The Rat's Prayer
The Soft Boys' Poetic Rat's Prayer: Beliefs, War Cries, and Natty Dread
Lyrics
I believe in all or nothing
I believe in extremes, either all or nothing.
Sometimes in the early morning
At times, especially in the early morning.
I believe in anything
I am open to believing in everything.
Hungry for the dusty war cries
Craving the passionate cries of war that have settled in the dust.
Hiding from a line of cat's eyes
Avoiding confrontation or danger represented by a line of cat's eyes.
I believe in Natty Dread
I believe in the spirit of rebellion or resistance, as symbolized by "Natty Dread."
When the gods have shaved and spoken
When the gods have given their divine guidance and judgments.
Soft farewells to spin unbroken
Gentle farewells to maintain unbroken continuity.
Leaves to match the newly dead
Fallen leaves matching those who have recently died.
From eye to eye the tumult gathers
The chaos intensifies as people engage fervently with each other.
Victims work into a lather
Victims become agitated, working themselves into a frenzy.
Take us with you when you go
Request to be taken along when departing from this tumultuous situation.
Up the trap door
Moving upwards through a trap door.
Down the sewer
Descending into the depths of a sewer.
Off the slat shot shut they trossed
Thrown off or discarded abruptly, like a shot slat.
Like a horn in ragged water
Similar to a horn in turbulent water, creating chaos.
And slitting up the slot spot cut
Cutting through a narrow space.
From wall to world the end is never
The end is perpetually elusive, never conforming to expectations.
Odd or strange or even clever
The conclusion is neither odd nor even, defying conventional categorization.
Cleave it with an iron slice
To separate forcefully with an iron blade.
While Cook's below the frothing cinders
Cook's actions beneath the bubbling ashes.
Mend the skull of old Belinda
Repairing the fractured skull of someone named Belinda.
Thudding on a bulb of ice
Striking a bulb of ice with a thudding sound.
Here is love and here is cancer
A juxtaposition of love and cancer, perhaps representing contrasting aspects of life.
Cleanest velvet for the mince event
Delicate velvet associated with a refined event.
To comes your aching teeth
Your painful experiences are approaching.
Rot the skin of past and future
Deteriorate the surface of both past and future.
Tiny leads are bound to suture
Small leads are obligated to bind wounds or conflicts.
When they show through underneath
Revealing hidden issues when they emerge from beneath the surface.
Roar the waves so close and hollow
The waves roar with proximity and emptiness.
A tide that must be satisfied
A tide that demands satisfaction.
Foam is fertilizing
Foam serves as nourishment for growth.
Rotting cleansing of the valiant rat
The valiant rat undergoes a cleansing process, possibly indicating a noble sacrifice.
Comment