When I was a teen, the world was different.
Growing up in the 1980s was a whole different animal. There weren’t many people with personal computers. We actually had print media like magazines, newspapers, television and for a teen, or at least for me, radio was king. Or so it was, back then at least.
In my cross-section of the world, as a guitar playing “metal head”, Rush and Yes were among the biggest bands in the world. Along with their quasi-fusion, eclectic blend of what was then called progressive rock, their often philosophical and poetic lyrics were also a feature of their popularity.
One of Rush’s most popular tunes, “Tom Sawyer”, had lyrics that spun an interesting narrative tale about the title character with an embedded anthem of individualism borrowing the spirit of Mark Twain’s 1876 novel of the same name.
As I reflect on the lyrics to this tune which tell of “Today’s Tom Sawyer”, a man filled with “mean, mean, pride” whose “mind is not for rent, to any god or government”, I realize that it really characteristic of the evolving focus of the self, individualism, existentialism and, of course the idolatry that is, when one is focused solely on the worship of self in lieu of God.
It’s a bit unclear why Rush took this path when writing the lyrics to this song. Admittedly, their music is intelligently crafted and showcases their abundant artistic talent. It should also be mentioned that musicians often create music that doesn’t necessarily reflect their own political views. In this sense, a musician is really like an actor. However, in any case, this song’s lyrics are just indicative of the 1980s quest for the glitz and glamor and the worship of “I”.
Of course, the world was indeed different back then.
Like Rush, filled with excellent musicians like Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and of course, the amazing guitarist, Steve Howe, there is no question that, on an instrumental level, Yes was top-notch in the realm of progressive rock. And, although I wasn’t a huge fanatic of Yes, they did, in my opinion, hit a “home-run” with their song “I’ve Seen All Good People”. It is a song of the sometimes self-righteous behavior that we don in our many guises and on the many stages of our lives. A rather prolific lyric within this song that still resonates with me today.
The song actually has 3 thematic lyrics that depict its “story”. The first is a veiled commentary sung in witness to the indifference of people. The lyric, “I seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied, I’m on my way” presents an introduction to the decadence that exists.
But ah, yes…This is an article about the 1980s. And the world was so very different back then.
But getting back to tune at hand, Yes then segues to the 2nd thematic refrain below which offers first an ego-centric play on the “time” of the self and an interesting analogy between the objective of the game of chess and materialism.
Cause it’s time, it’s time in time with your time
And its news is captured
For the queen to use!
Move me on to any black square
Use me anytime you want
Just remember that the goal
Is for us all to capture all we want
Lastly, and probably the most important lyric in the song is “Don’t surround yourself with yourself” which warns against the self-centered behavior that exists or as it existed back then.
Oh, many will argue that the 1980s was perhaps the height of materialism or maybe just one of its seemingly infinite recurrences. Oh, yes, we had others. We can go back to just the last 100 years and cite the 1920s gilded age as another example. But that was then.
Ah yes. When I was a teen, the music and the world was quite different. We had Arena-sized rock concerts with thousands of fans congregating around the year’s biggest bands often chanting their mantras in the form of their song’s chorus section.
And we had so many racial issues, incompetent world leaders, wars over the Gaza Strip, protests, terrorism, and materialism, materialism, materialism.
And of course, we had idolatry. Didn’t anyone notice?
Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines idolatry as “image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object”. In the 1980s, many worshiped sports, heroes, money and things. We even had one pop song from that era “Material Girl” that didn’t even attempt to hide its quest for things created by man instead of God.
But of course, it was a different world back then, wasn’t it?
Postscript: Recently, I came across an excellent sermon given at Trinity Anglican Church by Rt Rev Jim Hobby on the subject of Idolatry in our present 21st century. Here is the link . I invite all of my readers to watch and listen to this thoughtful and intelligent treatment of this topic.
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