Peter Hammill - "Comfortable" - Song Meaning

"Comfortable" from Peter Hammil's Patience album released in 1983... I've been listening to this song for years and I always interpreted it as criticism of people performing acts of religion simply because they have become comforting customs and without considering these acts or the religion deeply and without real belief, for that matter. 

Today it struck me that there might be more to that: the writer considers religion and its acts total nonsense and is criticizing the kind of people described in the song because they do not evaluate them thoroughly. because if they did they would surely see the apparent nonsense of them. 
I used to think the writer was critical of this kind of people simply because they are pretenders; now I seem to think he is critical of them, not only because they are pretenders, but also because their pretensions conceal the nonsense of the religion in general.

Do you think this new interpretation I have come to is correct, or does it match with how you interpret the song. Better stated, how do you interpret the song?

Here are the lyrics:

http://www.sofasound.com/phcds/patlyrics.htm#7

Really? How do I contact him?

TGM: Orb wrote: I think Hammill's too smart to be guilty of such banalities. In England, at least, there appears to be a sizeable portion of churchgoers especially in village parishes with no meaningful interest in Christianity or understanding of the traditions they perform - these are being criticised not just for their pretence but for the way they both perform blindly and devalue religious ceremony (which doesn't seem to be attacked for its own sake here). At least, that's how I see it.

Yeah, that's exactly how I interpreted the lyrics previously. Bu the parts quoted below confused me...

the paradox is so apparent,
the sense absurd, but all too real;
the nonsense is arrant
but she just wants to feel comfortable.

...

On with the usual complacency,
on with the customary zeal;
she doesn't need to match a valency,
she just wants to feel comfortable.

...

Treading not on her illusions,
I will not walk upon my own:

......

These lines might indicate that, according to the author, the protagonist doesn't want to think deeply about it, she just goes along with the tradition, not even caring about the tradition, but if she did look into it she would see the "nonsense so arrant" of the religion... etc...

refugee wrote: Meurglys, I used to sing this song some … 20—25 years ago (I’m getting old!), and I interpreted it the way you do now: both as a critic of (institutional) religion and a critic of the offhand way the religion is practiced. But reading the lyrics again today, I definitely feel there’s some Soren Kierkegaard here … I’m not an expert, and I’ve not had enough wine today to elaborate this further, but I will return (as I live, as I breathe, as I burn!).

I'm definitely waiting for you to return to the topic, for I'm not familiar with Kierkegaard...


Edited by meurglys0 - October 25 2010 at 11:18

Here goes: As I’ve said before, I’m not an expert on Kierkegaard. Even so, when I reread Comfortable and compare the lyrics to certain things I know about the great Dane, a few points strike me.

Kierkegaard studied theology, literature and philosophy. He was a firm believer in the Christian religion, but especially towards the end of his life he began to loathe the mentality of the Christian society. In 1854 (one year before his death) he wrote, The Christian society has liquidated Christianity by embracing the lie that ‘we are all Christian’. (Not a direct quote, but quite close.)

I see a parallell in Comfortable: Her religion is based on habit, on spiritual and intellectual laziness. The "exisisting individual" that Kierkegaard stresses is absent in her religious beliefs.

Furthermore, faith is very different from common, everyday belief. We can not believe in something that’s proven (that’s sheer logic), and to believe in something probable, like, say, that the bus will ariive in five minutes, or that team A will beat team B in Champions League, doesn’t affect our inner life. True religious belief is like hurling yourself out at 70 000 fathoms of water. Faith is, according to Kierkegaard, to believe in spite of the paradox.

And the paradox is apparent. Or rather: The paradoxes are apparent. To Kierkegaard, the paradox is that God became Man. To me, it is that God is supposed to be both good and omnipotent (and that’s one of the reasons why I can never be a Christian). Still, to be a true Christian, you need to believe in spite of the paradox. If you don’t know the paradox, you can not believe. And if it still crosses your mind occasionally, it makes you feel uncomfortable.

I hope that I have expressed myself in an intelligible way. Surely there are members around who know much more about Kierkegaard and existentialism than I do, so feel free to correct me if I’ve gotten anything wrong.

You all seem to forget about the second  verse. This is where the true meaninbg of the song lies. We are all in the situation of  uncertainty, faced by our own mortality and having to come to terms with it one way or the other.

Yes, of course I meant that verse.

^ I read it like we are all equally close to the edge: the existential emptiness, the feeling of meaninglessness and lack of direction and purpose. Maybe that’s the definition of Hell. In that case, we’re already there.

BaldFriede wrote: Yes, of course I meant that verse.

That’s a relief! You had me worried there!