There's been a lot of good music coming out recently. And a lot of great returning artists. I have been relatively unimpressed by many of the returners: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Presets, Foals, Mumford & Sons, Passion Pit, Phoenix, & Daft Punk (as of yesterday's release). But some have really stood out: The xx, Depeche Mode, Blink-182, Frightened Rabbit, Snowden (so good I want to write a whole post on them), I haven't listened to The National's new one enough to rate. That leaves Vampire Weekend. I listened to it once but got carried away by Snowden that I couldn't pay proper attention to VW's newest album, Modern Vampires of the City.
After's Monday's horrific tornado in OK, and my panic that one of my friends lived in the city, I needed something that seemed more happy and light. I never really looked at VW's music as "deep". Even when it could be, there was always a sense of mockery in it. Well, this album is actually great. It has some "happy" songs, but other go deeper. I like Unbelievers, Step, Finger Back, Worship You, and Ya Hey. I really like Ya Hey. The more I listened, the more interesting it became with its obvious religious messaging.
I read this review on songmeaning about it by zoemoe555:
"This song is in reference to Yahweh, or our God. However the name of the song is a play on words due to the fact that in order to prevent themselves (the Jews) from ever using the Lords personal name in vain they decided not to say it all together (hence the name Ya Hey).
The "through the fire and through the flames" portion is in reference to Exodus 3:2 where God calls to Moses from within a bush on fire. The main point of Exodus 3 is that God has seen the suffering of his children in Egypt and has come to rescue them; through sending Moses to bring them out of Egypt and into the promise land.
In Exodus 3:13,14 (NIV) Moses said to God "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I am has sent me to you.". Therefore I think that Ezra is saying to God, how can you love them (Israelites/Jerusalem/Zion) and rescue them when they do not love you Lord? He is showing sympathy for God by saying how can you love so much and not get any credit? This song is showing Ezra's adoration for God's unfailing and unconditional love for his children."
Oh, sweet thing,
Zion doesn't love you,
Babylon don't love you,
But you love everything.
Oh, you saint,
America don't love you,
So I could never love you,
In spite of everything.
In the dark of this place, there's the glow of your face,
There's the dust on the screen, of this broken machine,
And I can't help but feel, that I made some mistake, but I let it go
Ya hey
Ya hey
Ya hey
Through the fire and through the flames
ya hey, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey
You won't even say your name
ya hey, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey
Through the fire and through the flames, you won't even say your name,
Only I am that I am.
But who could ever live that way?
ya hey, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey
Oh,
The motherland don't love you,
The fatherland don't love you,
So why love anything?
Oh, good God,
The faithless they don't love you,
The zealous hearts don't love you,
And that's not gonna change.
All the cameras and files, all the paranoid style,
All the tension and fear, of the secret career
And I think in your heart, that you see the mistake, but you let it go
//CHORUS//
Outside the tents, on the festival grounds,
As the air began to cool, and the sun went down,
My soul swooned, as I faintly heard the sound,
Of you spinning Israelites, into 19th Nervous Breakdown
Through the fire and through the flames
ya hey, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey
You won't even say your name
ya hey, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey, ut deo, ya hey
[ x 2 ]:: Through the fire and through the flames, you won't even say your name,
Only I am that I am.
But who could ever live that way?
{*ya hey-ing*}::



