View attachment 82657
Pink Floyd’s
Time hits people because it tells the truth most try to ignore. Life slips away quietly while you assume you have plenty of it. You waste hours, drift through days, and think there will always be more time later. Then one day you realize years are gone, and you don’t know where they went. The song captures that moment well. “Ten years have got behind you… you missed the starting gun.” That is not just a lyric. That is real life for most people.
I love the Pulse version of this song. With the clock ticking and rotating and the hour glass from memory. So iconic and went with the music.
But I think as this was a time of introspection and experimenting not just in music but culturally Pink Floyd captured that evolving culture at the time.
But others also did in art and literature such as the iconic paintings bluring time and reality and the emergence of classic shows like the Twilight Zone and Dr Who. Mixed with psychodelics and it began a big long trip into Alices rabbit hole. Especially in the 60,s with groups like Jefferson Starship ect. Conceptual rock.
But here is where the difference comes in. The song sees the problem, but it cannot give the answer. It leaves you staring at the clock with no direction.
Yes because music and art are only good at painting the picture of what is or may be. In some ways it is giving an answer in that it is an attempt to explain things in world terms.
Though art is designed to step into the transcedent. Artist are reluctant to be specific about what it represents as far as truth and God and all that. Even whe they do attempt to give some explanation it is often abstract and has no logical rational for it.
People also read into the words stuff that is not there. Or there end up being more than one meaning is derived. Being it is all subjective.
Scripture does not do that. Scripture tells you exactly what time is and what you are supposed to do with it. It says plainly, “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” ~James 4:14. That is not poetry for effect. That is reality. Your life is brief, fragile, and passing whether you feel it or not.
THough I think with lyrics such as "then one day you look to find 10 years have passed you by". Is sort of saying the same thing that life can disappear quickly. I think people relate to how life seems so short and it seems theres more to it than the short life we have. Surveys show most people believe in a soul.
The difference is the bible has been saying this all along and from the beginning. Artist are just attempting to describe and explain this is artistic ways. Rather than linking it to Gods word and truth.
The world tells you life is long and there is time to kill. The Word of God says the opposite. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” ~Psalm 90:12. Number your days. Think about them. Measure them. Because if you do not, you will waste them. That is exactly what the song is describing. A life lived without intention, waiting for something or someone to give direction, only to wake up too late.
I think theres another verse about storing up riches on earth rather than heaven and about planning the future when we could die tommorrow.
Though the world promotes that there is no rush or that tech will allow us to beat death and all that. I think people deep down know that death is inevitable. Its easy when your young to believe you have all the time in the world. But older people without God have little to rely on.
Then comes the chase. The song talks about running to catch up with the sun as it is already sinking. That is what happens when a man realizes he has wasted time. He tries to fix it, tries to move faster, tries to do something meaningful, but time does not slow down for him. Scripture addresses this directly: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” ~Ephesians 5:16. You do not drift into a meaningful life. You must redeem the time, or you will lose it.
Trying to catch up to the sun seems like trying to change and beat nature itself.
The line “hanging on in quiet desperation” exposes the condition of many people. Outwardly functioning, inwardly empty. Busy, but without purpose. Alive, but not truly living. Scripture already said this long ago: “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity” ~Ecclesiastes 1:2. Life without God is empty no matter how full it looks on the outside. The song feels that emptiness but cannot explain it. The Bible explains it clearly.
This lines goes on to say "Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way" It describes the British stiff upper lip mentality of going through hardship without complaint. Often leading to a mundane, conformist existence.
They captured that well and some of their other songs reflect this as well. This is contrasted against Christ offering an abundence of life.
And then there is the reality no one escapes. “Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death.” That is true for every person reading this. Scripture does not soften that truth. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” ~Hebrews 9:27. Time is not just passing. It is moving you toward a fixed appointment. You are not drifting endlessly. You are heading somewhere.
It would be interesting to see how many people when old maintain atheism that nothing happens after death. I would think the closer you get to death the more you would be open to something beyond.
But I think such is the nature of belief in materialism that it would take a personal experience with Gods spirit even when old. The Floyd are posing the scenario and making people think about what life is all about. Thats what I use to get from the music before I was saved. It sort of opened the door to seek.
The song ends with a distant bell calling people to their knees, but it treats it like something vague, almost mystical. Scripture removes all confusion. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” ~Ecclesiastes 12:1. Do not wait until the years are gone. Do not wait until you are trying to catch up with a life already spent. You are called now.
Yes I find this with many secular artist including the iconic songs. That they bring up all these ideas and make you think and even suggest weird and mystical answers. But never anything specific and certainly never specifically about God or Christ being the answer.
Though I have come to realise that some secular artists like Dylan did refer to God and Christ but were vague on their comitment.
This is the difference. Pink Floyd tells you that you are wasting your life. Scripture tells you what to do about it. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” ~2 Corinthians 6:2. Not later. Not when it is convenient. Now.
So the real question is not whether time is passing. You already know it is. The real question is this. What are you doing with the life God has given you before it is gone?
I would hope that there comes a modern day singer who explicitely sings of God and the gospel that impacts the secular music. Done in a way that speaks to the answers people are looking for and found in Christ.
There have been times in the past where this was the case such as with Johnny Cash when he converted. But music that is attractive because of its powerful message about the fullness of life in Christ. That makes sense even for disbelievers who may hear the truth.
