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Topic: Are 'The Time Has Come' and 'North Point' particularly 'spiritual' son< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
timshen Offline




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Posted: Sep. 13 2001, 12:38

Listening to 'The Time Has Come' ('..child was born to be kind')and 'North Point' (..pray at North Point) I was struck by their Christian spiritual nature and wonder what Mike really had in mind. Was 'the child born to be king' referring to Jesus ? TTHC has quite a Messianic feel about it if you know what I mean (fantastic crescendo guitars towards the end).

Also, what does North Point refer to ? i.e. What is and/or where is North Point ?

Anyone know please let me know as it's been on my mind for some time ;-)

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Ugo Offline




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Posted: Sep. 13 2001, 16:34

TTHC is really about the birth of Jesus and the various facts surrounding it (the comet, the journey of the Magi, etc.) as told in the Gospels.

North Point is the location of an American military academy, just like West Point. wink Plus, a military prison (jail) used to be there (AFAIK it's not there anymore). Mike's lyric is a fantasy love song about a woman longing for a man locked inside the prison. I see nothing particularly spiritual in the lyric. The praying thing may be something of an embellishment. smile

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bennyboy Offline




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Posted: Sep. 13 2001, 20:58

The videoclip for "The Time Has Come" has egyptian hyroglyphs in it. I think "The Time Has Come" is more of a general spiritual song than just a Christian song. I have a friend who thinks it is about Buddha.
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GMOVJ Offline




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Posted: Sep. 14 2001, 02:50

And I remember I used to think about the King Arthur...
Cheers
GMOVJ

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Delfín Offline




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Posted: Sep. 15 2001, 12:16

These were questions I always made myself, I find spiritual matter as something that moves me in a very strong and deep way. In fact, I find Islands as the first sign of a new spiritual feeling in all Mike´s subsequent albums. The next one, 'Earth Moving', although musically weaker than 'Islands', takes all these things further in songs like 'Holy', Bridge to Paradise' or See the Light'.

I also find a little contradiction between the Christian feeling of the words in 'The Time Has Come' and the Egyptian look of the video. I think Mike has religious tendencies but they are more intuitive than rational, in order to find a well-defined belief. Anyway, I think as the years have taken place he has found himself fonder in these beliefs. I find religious and more precisely Christian signs in many songs. Just to recall the beautiful carol 'Peace on Earth', the lyrics at 'Holy', or just remember the Biblic quote on 'In the Beginning', and overall mystic and religious feelings in tracks like 'Ascension', 'Amber Light', perhaps more related with 'new age' spiritual influences, or the more explicit religious references of 'Runaway Son' and the spectacular exorcism of 'Outcast'.


I personally feel a big lack in the kinds of music in which you can´t find any spiritual reference or anything that scapes from nowadays hedonism, materialism and ratonalism.


Perhaps that´s why I hate Ricky Martin´s stuff!!! mad

wink


Delfín>

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timshen Offline




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Posted: April 03 2002, 10:40

Actually, it's not such a contradiction to have Egyptian hyroglyphics (is that how you spell it?) on 'The Time Has Come' video as Jesus was taken to Egypt as a baby by Joseph and Mary to escape King Herod (who wanted to kill all the baby boys) - thay were told in a dream to go there.

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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: April 03 2002, 16:39

Examining the lyrics, there is very little in 'The Time has Come' that suggests Christianity, to me at least.
"The child was born to be a king" could refer to just about any male with the quality of a leader...the only Jesus link I can really find is the taming of the winds (but Jesus did that by command - 'he tamed the wild wind when he passed' suggests to me that the act of taming winds is being done without conscious effort).

It sounds to me like a load of made up semi legend type stuff (in the way that groups like Led Zeppelin are so fond of, though they tend to weave more elaborate tales) that can be applied to all sorts of figures from mythology, religion and history. Have a look at the lyrics closely - they're very vague really.
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scojat Offline




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Posted: April 19 2012, 05:27

I created the mix below back in 2001 and finally got around to posting it in the mixes forum in 2005. Upon my long-overdue revisit to that forum tonight, I noticed the link was no longer valid and posted the new link.

Was Oldfield referring to Jesus Christ in these lyrics? You be the judge.

As stated in other posts, the lyrics are vague and suggestive but I see some clear similarities to biblical text, albeit paraphrased.

"the child was born to be a king" (Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? - Herod)
"tamed the wild wind" (What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him)
"the birds and beasts he knew" (born in a manger - wild beasts in desert - shekel in fish, etc.)
"someone who would be true" (who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth)
"the tall gates he passed through" (when Christ returns, He will enter Jerusalem through Jerusalem's Eastern Gate)
"I feel him near" (I will never leave you)
"a thousand years to stay" (and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years)
"someone who knows no fear" (he was only "troubled" with the great task at hand in Gethsemane).

I guess some could say the lyrics mean anything they want. Many people do the same with their faith, and with their God, even when evidence is right in front of their nose :)

I also believe this world is ready for a real king...one who I am sure would be honored to have Oldfield perform this song for him.

The Time Has Come Christ Mix
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Sir Mustapha Offline




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Posted: April 19 2012, 10:44

Quote (scojat @ April 19 2012, 05:27)
I also believe this world is ready for a real king...one who I am sure would be honored to have Oldfield perform this song for him.

... wow... I hate to cause discomfort, but you scare the hell out of me.

To me, the lyrics to this song are too "whimsical" and "magical" to be actually Christian. I think the vagueness is its best quality: you can fill in the blanks any way you want. I don't know, but I like Oldfield best when he's subtle.

And I might be missing something, but isn't Holy referring to his children? Several songs on Earth Moving refer to his fatherhood, and Holy makes a lot of sense in this context.


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