) Jesus paid for your sins, 3) you must accept Him to be forgiven and get to Heaven

The Bono-type of character responds that he is privy to this type of "sales pitch" and he has a much different take on Love and God and Grace...which is the whole theme of the album if you ask me.

That makes total sense!
Any thoughts about what 9:09 St John the Divine means?

SeattleVertigo · 02-22-2009, 09:57 PM

I definitely appreciate your interpretations -- brings more sense to the song for me.

Having listened to the 30- and 45-second clips, "There’s three things I need you to know. Three" -- I kept on expecting there to be a list of three things!

AEON · 02-22-2009, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeannieco

That makes total sense!
Any thoughts about what 9:09 St John the Divine means?

I tend to lean with what others have posted, that it is John 9:9

Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one."

It fits the theme that the door-to-door evanglist and others like him miss the real Jesus. Also the narrator himself struggles to know Him as he's running down the street like "loose electricity" (alive but uncontrolled?)

Maybe...till thinking about that.

AEON · 02-22-2009, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeattleVertigo

I definitely appreciate your interpretations -- brings more sense to the song for me.

Having listened to the 30- and 45-second clips, "There’s three things I need you to know. Three" -- I kept on expecting there to be a list of three things!

Yes, me too! Reminds me of REM's "I Believe" - I'm still waiting for the 3 "keys"

No spoken words · 02-23-2009, 12:05 AM

I will likely be dead by Breathe's hand in the not so distant future. That's how bad-ass the song is.

02-20-2009, 10:36 AM	#1
solemole The Fly Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: in a series of dreams Posts: 232 Local Time: 06:50 AM	Breathe- How many character POVs and what is its point? So reading the lyrics, and listening to the song, it seems like there's at least TWO character POV... The first one is in the first person in the first verse... The second one is the Man at the door explaining himself at the second verse... So the question is: Which POV is singing in the chorus and what does he mean by the embolded text below?--- 16th of June, nine 0 five, door bell rings Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer There’s a few things I need you to know. Three Coming from a long line of travelling sales people on my mother’s side I wasn’t gonna buy just anyone’s cockatoo So why would I invite a complete stranger into my home Would you ? These days are better than that These days are better than that Every day I die again, and again I’m reborn Every day I have to find the courage To walk out into the street With arms out *Got a love you* can’t defeat Neither down or out There’s nothing you have that I need I can breathe Breathe now 16th of June, Chinese stocks are going up And I’m coming down with some new Asian virus Ju Ju man, Ju Ju nab Doc says you’re fine, or dying Please Nine 0 nine, St John Divine, on the line, my pulse is fine But I’m running down the road like loose electricity While the band in my head plays a striptease The roar that lies on the other side of silence The forest fire that is fear so deny it Walk out into the street Sing you hear out The people we meet Will not be drowned out There’s nothing you have that I need** I can breathe Breathe now Yeah, yeah We are people borne of sound The songs are in our eyes Gonna wear them like a crown Walk out, into the sunburst street Sing you hear out, sing you hear out I’ve found grace inside a sound I found grace, it’s all that I find And I can breathe Breathe now

02-22-2009, 02:48 AM	#10
last unicorn ONE love, blood, life Premium Gold Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: in Bono's freckled arms ... Posts: 13,369 Local Time: 12:50 PM	Ju Ju is the Nigerian word for a "Voodoo doctor". And 16th of June is indeed Bloomsday. I love lyrics that are so complex, yet open to interpretation. Breathe is intriguing, there's so much going on, I like these lyrics a lot. __________________ we g e t to carry each other

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02-21-2009, 04:22 PM	#2
LyricalDrug New Yorker Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Posts: 3,035 Local Time: 04:50 AM	I think maybe the man at the door is the rock singer, Bono, pushing his ideals and music on the narrator. The song's narrator is actually the U2 fan, who's standing up to the rock star, and taking control of his own life, by absorbing the singer's love and then redirecting it outwards, toward the world. "Breathe" symbolizes the give-and-take of love: you breathe in other people's love, and then you breathe out your own, back to them and to the world. The line "the songs are in our eyes" is the narrator/U2 fan's acknowledgment of Bono's line from Miracle Drug, "the songs are in your eyes". The singer/travelling salesman / Bono "breathes" love to the fans, who then in turn "find grace" in U2's sound .. and can "breathe" it back to the world.

02-21-2009, 07:30 PM	#3
Jeannieco New Yorker Premium Gold Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: ONLY LOVE UNITES OUR HEARTS Posts: 2,937 Local Time: 04:50 AM	I just posted this in WTAHAN.. Wow, this song blows me away. I love the complexity of the lyrics... I would love to know what Bono is talking about with the dates in the first verse 6/16 anybody know? The only thing I can come up with is ( don't laugh I just googled it) 616 supposedly the new number that marks the "beast" in the bible. ??? Google it. And the 3 things he needs to know? The Holy Trinity? Father Son and Holy Ghost? Also, 909 St. John the Divine, is he talking about the bible verse John 9:9? Here's the verse and if you read the commentary below the verse I found online when I googled the verse, it kinda makes sense..the bit about grace. How cool is that? So it's the beast at the front door, hahaha and Bono is telling him he doesn't have anything he needs because he has grace everyday, he is reborn everyday. JOHN 9:9 Some said, This is Him, others said, He is like him: but he said, I am He. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary: 9:8-12 Those whose eyes are opened, and whose hearts are cleansed by grace, being known to be the same person, but widely different in character, live as monuments to the Redeemer's glory, and recommend his grace to all who desire the same precious salvation. It is good to observe the way and method of God's works, and they will appear the more wonderful. Apply this spiritually. In the work of grace wrought upon the soul we see the change, but we see not the hand that makes it: the way of the Spirit is like that of the wind, which thou hearest the sound of, but canst not tell whence it comes, nor whither it goes.

02-21-2009, 07:38 PM	#4
iota Acrobat Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: the rugged southwest Posts: 478 Local Time: 11:50 AM	What is a ju ju man? That's all I need to know to understand this song!

02-21-2009, 10:07 PM	#6
solemole The Fly Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: in a series of dreams Posts: 232 Local Time: 06:50 AM	Thanks Lyrical Drug, that makes more sense. But one more question, ... whose POV is singing the chorus "Walk out to the streets..."?

02-21-2009, 10:21 PM	#7
solemole The Fly Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: in a series of dreams Posts: 232 Local Time: 06:50 AM	June 16, 1904, refers to the day in the life of the fictional character Leopold Bloom as he goes about his business in Dublin-- James Joyce's novel Ulysses (agreed among scholars as the 20th century's greatest English novel)... it is also the day in that same year Joyce proposed to his wife, which is of particular importance for one of the story arcs in the novel. Dubliners now celebrate that day as Bloomsday.

02-22-2009, 12:30 AM	#8
AEON Refugee Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,994 Local Time: 03:50 AM	I think the man at the door is a door-to-door evangelist. "Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer There’s a few things I need you to know. Three" TRANSLATION = if you want to have eternal life there's three things you need to know 1) you are a sinner, 2) Jesus paid for your sins, 3) you must accept Him to be forgiven and get to Heaven The Bono-type of character responds that he is privy to this type of "sales pitch" and he has a much different take on Love and God and Grace...which is the whole theme of the album if you ask me.

02-22-2009, 12:47 AM	#9
Reead Acrobat Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 300 Local Time: 06:50 AM	The key line in the song is "There’s nothing you have that I need". The narrator is a guy being bombarded by the outside world, being suffocated by a world filled with terminal diagnoses, a fluctuating stock market as well as a world constantly trying to sell you something, whether it's knowledge, religion, or even charity. That line (combined with the later verse explaining it more thoroughly) is the realization that through music, he has found grace. And with that grace he can breathe once more, because it's all he needs.

02-22-2009, 09:57 PM	#12
SeattleVertigo Refugee Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 1,531 Local Time: 04:50 AM	I definitely appreciate your interpretations -- brings more sense to the song for me. Having listened to the 30- and 45-second clips, "There’s three things I need you to know. Three" -- I kept on expecting there to be a list of three things!

02-23-2009, 12:05 AM	#15
No spoken words Blue Crack Supplier Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Clavius Base Posts: 32,438 Local Time: 06:50 AM	I will likely be dead by Breathe's hand in the not so distant future. That's how bad-ass the song is.