You must go, follow your star
No matter where you go, there you are
No matter where you go, there are you
So don't let go of what you know to be true
This is the chorus from a truly great song, "No Matter Where You Go, There Are You," by Irish Guitarist Luka Bloom. The story is about a Muslim who flees Algeria and ends up settling in Ireland due to the way Irish music moves him. Full lyrics here.
I think the song works because on a deep level it connects with the inner humanity with it's longing for nostalgia, beauty, music, freedom, and liberty. However, with all that said I am conflicted about the last line in the chorus.
So don't let go of what you know to be true
The problem as I see it is that there is no way around the fact that pretty much all of humanity is deceived in one way or another and "what you know to be true" might be anything but true. I hold to convictions that a great many people outright reject as false and vice versa. Are my convictions really truth or am I just another of the many deluded and deceived? I think I am with most people in the fact that I would prefer not to be deluded or deceived. However, we live in a time and a place where it is an open question whether or not truth exists or matters. Who is to really say if knowing what is actually true is better than being deluded and deceived? Maybe whatever floats your boat is as good as your gonna get, so why not just go with that right or wrong.
You must go, follow your star
No matter where you go, there you are
No matter where you go, there are you
So don't let go of what you know to be true
2 comments:
I too prefer not to be deceived, but do we really ever know the truth?
I do think certain things are pretty well establishable as facts. A fact could be defined as a truth that is known or recognized.
I guess that is fine for relatively simple things, but I think we are very much looking for truth in big and complex questions where the answers don't come so easy.
On these things I think some people probably do "know" the truth, but whether or not they can ever be certain of it is another matter.
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