Showing posts with label The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Wilco's "Born Alone"

Yester-day I listened to Wilco's Roadcase 002 - 2012-07-08 Geneva, IL.  It's a live recording of a Wilco concert I attended some years ago.  Anyway, I noticed the phrase "Mine eyes have seen" in "Born Alone" (from The Whole Love), and I realized that this same phrase is in the first line of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" - "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."  I lookt up the lyrics of "Born Alone" on Wilco's website, and I found "Mine eyes deceiving glory," which also bears some resemblance to that line in "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

I'd previously noticed the phrase "The finger, divine extremity," which I always thought was a reference to Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam."  I still find the song enigmatic, but I'm pretty sure these are meant as religious-inspired images.