I received this by email today. The writer said to think about the song as a critique of modernism. What does it say about modernism? Feel free to share your own thoughts below.
Supertramp – The Logical Song
When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so happily,
Joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,
Logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
Clinical, intellectual, cynical.There are times when all the world’s asleep,
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.Now watch what you say or they’ll be calling you a radical,
Liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Won’t you sign up your name, we’d like to feel you’re
Acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable!At night, when all the world’s asleep,
The questions run so deep
For such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.
Here is how I replied:
When he was young he lived freely in the moment. Then in school he was taught to function and contribute responsibly in society. It was a project to transform the way he thought to a way that was logical but not connected to his real self (it was cynical). It was not true. After years in the system, now he lays awake wondering who he is. He feels like a simple man forced into a complicated way of living and thinking (i.e., pretending). He wonders whether anything that he learned is of value at all.
Postmoderns suspect, or know, that modernism failed in it’s project to make us better, and to make the world a better place. But we’ve been so shaped by it that we don’t know how to change our way of thinking. We are accused of being negative, because all we can do is reject and deny the logical answers and patterns that we had to give and accept. We yearn for a positive way forward, for truth, and a new way of thinking, and we remember the freedom and simplicity of childhood looking for clues. But the truth is not in denial or looking back. Perhaps it starts with awareness and embracing mystery.
I’m reminded of something Jim Palmer writes about, that repentance (metanoia in Greek) means “a new way of thinking about everything.” Rather than changing ourselves, which is the modern way, Jesus tells us the Kingdom of God is here — we just need to have eyes to see and a willingness to change course. And, of course, we still need to drop our modern habits of trying to control and understand everything.
To paraphrase something Peter Rollins says, If you want to understand love, do what lovers do. If you want to know Jesus, join what Jesus is doing.
I was going to include the following interview with Peter Rollins in another post, but here you go. Peter Rollins is a Jesus follower from Ireland. If you are interested in “new kinds of Christians” (and what that means) then watch this.
(UPDATE) And then there’s this (h/t: Brant):
Sad, when you think about it