I admire the ideas of George Berkeley. He’s probably misunderstood. He probably didn’t think what he was saying was the absolute nature of reality in it’s precise form. He merely brought to the surface that you can be completely sane and logical and believe that the physical doesn’t exist (or more accurately, that the material world is created in the immaterial mind foremost thus being a byproduct of immaterial and its existence being a collective perception). He isn’t a contemporary man with knowledge of today’s technology or advancements, but I think his ideas (whether true or not) still hold up fairly well. I don’t hold onto his philosophy as the elite definition of metaphysics, but I have certainly incorporated a similar mindset into my not-so-concrete conception of reality that is compatible with my outlook on life.
My Morning Jacket tapped on Berkeley’s shoulder by bringing up some of his ideas into song, this one being called “Steam Engine.”
So I do believe, none of this is physical
At least not to me
So, I do believe
That anywhere it goes
It’s always with me
It’s not the dream
That makes you weak
It’s not the night that makes you sleep
But it’s a voice, and it’s a choice
To call you out, or stay at home
So, I do believe
None of this is physical
At least not to me
So I do believe
That anywhere it goes
It’s always with me
It’s not the beast, it’s not the sheets
So soft and warm, all over me
But it’s the touch, you need so much
To move around on this green earth
Take your money and your drugs
Take your money and your drugs
To anyone who wondered
What old Jesus meant to me
Take him out to go diving
In Red Patoka sea
The brain melts in the twilight
With the boar and moving trees
Your skin looks good in moonlight
And Goddamn those shaky knees
The fact that my heart’s beating
Is all the proof you need
We got ’em
We got ’em
We got ’em
We got ’em
[ad infinitum]
What I get from this is money and drugs can be taken as unimportant as they are physical. It’s not the night that makes you sleep, as you could sleep with any physical surrounding. Anywhere you go, your mental perception is always with you. The brain melts in the twilight with the boar and moving trees because the vision of the “external world” is captivating because we can sense it.
We got ’em. We got the bits of the universe in our mind, but not necessarily in vivid consciousness [We are not the universe though; Pantheism isn’t what is meant here]. We are finite and imperfect, so we will never fully understand it all. But a greater perceiver can.
1 comment
Link Jones says:
Oct 15, 2018
Jim James said the following about this song in an interview:
“It’s about a lot of things. There’s a line where I say, “I believe none of this is physical.” It is kind of a reaction to, in today’s world, so much being based on the physical. So much is based on people’s appearance and fashion. So many bands seem like they’re a part of a fashion show and they don’t even give a shit about their music. It’s about loving a song because of the way it makes you feel, not because the people playing it are wearing duck costumes or because there’s 30 people on stage. It’s about falling in love with someone because of the way they make you feel, as opposed to them wearing tight jeans and being hot. I’m just trying to escape from the fuckin’ constant, physically driven fashion show that the world has become”
Jim James has explained his non-belief in religion in several interviews. He considers religion to be a third party and hindrance between us and a positive energy in the universe that we can all make a pure direct connection to, on our own, without it being interfered with by religion.
The ending lyrics are not “We got ’em” repeated as an outtro. The actual and exact lyrics, that Jim James sings are below:
Believe, I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe (ahh)
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe (aah)
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe (give it away)
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe (ahh)
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe (oh, ahh)
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe (ahh oh)
I believe (ahh)