jesus christ and the pretenders' 'show me

8/6/2019 Jesus Christ and the Pretenders' 'Show Me'

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/jesus-christ-and-the-pretenders-show-me 1/3

Jesus Christ and The Pretenders’ Show Me

Let me begin by saying that I am sure the Pretenders

did not intend for their song to have this meaning, but I

found it so overwhelmingly fitting that I had to make note

of it. It is important to establish that this essay is

written under the assumption that the song is about finding

the meaning of love. It also works off of the assumption

that Jesus Christ is a divine, other worldly being that

embodies pure love, and who entered our world in a human

form.

So, the song begins with the chorus:

Show me the meaning of the word

Show me the meaning of the word

'Cause I've heard so much about it

They say you can't live without it

This is a relatively straight forward plea to be shown the

truth about love. In this context it can be seen as a plea

to the divine, for in a Judeo-Christian context, God is

love and is able to transmit this message to petitioners.

The line stating ‘I’ve heard so much about it’ infers a

person who has yet to experience true, unconditional love

and is perhaps jaded.

The song continues:

Welcome to the human race



With it's wars, disease and brutality

You with your innocence and grace

Restore some pride and dignity

To a world in decline

These lines play so easily into a Christian reading of the

song, for God sent himself as Jesus to experience the

horrors of the material world first hand. This was all in

hope that Christ’s pure, divine nature would act as a force

to change the world for the better. The song goes on to say:

Welcome to a special place

In a heart of stone that's cold and grey

You with your angel face

Keep the despair at bay

Send it away,

Much Christian symbolism has always involved allowing Jesus

into your heart, to begin to change you. The speaker is

again referencing their hardened heart, closed to love, and

asking Jesus to enter it, where his ‘angel face’, another

reference to his divine nature, can begin to restore their

lost faith.

After another repeat of the chorus, the song says:

Welcome here from outer space

The milky way still in your eyes

You found yourself a hopeless case



One seeking perfection on earth

That's some kind of rebirth,

Again ,we see the song making reference to Jesus Christ, by

speaking about someone who came from the heavens and being

able to see that otherworldly perfection within him. The

singer identifies them self as ‘hopeless’ or unworthy of

love, but desperately seeking ‘perfection on Earth’, or in

other words, a more enriched life experience. They also

mention rebirth which strongly resonates with the Christian

ideal of being born again.

The song closes with a repeat of the chorus, but a new

line is added at the end, I want love. By the end, it seems

that Christ has broken down the singer’s barriers that made

them reluctant to love. It allows them to freely express

what they seek, proudly exclaiming that they want the

divine love Christ has to offer.

jesus christ and the pretenders' 'show me

Documents