There is a song I've been listening to for a bit. Here is a snippet of the lyrics:
Ride out
The king he proclaimed 'cross the land
Tonight we strike against the enemy to capture their flag
Cry out
The tears that they shed for their brave
Tonight they ride with will, intend to kill who stand in their way
Across the fields
They march
Their task must be done
But in the end they know that this war must be won
Fight or fall
In the name of the children
Fight or fall
In the name of us all
Fight or fall
We can never surrender
Fight or fall
In the night we stand tall
Rise up
Your swords for the souls you must save
Flashing of steel as your blades send them to their grave
Ride out
Ride proud from the battle where many have died
And when the last is slain its into the distance we ride
Across the fields
We march
Our task must be done
But in the end we know that this war must be won
...
This song is very obviously about battle. It's lyrics are self-consistent. The funny thing is, up until yesterday, I really thought the chorus was "fight for Paul," not "fight for all."
Here are some reflections, all of which I believe have important applications to gospel study:
- This song makes a lot more sense with just one word heard differently. In fact, it's a completely different song.
- I laughed quite a bit at myself for not having figured this out sooner.
- I immediately confessed my idiocy to everyone within reach, and invited them to join in my self-mockery.
- Upon reflection, I surmised that I might have misheard the lyrics because of a friend of mine whose little brother Paul has been fighting for his life--having a lethal birth defect--his whole life. I even pictured this friend of mine singing this song. My imagination actively searched through the context of my experience to ram some novel meaning into what very obviously had nothing to do with my friend's brother.
- In retrospect, the chorus makes no sense at all under "fight for Paul," and I really should have realized that sooner.
- In retrospect, I obviously didn't really pay any attention to these lyrics at all.
- Once I heard "fight for Paul," it became difficult not to hear "fight for Paul."
- I had no idea that my understanding of the lyrics was incorrect or incomplete, until all of the sudden I listened to the song with different headphones in a different place than my usual confines.
- If I had known anyone who knew this band even a little well, they would have easily been able to sort out my confusion very quickly. Because it's a band almost no one spends any time listening to (it's quite ancient, after all, and not very popular these days), I was on my own, and it took much longer.