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DRIVING TO DAMASCUS
DEEP DIVE - PART 2


9 September 2017
1:34:02




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Driving To Damascus – song DEEP DIVE by Svein and Tom

  • Breakdown of several demo variations and overall song development.
  • The song as a modern day retelling of the apostle Paul’s vision of Christ on the road to Damascus. Similarities with the biblical story.
  • About “having a Damascus experience” – what does that mean?
  • Lyrical themes and messages, both vs. the biblical story and otherwise.
  • The journey of the driver in the story, the purpose of his journey, the advise he gets from the person he meets (and the significance of his physical features), and finally the overall message he is advised to project instead.
  • The musicality of the song, and its suitability as an album opener and as a song to build the album around.
  • That “bagpipe keyboard” in the middle section. How do we like that?
  • That eternal single discussion – this song is frequently mentioned as a good single. Was it ever a candidate, and how do we like it?
  • Tom’s e-mail from Stuart about theology, spirituality and Christ – which may explain some of his mindset around that time on those matters, and potentially the background of what ended up in this song (and some others).
  • Rafe McKenna’s contributions to this song and this album.
  • The keyboards on this song – some good, some bad, some ugly…
  • The album production vs the “Nashville sessions” version.
  • Tom reads out his track-by-track review from 1999 and see which opinions, if any, have changed after 20 years. (This is done after each song discussion on the album.)

Speakpipes by Arlin Bartels and Niall Featherstone.

Dive Into Me – song DEEP DIVE by Tom and Svein

  • Differences between the “In the Scud” version and album version.
  • Verse vs chorus-discussion.
  • The lyrical theme – the perfect representation of love. A theme we keep coming back to, on this album and elsewhere.
  • The poetic way of describing a spiritual connection to someone, but with the usual dark clouds having over specific passages...
  • Breakdown of the writing and demoing of the song.
  • The duality of musically being a sensitive song with a sensitive delivery while also being a song with solid “rock” moments.
  • The duality of lyrically both being a plea to the person or entity he is addressing, but also a warning.
  • The many uses of “winter” in Big Country’s lyrics as an allegory for depression.
  • The many potential angles of the song – the relationship angle, the spiritual angle, the saving aspect…
  • Tom reads out his review of the song from 1999. We see if his opinions have changed after 20 years.

Speakpipes from John Wilbur and Harry Medium.

“Dive Into Me” – live-in-studio version from the “Nashville Sessions” website release from 2000.