Lyric analysis, like dream analysis, isn’t an exact science. Of course, we’re allowed to make individual interpretations. And ultimately what we believe to be deep and meaningful lyrics could be coke-fueled gibberish. Or as Seal mentioned in his breakdown of “Kiss From A Rose” with Rick Beato, whatever the song means to you is the correct meaning. However, I am a mental health professional by trade and an audiophile on the side. I enjoy interpretation and analysis. Finding the meaning is the point in therapy. Just the act of looking at something you thought was certain from a new perspective can motivate change and even heal.
I hope you’ll join me in a regular breakdown of some obscure, silly, and perhaps therapeutic lyrics.
A few thankyous to Coop as well as this publication for giving me space to write this column. The idea for it started with Coop and I bonding over Bob Seger’s “Night Moves”. Reminiscing over teenage lust seems to be a recurring theme with Seger. Perhaps I’ll revisit that tune in the next analysis.
On this go-around, we’re gonna take a closer look at “All The Fools Sailed Away” from Dio’s 1987 record Dream Evil. Ronnie James Dio is well-regarded amongst rock musicians and singers for his showmanship and distinctive voice. The song has all the bombast and religious imagery of any Dio song. While that typically means fantasy of rainbows and slain beasts, RJD gives a commentary on life’s polar forces.
Dio insists the rising and falling of the sea are harmonious. Theoretically, we need both the push and the pull.
This theme is repeated throughout the song in lines like, “We are innocent. We are damned, we bring you beautiful, we teach you sin.“. These opposing views are important tools in therapy. Moreover, can we accept both parts of ourselves, the healthy and the unhealthy? Do we have to see the world in black and white? Resolving the tension of these views produces a new understanding. With this duality, I think RJD is reflecting on the music business and the two-faced nature of the industry and audiences while trying to make sense of it.
In the lines, “We were caught in the middle of the madness. Hunted by the lion and the lamb” he sets up a world where he’s pursued by the Devil and Jesus. There’s no safe harbor in this world. Ah, but maybe there’s a chance for a miracle. A song that will give the masses hope. But even that is fleeting he sings, “We can give you a piece of the universe. Or we will disappear never to return again” perhaps an allusion to the fickle nature of fans. Now we’re at the chorus and he’s lamenting that the fools are sailing away.
I’m surmising this line means fellow bandmates, agents, and the like or it’s a cheeky jab at Styx. Either way, Dio has been abandoned. Then, we get another lament from Dio, “I never fail to be astounded by the things we’ll do for promises and a song.” Music may be a transcendent force but it can be easily commodified and cheapened. So now we have this situation of a man caught between two worlds. Where’s the hope, Ronnie?
Unfortunately, the song’s answer is conformity.
The saying goes, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” This philosophy comes with a price Dio warns in the verses, “They’ll take your diamonds. And then give you steel. You’ll be caught in the middle of the madness. Just lost like them, part of all the pain they feel, yeah.” The warning is repeated in the closing verse, “But doors are never open To the child without a trace of sin. Sail away.” A sinister line suggesting the gatekeepers in the industry forever rob artists of their innocence.
Perhaps the stain of sin is worth it though. While the song serves as a warning there’s enough belief in Dio’s voice and music that you can’t help but feel inspired. It’s a battle cry for the artist. Sure, you won’t walk away unscathed or you may be abandoned. But the hope is that whatever art form you practice and no matter who profits from it, you get a chance to inspire. As Ronnie James Dio suggests, that chance makes the battle worth it.