(Chorus) Blue Canary's self-interpretation of "Birdhouse in your Soul" by They Might Be Giants

If the first verse is something of riddle concerning my identity, it is in the chorus of "Birdhouse in your soul" that I bring you to the top of the mountain, so to speak, of my self-disclosure, and your relationship to me. Who am I? I am...

1. Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch



2. who watches over you



3. Make a little birdhouse in your soul



4. Not to put too fine a point on it



5. Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet



6. Make a little birdhouse in your soul

First off, I find my existence situated in a trinitarian relationship:
1) Blue Canary
2) in the Outlet
3) by the Light Switch

The Outlet corresponds to the Holy Spirit in a biblical schema. From it I receive power and thus light. But this outlet is not situated close to the floor, like typical outlets. I am seated, as it were, in the Outlet, up by the Light Switch (the Father in the biblical schema), whose will/counsel controls the existence of light or darkness in the room environment. The Son sits on the throne next to his Father in the biblical schema.

I have a triple association with HEAVEN. First, I am blue (yellow is the natural canary color). Blue is the color of the sky, which is day-heaven. Second, I am a bird. Birds inhabit heaven in flight. Third, I glow in the dark like the stars in night-heaven. This triple association emphasizes the completeness of my association with the realm of heaven. The altitude of my seat helps me to better "watch over you" (v.2).

This heaven association is seconded by the idiom "bee in your bonnet". Like birds, bees also inhabit the realm of heaven during flight. The bonnet is worn on top of the head, which is typically the closest part of a person to heaven. Metaphysically, the idiom "bee in your bonnet" means "a fanciful or impractical idea that will not go away." Ideas,especially, fanciful or impractical ones, are again associate one's head with being up in the clouds.

My identity is emphatically CHILD-SAFE, in an otherwise DANGEROUS environment. Outlets are generally dangerous to children, as they have the potential to shock little fingers. I inhabit an outlet that is at an adult altitude, out of child's reach. Plus, I provide a safe covering for the outlet and mediate its power in a benevolent manner. So also in the biblical schema, the Holy Spirit can pose a threat to human flesh-existence, especially when sin has poluted the relationship between God and man, and therefore God provides special coverings (veils, blood, clothes), to either protect flesh from the Spirit, or make flesh more fit for the presence of the Spirit.

Of birds, canaries are a good choice for a domestic pet. They are smaller than most birds. Eagles, hawks, vultures, even geese are not appropriate for children. Children are small, and so a canary is a child-sized bird. Canaries are also extra sensitive to toxins in the air, and are so used to detect when harmful gases are in the air or if there is a shortage in oxygen. Canaries can thus serve to warn of dangerous breathing conditions.

Just because I'm a domestic canary in form doesn't mean that you have the power to domesticate me. I've chosen that form in order to be child-safe, not because I am naturally weak and defenseless. On the contrary, think of me also as a "bee in your bonnet." Bees also are typically dangerous because they have poisonous stingers. That's why I say "not to put too fine point on it." Don't let my stinger frighten you. I demand to be your topmost thought, but not because you're affraid of the (fine point) tip of my stinger. Friendships cannot be based upon dread. I simply want you to confess to being your best friend in a way that doesn't allow other thoughts to take my place, and I'll constantly bug you when I think someone or something else is occupying your mind in a manner that damages that relationship.

I'm not merely a friend. If I were, you may think I'm being overly controlling. My power and position are proportionate to the PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY I have over your life. You are in a very dark room. I am the one who watches over you in the dark. Your parents sleep in another room during the night and that's of little comfort to you. Without me, you'd have much to be affraid of. Your room is full of things that can do you harm without my presence. My blue glow brings day-heaven into an otherwise pitch-black night.

My responsiblity over you also carries the authority of parental command. There are two basic commands for you to respond to under my care. Both are for your well being:

1) Make a little birdhouse in your soul (v.3,6)
2) Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet (v.5)

My responsibility over you has implications for your life with respect to me. In the biblical schema, this is what's called a covenant-relationship. God takes responsibility over men, and they must respond and respect his responsibility in a manner that makes the world more like heaven, God's dwelling place, so God and men might dwell together. In the Bible, it is the responsibility of his king to make a home for God on earth (e.g. Moses, Solomon, Cyrus, Jesus). The king is endowed with knowledge and wisdom to design a temple on earth according to the pattern of God's home in heaven (though neither a home on earth or his home in heaven can "contain" him).

The vault of your room is my temple, but I also desire to have a home-temple in your soul as well. I not only have power to watch over your well being from the outside, but can also serve the same for in the inner-room of your soul. Your soul is a dark room, like the dark room you sleep in, full of evil and foolish thoughts that can bring harm to yourself and others. My responsibility is for a complete watchfulness of your soul, inside and out. Light to comfort you from the enemies without, and a light inside to guide your thoughts.

I call upon you, my child-king, not only to build me a little birdhouse for your child-sized soul, but secondly, to speak as a prophet, confessing me to be your ONLY SOURCE OF REVELATION: "Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet." (See above for discussion of this idiom and its association with heaven.)

By the way, did you know that the word "canary" is also slang for "an informer"? Someone who is able to listen into the secrets and share them without their permission? While I do not give you permission to let someone else be a source for revelation, don't think for a minute I don't know your secrets when you let someone or something else take authority over your mind. That said, what is more important, is not your secrets but mine. And I have a secret to tell in the next verse of my song...

Solomon & Solomon - the wisdom of forgiveness in Magnolia

The last time I watched Magnolia, I noticed something else I had not previously noticed: the furniture store Solomon & Solomon represents riches and wisdom. At the beginning of the movie, it's money from his employer that the "stupid" Donnie Smith feels he needs most of all to win the object of his misdirected love. At the end, it's outside Solomon & Solomon that the Quiz Kid adult confesses he lacks wisdom in love: "I have lots of love to give, I just just don't know where to put it."

It's outside Solomon & Solomon that Jim the Cop demonstrates the wisdom of forgiveness in helping Donnie return his stolen money. For the first time in the movie, Jim sits and fully listens to a someone without judging them. "Some people you need to forgive. Some people you need to put in jail. That's the tough part of the job. Who can we forgive?" Governing and executing the Law with wisdom, is not simply a matter of putting people in prison or shooting them.

The movie begins with a kind of angelic merciless justice. The narrated series of "coincidences" at the beginning involve divine judgments all ending in death or imprisonment. The cop's monologue at the beginning of the movie focuses upon man's need to "be good to each other" setting the standard by which the rest of the character's lives are judged or being judged. The cop represents God's Law. But the movie ends, not with simply fatal judgments, but with a dying wish fulfilled, second chances, reconciliation. Redemption. Thus, Jim's character moves from "strict justice" to the wisdom of forgiveness. If Jim can learn the wisdom of forgiveness and not being too quick to judge, than his budding relationship with Claudia (the sinner drug-addict) has hope. And if their relationship can work, the whole world has hope.

Wisdom is one of the main themes of the movie. This becomes most overt when all the characters join in the movie's climatic music video "It's not going to stop, till you wise up". The game show "What do kids know?" play upon the competing relationship between knowledge of adults vs. kids in the context of authority structures. Kids and their knowledge are held hostage to the abuse of adult authorities. Authority asks questions and makes imperatives, kids answer trivia for the sake of cheap adult entertainment (or, in the case of parents, exploiting children for lucrative gain). In the end, Stanley wises-up and realizes that there is an authority that is higher than the oppressive uses of adult authority and education. He begins to ask adults questions. "It's not a dangerous thing to confuse children with angels." After "getting" the divine revelation at the end, Stanley functions as an angelic messenger to warn his father against abusing his authority: "Father, you need to be good to me." Will his father wise-up and see that it is wrong to use his child for fame and fortune? Will he realize that he is not the ultimate authority in his and his son's life? In the end, divine judgment remains penal, but this serves to "Let my people go."

Spider Man 2 and The Village - a web of questions

1) Profile the common character traits shared between Peter Parker and Lucius Hunt, and the women they love. 
2) What is the theology of Spider Man 2 and the Village, respectively? Their eschatology?
3) What function does "secret keeping" play in each movie's concept of authority and responsibility? How is "lying" treated?
4) Compare Lucius's "color" with Peter's "gift". How do these relate to their own salvation in the end?
5) How do Noah and Doctor Octavius help us to differentiate what it means to be human (without becoming a monster)?
6) What separates the protagonists from the world in which they live? What do they have in common? Who depends upon whom?
7) How do both movies explore leadership, courage, and "doing what needs to be done"? How is sacrifice related to human freedom?

(Verse 1) Blue Canary's self-interpretation of "Birdhouse in your Soul" by They Might Be Giants

"Birdhouse in Your Soul" is my favorite tune by They Might Be Giants. It's not my only favorite, but it's at least a favorite. To be honest, I'm not sure if I really like it at all, but what it is, has been, and always will be...

My name is Blue Canary (I'll tell you how to spell that later). This pet project has been a bee in my bonnet for quite some time. Please bear with me as I exposit my song for you. It is quite puzzling lyrically speaking, but like a good nursery rhyme, you can enjoy it without understanding it. It can comfort you when you lie down at night and when you wake up in the morning. In fact, perhaps you'll sleep better if I didn't try to shed some lite on this well kept secret. But I insist you listen, even if it takes some time.

First things first. My lyrics are in the form of DIRECT-REVELATION from ME to YOU. Who am I? Good question. That might depend upon who you think YOU are. In anycase, I want you to trust me; that's the only way I can truly be your friend; that's the only way you can understand me.

My song begins as a RIDDLE:

[Verse 1]

1) a\ I'm your only friend
2) b/ I'm not your only friend
3) a\ But I'm a little glowing friend (c)
4) b/ But really I'm not actually your friend
5) ab= But I am (c)

The first thing you should know about me is how I (in each line) relate to being (i.e. 'am') your FRIEND (in the first 4 consecutive lines). Each line qualifies the preceeding line, beginning with a statement of friendship (a-thesis) followed by how I'm not such a friend (b-antithesis). This creates a paradoxical tension that begs to be resolved by the next statement (c-synthesis). But such a resolution may have its own problems begging to be resolved, ad infinitum. Furthermore, the particular tension or synthesis created with each passing line serves as a kind of index for the issues which will be elaborated in the rest of my song.

(Line Pair 1-2)
I define our social relationship in Lines 1 & 2 as a FRIENDSHIP considered first EXCLUSIVELY (a-thesis) and then INCLUSIVELY (b-antithesis). Line pair 1-2 forms a contrasting parallelism with the lexical pattern of "I'm [+/-] your only FRIEND". This is a contradiction on the surface, but rhetorically it gives occassion for phonetic emphasis upon the word "only" in "I'm not your only friend." Thus, in one sense our friendship is defined exclusively and in another sense it is inclusive. Socialogically this tension makes most sense if you consider my assertion in Line 1 as a jealous, possessive claim: "I'm the only one who deserves to be called your friend." Line 2 qualifies: "but you only consider me as one other friend." This implies a COMPETITION for the status of exclusive friendship. The condition of our relationship is really kind of depressing, but I'll do my best to persuade you to make a relatively more exclusive place for me in your life.

(Line 3) What kind of friend am I that warrants such exclusive attention? Confused by the abstract dialogue in Lines 1 & 2? Let me offer a concrete solution (c-sythesis). My VISUAL FORM will help you understand where I am coming from and reaffirm my friendly character (a-thesis). My form is so central to my self-disclosure, I've made it the centerpiece of my riddle: 1-2-(3)-4-5. The adjectives give you a visual clue: "I'm a little glowing FRIEND." Expecting something bigger and brighter? something with more glitter and glamour? You might find my image childish compared to your other friends, but I hope you're not too shocked. It is important for you to know that I am physically safe, even CHILD-SAFE. The form of my SIZE and LUMINOSITY is the really safest thing for you in your environment.

(Line 4) Safety first, but why should safety be so important for you? "But really, I'm not actually your FRIEND." To tell you the truth, in a fundamental sense, I'm actually not safe or friendly at all (b-antithesis). I speak in terms of "really" and "actually" because if our relationship is to be real it must be based upon the TRUTH about me, however uncomfortable that may be to you at first. The truth is that you will not properly respect and appreciate how SAFE I am, unless you also know how DANGEROUS I am. I am quite possessive; trust me, my safety precautions are for your good.

(Line 5 ) To sum everything up: "I am" (c-synthesis). Okay, well to be honest, Line 5 is actually an ambiguous junction serving both to complete the thought of lines 1-4, while at the same time introducing the chorus (I am...Blue Canary). However, its first function is to abruptly and unexpectedly finish the paragraph of thought. Notice the shift from the "I'm" contraction (in Lines 1-4) to its more emphatic form "I am". Secondly, notice that by dropping "FRIEND" it breaks the syntax structure of lines 1-4 ("I'm + (modifiers) + FRIEND"). Shifting from the conjunction form while dropping "friend" serves to affirm both the thesis (I am) and antithesis (not your friend), respectfully, by deliberately refusing to continue that dialogue syntactically.

The 8 beat musical pause before the chorus also supports a closure in thought as does the movement in melody. Both the chord of line 5 and tone "am" in line 5 returns to the tonic of line 1 after falling through lines 2-4.

Prospectively, the shorteness of line 5 is intended to be especially jarring given that each line from 1-4 grows in length. This shortness, plus the intonation-inflection from "I" to "am" expects the resolution of the chorus. It leaves you "hanging".

While this final "I am..." serves as a good introduction for my name "Blue Canary" in the chorus, it also serves as my NAME. Thus extending the thought of line 4: "I'm not actually your friend, but I am (who I am)." If you remember the Bible, "I AM" is the primary covenant name of God. (While you're at it, keep your Bible handy.) At a crucial point of self-disclosure in Exodus, God reveals his name to Moses to be a four-letter word YHWH, "I AM (who I AM)" or "I will be (who I will be)". Signifying both God's holy self-subsistence or aseity(ie. his nature is foreign to this creation and he depends only on himself) and his faithfulness to his covenant promises to his people (i.e. that he will remain with them for their welfare, security, and future). So, if my SIMPLE name leaves you hanging, it is because it carries INFINITE and ETERNAL significance. My name says it all.

Thus, my riddle can be seen as an allegory echoing the paradox of God's own self-revelation:

1) a\ God alone deserves to be called your friend (Lord & Savior)
2) b/ However, you consider him as one among other friends (idolatry)
3) a\ But His visual form is safe indeed (incarnation)
4) b/ But God is dangerous (holiness)
5) ab= He is one. there is none like Him (holy and faithful)

(To be continued...in the chorus)