I ain't afraid of your...

Don’t let the letter of the law obscure the spirit of the your love

Aug 03, 2024

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for this week’s song, “I ain’t Afraid”, by Holly Near. If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.

Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics (written in italics). Comments and questions are welcome.

✳️ Note: The level of this article is for students with a TOEIC of 550+, Eiken Pre-1, CEFR B2. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.

(516 words)

In this song, Holly Near talks about three major world religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Each religion has its primary deity: Yahweh in the Jewish religion, Allah in Islam, and Jesus in Christianity. It is important to keep in mind that Near is not criticizing any of these religions. She is questioning how religions have been used in history to oppress people or to conquer lands.

The chorus begins:

I ain't (am not) afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

Each of these religions has its place of worship: a church for Christian worshippers, a temple or synagogue for Jewish religious services or special ceremonies, and a mosque for Muslim prayers, sermons, and special ceremonies.

I ain't afraid of your churches
I ain't afraid of your temples
I ain't afraid of your praying
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

Near calls on people of these faiths to follow the call to the best qualities of the religious beliefs. She asks them to free up or free themselves from the fear and hate that is sometimes taught by religious leaders.

Rise up to your higher power
Free up from fear, it will devour you
Watch out for the ego of the hour (the popular or powerful leader at the moment)
The ones who say they know it (the correct laws that show us the right way to live)
Are the ones who will impose it on you

Rise up, and see /find/ know/ hear a higher story

In these religions, among others, there are teachings about vengeful gods or of the glory of winning a war against people who don’t believe as you do. Some religions teach that if you do not believe, you will go to hell.

Free up from the gods of war and glory
Watch out for the threats of purgatory

Religious symbols: • 1st Row: Christian Cross, Jewish Star of David, Taoist Taijitu • 2nd Row: Islamic Star and crescent, Buddhist Wheel of Dharma, Shinto Torii • 3rd Row: Sikh Khanda, Bahá'í star, Jain Swastika (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Holly Near compares a universal belief in love to the “spirit of the wind” which is not interested in getting any benefits of power or money (to make a killing means to have great financial success).

The spirit of the wind won't make a killing off of sin and satan

Each religion has its own religious book or text. In the Christian religion, the Bible is the most sacred book. In the Jewish faith, the Torah is the book from which the teachings are given. The Koran is the sacred scripture of Islam.

I ain't afraid of your Bible / Torah / Koran

She warns believers to be careful. It is easy to allow the teachings to hide the most important thing that unites all of them — love. Losing sight of that simple fact causes suffering.

Don’t let the letter of the law

Obscure the spirit of the your love--it's killing us

I ain’t afraid of your… Money / Culture / Choices / Sunday (observed as a day of worship for Christians) / Spirit / Teachers / Sabbath (observed as a day of rest and worship for Jews) / Borders / Dances / Children / Music / Stories

Question:

There are around 10,000 religions in the world (1). Do you follow one?

I ain't afraid of your...

Don’t let the letter of the law obscure the spirit of the your love

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