I'm always on the lookout for songs that capture the essence of water, one of the prime metaphors of Taoist thought. The River of Dreams by Billy Joel is, for me, one of those songs.
Like a lazy river or a bubbling brook, the lyrics meander easily within the mind. He talks of the fear, doubt and search for meaning that we all share. While I like the whole song -- for full disclosure, I'm a big Billy Joel fan -- the last two verses really stand out for me. The first of these offers the apt suggestion that peering into the void is not done with our minds but our hearts.
To see what other aspects of "pop culture" I've written about, go here.
Like a lazy river or a bubbling brook, the lyrics meander easily within the mind. He talks of the fear, doubt and search for meaning that we all share. While I like the whole song -- for full disclosure, I'm a big Billy Joel fan -- the last two verses really stand out for me. The first of these offers the apt suggestion that peering into the void is not done with our minds but our hearts.
In the middle of the nightThe last stanza is where the image of water comes glistening through.
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To a river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind.
In the middle of the nightI don't know about you, but if I close my eyes, the above words send me floating down the stream of life to the ocean of Tao, buoyed along by the unspoken river of dreams.
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams.
To see what other aspects of "pop culture" I've written about, go here.
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