Cosmology Soundtrack: present day (or at least the last half century)

“In this world we’re just beginning to understand the miracle of living.” – Belinda Carlisle, “Heaven is a Place on Earth” Which ancient culture resonates with this one?
Patti Griffin, “Heavenly Day” – offers another take on the same theme. And for those of you who feel left out by heaven, I give you The Clash, giving a different perspective. Your turn! Post your cosmology tracks below. Please! Rules of thumb for posting music: be mindful of your audience and triggers. If your piece wouldn’t be appropriate on your regular social media outlet for a diverse audience, don’t post it.

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31 Comments

  1. Michaela

    After the Storm is one of my favorite songs that relates to specific losses Ive gone through and I think it is a very powerful song.

  2. Nora Maybury

    “This Must Be The Place” by Talking Heads has always been one of my favorite songs. I think the lyrics are incredibly in line with my own sentiments regarding life.
    The lyrics include:

    “The less we say about it the better / Make it up as we go along”,
    “Home, is where I want to be / But I guess I’m already there”,
    “I’m just an animal looking for a home and / Share the same space for a minute or two”

    I think these express the confusion about what life really is that many humans share. My cosmologies center around wanting to coexist with others – humans and creatures alike – with compassion and empathy. I think Talking Heads really captures this idea of just living day by day, making what we can of this wild world.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9gK2fOq4MY

  3. Ron

    Lao Tzu (LaoZi). Tao Te Ching. Chapter 47, as explained by 1990’s musical sensation TLC in their smash hit “Waterfalls”
    Tao Te Ching Chapter 47:106: Without stirring abroad one can know the whole world; without a window, one can see the way to heaven. The further one goes the less one knows. Therefore the Sage knows without having to stir, identifies without having to see, accomplishes without having to act.
    WaterFalls: https://TLC.lnk.to/listenYD
    Explaination: The mother in this song believes that her son would be better if he just came home instead of going away all the time. He would say to his mother that if she isnt out there she doesnt know what his life is like, but the mother (sage) knows without a window. The futher the son stirs from his mother the less he knows, The mother believes he would accomplish more without acting.

  4. Soma Samadhi

    Wayfaring Stranger is an extremely old song with many different covers. I choose Johnny Cash for the cover. This song is about someone who is dying and is celebrating the fact that they are on the way to heaven. They are happy because they will finally be reunited with their mother. I would say this is a gospel song, there are many different references to God.

    I’m just a poor wayfaring stranger
    Traveling through this world below
    There is no sickness, no toil, nor danger
    In that bright land to which I go
    I’m going there to see my Father
    And all my loved ones who’ve gone on
    I’m just going over Jordan
    I’m just going over home
    I know dark clouds will gather ’round me
    I know my way is hard and steep
    But beauteous fields arise before me
    Where God’s redeemed, their vigils keep
    I’m going there to see my Mother
    She said she’d meet me when I come
    So, I’m just going over Jordan
    I’m just going over home
    I’m just going over Jordan
    I’m just going over home

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlbZAP8ASQ

  5. soma samadhi

    Amber Runs song Amen, is a beautifully vulnerable song that could also be interpreted as a prayer about how it feels to love someone who has died. Within the song, he questions if he should stay on earth or instead go up to heaven to find him the person he loves because its unbearable to be on earth without them. This song has many different Christian themes.

    And are those real angels in the magazines?
    Oh, is there a heaven? You’d know now you’ve been
    Are those real stars that hang in the sky?
    Or are they man-made, a trick of the light?
    Amen, amen, amen
    And is there a God up there?
    So, where does He hide?
    ‘Cause the devil is raging inside my mind
    And is there a moment when it all makes sense?
    When saying goodbye, doesn’t feel like the end?
    Amen
    Amen
    Amen, amen
    Sometimes I can’t help blaming You
    For leaving me here, what am I supposed to do?
    There’s plenty of women, there’s drink and there’s drugs
    But we both know that won’t be enough…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyY7wnGIlTQ

  6. Originally this song was written and performed by Nine Inch Nails’ which was a commentary on the human condition. I prefer Johnny Cashes cover and rewrite of the song, Hurt, as he uses it to express the sadness he feels as death is closing in on him, but even more so the people around him. He put this song on his 2002 album and later that year put out a music video to go along with it. His wife appears in the video when he speaks of his sweet friend, following by saying, “Goes away in the end, And you could have it all”. I find this especially moving and sad as his wife passed away in 2003. The reason I picked this song is that I believe Johhny Cash knew he was going to die soon and in this song is speaking to the younger version of himself as well as the old version of himself. I believe he is scolding his younger self for abusing drugs and wasting time that he no longer has. He thought his empire of fame would fill him with love but it hasn’t and he is just as empty as he was when he was young. At the core of Jonnhy Cashes’ version I believe he is saying he is who he is and he couldn’t change that and he will die as he was born.

    I hurt myself today
    To see if I still feel
    I focus on the pain
    The only thing that’s real
    The needle tears a hole
    The old familiar sting
    Try to kill it all away
    But I remember everything
    What have I become
    My sweetest friend?
    Everyone I know
    Goes away in the end
    And you could have it all
    My empire of dirt
    I will let you down
    I will make you hurt
    I wear this crown of thorns
    Upon my liar’s chair
    Full of broken thoughts
    I cannot repair
    Beneath the stains of time
    The feelings disappear
    You are someone else
    I am still right here
    What have I become
    My sweetest friend?
    Everyone I know
    Goes away in the end
    And you could have it all
    My empire of dirt
    I will let you down
    I will make you hurt
    If I could start again
    A million miles away
    I will keep myself
    I would find a way

  7. Leslee

    Turn Turn Turn written and sung by Pete Seeger (written in 1959, recorded 1962.) There’s also a very popular 1965 version by The Byrds.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbPl91kTFro

  8. Leslee

    What a great collection!!! Feel free to give links or embed youtube vidoes to this post as well.

  9. Soma Samadhi

    Oh, Death is a very old song, and its origins are unknown. Some research suggests that it may have been written by Lloyed Chandler, an American Appalachian folk musician. Chandler had said he had a vision from God in 1916, and that was his reasoning for writing the song. It was than made popular by Moran Lee “Dock” Boggs, in the late 1920’s.
    This song is about a young man who falls ill and is scared that death is coming to take him. He pleads with death, and tries to negotiate any way in which to avoid death and death responds by saying, ” No wealth, no land, no silver, no gold
    Nothing satisfies me but your soul”. It is a bleak song, that at its core highlights the fact that no one can escape death.

    Oh, Death
    Oh, Death
    Won’t you spare me over ’til another year
    Well what is this that I can’t see
    With icy hands takin’ hold of me
    Well I am Death, none can excell
    I’ll open the door to Heaven and Hell
    Whoa, Death
    Whoa, Oh death
    someone would pray
    Could you wait to call me another day
    The children prayed, the preacher preached
    Time and mercy is out of your reach
    I’ll fix your feet til you can’t walk
    I’ll lock your jaw til you can’t talk
    I’ll close your eyes so you can’t see
    This very hour, come and go with me
    I’m Death I come to take the soul
    Leave the body and leave it cold
    To draw up the flesh off of the frame
    Dirt and worm both have a claim

    O, Death
    O, Death
    Won’t you spare me over ’til another year
    My mother came to my bed
    Placed a cold towel upon my head
    My head is warm my feet are cold
    Death is a-movin’ upon my soul
    Oh, Death how you’re treatin’ me
    You’ve closed my eyes so I can’t see
    Well you’re hurtin’ my body
    You make me cold
    You run my life right outta my soul

    Oh Death please consider my age
    Please don’t take me at this stage
    My wealth is all at your command
    If you will move your icy hand
    The old, the young, the rich or poor
    All alike to me you know
    No wealth, no land, no silver no gold
    Nothing satisfies me but your soul

    O, Death
    O, Death
    Won’t you spare me over til another year
    Won’t you spare me over til another year
    Won’t you spare me over til another year

  10. Drake Murphy

    “Dá mBeinn i mo Bhádóir” or “If I were a fisherman/sailorman” by Ye Vagabonds is a traditional Irish tune. In a modern context, it takes a more lamenting tone towards the almost sacred and traditional way of life that the peoples of the island of Arranmore escaping and being lost to time. In terms of cosmology, it highlights the emphasis put on the loss of tradition, and the need for the preservation of the traditions that might be lost. Many different texts that we looked over offer different perspectives, authority figures, and rituals to perform in order to keep the respective people’s culture alive. For the Irish, instead of divination poetry or special calligraphy, history and traditions are often passed from hand to hand, song to song, and from pen to paper. Here’s the song:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTY1FtOuuVk

  11. Soma Samadhi

    I choose Leonard Cohen song, “You Want It Darker”, which he wrote for one of his last albums with the knowledge he was dying. In the song he says, “I”m ready, my lord,” referring to his death, to many of his long time listeners this was in parallel with how he had spoken about God before, as he often times criticized and questioned God for the suffering within his own life and the world. This song has many references to Judeo-Christian religious themes. I believe at the center of this song is the struggle he faced loving a God that also allows for suffering, such as the Holocaust which is referenced in the second verse and death which is referenced through out the whole song.

    If you are the dealer, I’m out of the game
    If you are the healer, it means I’m broken and lame
    If thine is the glory then mine must be the shame
    You want it darker
    We kill the flame
    Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name
    Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
    A million candles burning for the help that never came
    You want it darker
    Hineni, hineni
    I’m ready, my lord
    There’s a lover in the story
    But the story’s still the same
    There’s a lullaby for suffering
    And a paradox to blame
    But it’s written in the scriptures
    And it’s not some idle claim
    You want it darker
    We kill the flame
    They’re lining up the prisoners
    And the guards are taking aim
    I struggled with some demons
    They were middle class and tame
    I didn’t know I had permission to murder and to maim
    You want it darker
    Hineni, hineni
    I’m ready, my lord
    Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name
    Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
    A million candles burning for the love that never came
    You want it darker
    We kill the flame
    If you are the dealer, let me out of the game
    If you are the healer, I’m broken and lame
    If thine is the glory, mine must be the shame
    You want it darker
    Hineni, hineni
    Hineni, hineni
    I’m ready, my lord
    Hineni
    Hineni, hineni
    Hineni

  12. Kaleb Johnson

    I recognize that a lot of my songs aren’t clean. Sorry about that.

  13. Kaleb Johnson

    Isaiah Rashad – 4r da squaw
    Being okay with what material things you have
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nppKPgdc_u0

    couldn’t find a clean version!

    • Brian Waldrop

      I decided not to go with some weird hardcore or metal.

      “But i don’t have no souls
      I can’t save my own
      If I knew where I was headed
      Think I’d already be gone”

      I think that lyric from the middle of the song sums it up pretty well. Not specifically about a end…. I think the song is pretty self explanatory

  14. You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth
    The Temptations: https://youtu.be/hpp-m1Sce9c

    Kumba ya-ya
    Oh my soul, of my whole ya-ya-ya
    Price so right, my whole ya-ya-ya

    Born into this world a baby
    You’re mind is clear as the air
    Time passes
    You learn to walk and talk
    Time passes
    You learn right from wrong
    Time passes
    You leave home seeking a life
    Of your own

    I’m tellin’ you the natural facts
    For way this world
    Listen to me people
    You make your own heavens and hell
    Right here on earth

    I’m tellin’ you the natural facts
    For way this world
    You make you own heaven and hell
    Right here on earth
    On earth, on earth, on earth

    Time passess
    And your values change
    Life becomes a strange, confusing game
    Suddenly you want the finer things in life
    But you find it takes lots of hard work and sacrifice
    Now you’re standing
    At the crossroads of life
    To satisfy your personal wants
    Will you do wrong
    Or will you do right?
    Well one thing you must admit
    And you know it’s true
    The final decision
    Is still up to you

    I’m tellin’ you the natural facts
    For way this world
    Listen to me people
    You make your own heaven and hell
    Right here on earth
    Let me tell you one more time
    I’m tellin’ you the natural facts
    For way this world
    You make your own heaven and hell
    Right here on earth

    Listen people
    Life is a giant, invisible scale with two sides;
    Good and bad
    You and your beliefs
    Are the weights
    The things you do each day
    Determine the balance
    Your conscience is a flawless
    Judge and jury;
    The only question is what you want

    I’m tellin’ you the natural facts
    For way this world
    You make your own heaven and hell
    Right here on earth
    One more time, now listen
    I’m tellin’ you the natural facts
    For way this world
    You make your own heaven and hell
    Right here on earth
    Listen to me
    You make your own heaven and hell
    Right here on earth

  15. Kaleb Johnson

    (WARNING: FLASHING COLORS AND IMAGES)

    Dan Deacon – when I was done dying
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuJqUvBj4rE
    This is his idea of what dying or death could be like

  16. Kaleb Johnson

    Flying Lotus – More Ft Anderson.Paak
    This song is about our own human Ego and that there must be more to life than yourself. Very Beautiful
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl0XBQ08wbg

  17. Kaleb Johnson

    This song I think is about observing the world around you and your place in it and just flowing with it.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PmpmP_EQFw

  18. Avenged Sevenfold (one of my fave bands) speaks on the afterlife.

  19. the only representation of the devil that matters

  20. Jason gold

    https://youtu.be/FHpz_xml7Gg

    This song “Bury Us Alive” by Strfkr illustrates the writer dealing with the idea of death-nothing ever keeps you safe for sure-but also hoping to be “buried alive” or pass on to the next world. In the lyric “We go where heroes dropped their bones outside” is maybe a reference to the stories of heroes traveling to the underworld.

  21. Kaleb Johnson

    This takes the perspective of Saba’s cousin who was murdered and his journey to heaven.
    Chorus:
    No, I can’t feel your pain, but I can see the stars
    No, I ain’t leave in vain, but I know we with God
    There’s heaven all around me, there’s heaven all around me
    There’s heaven all around me, there’s heaven

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6F2OrOjexs

  22. Kaleb Johnson

    featuring the best rapper alive right now, kendrick lamar

  23. Kaleb Johnson

    This deals with the topic of death and the afterlife.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Oz8UmUXbg

  24. Leslee Johnson

    Test:

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