Watching this in 2024. I remember when this song came out and some radio stations in the States refused to play it. Land of God, glory, country, all that BS. I used to hear it late at night on the Canadian radio stations. I had not yet even heard of Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, but I was already leaning in that direction. It just all seemed like so much nonsense.
As an atheist teenager I thought this song was purely anti-religion. But as an adult I realize that it is questioning religion, not excoriating it. The irony layered in is brilliant and I think it's one of the best songs ever written.
As a 16 year old listening to it for the first time in 1986 it scared me because I felt this very same way. I lost my father 4 yrs prior and I was lost. I'm 53 years old now and it still resonates with me now. It's okay to question our beliefs our thoughts. Think about this for a second. What
I was also 16 when this came out, one of a small handful of kids into indie/college radio music in a high school of 2200... 2197 of which never heard of XTC and hated kids they called 'punk rockers' My dad passed away the previous December of '85, and I never got along well with my mom or older brother. I dove deeply into my music and my friends, and while perhaps religion might have helped at the time, I rejected that too. My dad was a mildly religious person, and my best friend, and I just couldn't see the point of following the path that he had chosen after walking out of his funeral before I was even old enough to drive. This song really hit a chord with me, when it was released early that summer, and still to this day. I don't listen to it often, I don't want recent memories and associations to replace the ones from that summer: Hearing it the first time on WTSR ( Trenton State's radio station)... listening to it with a girl I had a huge crush on, laying under a tree in her back yard while everyone else at the party was in the house... playing it a thousand times in my friends' cars - which they eventually got pretty sick of, to be fair... listening to Skylarking in my room while trying to pretend the other two people in my house weren't right down stairs. I never questioned my atheism, and until 2016 I never questioned people who chose to believe in god. I respected their right to make up their own minds just as I thought they should do for me. Anyway, hang in there man, I hope life got better for you. Sorry to hear about your Dad.
I would say it's more than okay to question our beliefs and thoughts. In fact, if you're interested in seeking truth, it's essential. Otherwise, you just end up in a dogmatic loop where you and your fellowship are just reinforcing the same beliefs and ideas - which may end up being completely wrong - within an echo chamber and blocking yourself from discovering whatever actual truth may (or may not) be out there. If you never seek, you can't possibly find. When I was a teen, I began studying various religions and philosophies in a search of common threads and anything that felt like it transcended local cultures and traditions to become a more "universal truth." My VERY Christian aunt freaked out (of course) because I was daring to explore other ideas rather than accepting everything some random pastor was saying as 100% truth and putting all my faith into that. I tried to explain to her that, if there's a God, then that God should appreciate the predicament we're in (and which, theoretically, that God put us in): We live in a world where every religion claims to be the "one true" religion, every religious person believes their book, their version of God, and their cultural traditions are "the right way" and everyone else's is wrong. And there's literally no evidence for ANY of it, so all we have to go on is the fervent claims of humans who don't have any more evidence than we do and for whom "the one true religion" just coincidentally happens to be the one they grew up with and which is predominant in their homeland. Well, that and "what feels right" inside of ourselves, which may or may not mean anything. So, what's a truth-seeker to do? I explained to my aunt that if there's an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God then it would understand that I'm not interested in worshipping human tradition, I'm interested in finding whatever truth is behind it all, and would appreciate the fact that I was on an honest, open-minded spiritual journey of investigation and discovery to find it and not just repeating traditions because I selfishly desired the carrot (Heaven) and feared the stick (Hell). And if there's not a God... well, then it doesn't matter. To me, that's the only reasonable approach but my aunt, of course, believes with all her heart that this means I "have a demon" in me and am going to Hell. I've told her repeatedly that if seeking the truth of God rather than just mindlessly repeating cultural customs and ceremonies is a "sin" that causes God to condemn me to burn for eternity, then (1) God is less compassionate and intelligent than I, a mere human, am and I would find it difficult to respect that (as it would essentially just be a superpowered but childish alien rather than some greater, wiser being); and (2) I'm absolutely comfortable with my intentions and my decision to take a step away from tradition and look deeper. And if God is what she and others claim it is, then it would be comfortable with those intentions and that decision too. She, of course, just looks horrified and tells me that she'll be praying for me to find God (meaning HER version of God) and I, in turn, infuriate her by telling her I'll be doing the same for her (though I don't really pray, per se, so I'm just winding her up a little). Whatever the truth, I treat people with respect and compassion, work hard, play fair, and would never stab anyone in the back to get ahead. And I don't do this because I want the reward of Heaven or fear the punishment of Hell (I'm pretty much agnostic at this point in my life, so neither Heaven nor Hell enter any of my equations); I do it because it's the right thing to do, it's the way I'd want to be treated, and, imo, the only way a society functions without tearing itself apart. My aunt, on the other hand, has claimed to be a Christian for 30+ years. She goes to church multiple times a week, prays constantly, doesn't watch, listen to, or read anything other than spiritual material given to her by her pastor or which has been recommended by her fellow church-goers (and ONLY religious stuff, nothing like *GASP* "Harry Potter" or any of that secular stuff which, in her mind, is all "satanic"). And if anyone wonders aloud about something religious that goes against anything her pastor has ever said, she visibly pales and starts talking about demons and how that person is going to Hell. Meanwhile, everything about her is the exact opposite of the example of Christ that she claims to follow. She's extremely racist, obsessed with her appearance, obsessed with money, is disgusted by poor people and homeless people, and although she prays constantly, what she mostly prays for is for God to give her money, bring her a rich husband, help her lose weight, etc. When she got sick last year and ended up in the hospital for months and months, my mom drove an hour and a half to the hospital every day to visit and take care of her. My mom's husband died in an accident earlier that year and my mom - who's retired, on a very small fixed income, and living in a small apartment - burned through most of her husband's life insurance payout by paying my aunt's mortgage while she was in the hospital, buying all her groceries, taking care of her dog, and once my aunt finally went home, driving out to her house and cooking for her to make sure she ate. When it was all over, how did my aunt thank her? She invited my mom to her church. When my mom said she wasn't really interested, my aunt told my mom that she obviously had a demon in her because demons can't hear the word of God, then proceeded to argue and insult my mom so badly that my mom left and didn't go back for a couple of months. This is where three decades of NOT questioning her church or pastor's interpretation of things and only living inside her church's echo chamber has landed her. She's a horrible, selfish person who only follows the religious rules to get a reward/avoid a punishment, but still looks down on everyone around her for not being as "holy" as she is. It's legit delusional.
@@johnplaysgames3120 i wish i could give you more than one thumbs up. The 'motivation for morality' thing with christians has always bothered me. Most atheists and agnostics I know are, like you indicate, good people for the sake of just being good, decent, people. The many deeply religious people I know are demonstrably less good people (reasoning, I've been told, that their church attendance compensates for their shortcomings) and seem much more self-centered and hateful. I do my best to let people like that roll off my back, and move on with life. There's nothing I can do about it and its not my job to try. They live the life they choose for themselves, as I live the life I choose for myself.
As an old Atheist, and an even older XTC fan I always loved this. Way back in the day when nobody had the balls to admit to being an unabashed Atheist, XTC were a rare honest voice we Atheists needed.
@@gmlgml780I think we should still keep our hopes up. It has existed for so long, sure, but if people keep standing up against it, and education around the world increases, surely it will at least be reduced. To be fair, at the beginning of human thinking they didn't have evidence for much, so it was slightly less irrational to be religious then than it is now. The only way religion lives on today is through child abuse, indoctrination from birth and lack of education.
Ireland, once one of the most conservative and devout Christian countries in the world, now allows same sex marriage and abortion within the first trimester (or later for medical reasons). Where I live, public schools are not allowed to promote any particular religion, and can only provide religious instruction as an optional, outside school hours activity. And even the pope himself acknowledges the reality of climate science. So... there is some progress I'd say.
@@i_dont_live_here True. As a singer-songwriter myself, I am always appreciative of the new and different. If you like female vocalists, check out my new single on RUclips and tell me what you think, Phil. Thanks. ruclips.net/video/ogtka6jmr1k/видео.html
The child is actually played by a girl named Jasmine Veillette, who's the daughter of a friend of producer Todd Rundgren. The voice was dubbed by a boy.
Agree or disagree with the message, it's hard to deny that this is an immaculately constructed song: the way it's bookended by the kid singing, the way Andy Partridge goes from quietly inquisitive to angry about man's ills and organized religion, that violin solo, the way the music gets chaotic as Partridge goes into full denouncement mode...it's all perfect.
@@milesgreb3537 Look can we just be ok with each other's beliefs even if we don't believe them? Believe what ever you want but it is really weird to be mad at other people for an opinion. If you absolutely love red or some other color but my favorite is a different one it would be really annoying if I tried to convince you that my favorite color is better even though you know your opinion won't change
@@VoidBirdYou mean your favourite colour isn't red? What's wrong with you? In all seriousness, what you speak against is precisely what religions try to do: try to install a belief into as many people as possible (because they think it's the only way not to be tortured for eternity) and get into power to install that belief wherever possible. Evidence: Islam and its instructions for a totalitarian regime, and the entire blood-drenched history of Christianity. People aren't usually convinced by their parents during their childhoods what favourite colour they should have, or what foods their brains enjoy. Those are opinions. Being under the illusion that an all-knowing, all-seeing, immortal timeless dictator exists, created everything, loves you and, in Christianity, actively spares from punishment for the sin of being born, isn't an opinion the same way favourite colours are. Those "opinions" are caused by childhood indoctrination and restricting their minds from thinking freely.
@@VoidBird it's not similar to that. Calling religion as arbitrary as color preference is calling controlling, bigoted systems of power arbitrary. Violence and hatred are not arbitrary.
"Did you make mankind after we made you?" is to this day one of the smartest lyrics in all of popular music. The answer to his question is a resounding "yes".
Why? I just love that lyric and think it's really smart. To be honest though, I don't know the answer. But that's the beauty of it. He's asking a really good question and leaving it up to the audience.
This song isnt written from an atheist's pov anyway, it's clearly from a believer/questioning person who is trying to make sense of the suffering of the world
@@troubleintransit6485 "I've experienced stuff I can't even explain" don't know your story, but I bet it's not because you can't, but because the mundane, materialistic explanation doesn't appeal to you as much as mysterious and magical one does ex. coincidence - such an underwhelming explanation, don't u think? comming from raised Catholic with confirmation, firm atheist and blasphemer for over a decade
@@troubleintransit6485 "I'm not explaining it because it's extremely personal" I never asked u to explain it to me, so your story being "extremely personal" doesn't really prevent u to explain it to youreself, does it? and that is my point. you don't want to explain it even to youreself because it would mean that: 1 u are not special and there is no super being interested in your life 2 u are a subject of human weaknesses like cognitive bias and such 3 u are a victim of society and its religious systems who exploit human weaknesses like: fear of death, fear of not meeting ur lovedones after they die, desire of cosmic justice for "evil" people who live and die comfortable life while a lot of "good" people are destitute and victimised by those comfortable "evil" people "You see it as fantasy" yes I do, can u make anyone, starting from ureself, distinguish it from fantasy?
The fact that people reacted violently to the song's message is THE EXACT POINT OF THE SONG and I dont think a single person who phoned in a bomb threat to a radio station understood that.
@@kimtardie2942 Who killed innocent children? Based on the OP's comment, I thought he was referring to the time when this song first aired on the radio. But then, I probably would have heard about that. I'm sure it got plenty of airplay because I remember it well, even though I didn't buy the album (back in the "olden days" you'd have to buy a whole album if you wanted to hear a song or do a good job of catching it on your tape recorder as soon as it came on the radio).
@@kimtardie2942 I looked it up and Nick is referring to bomb threats in 1987. At the time, I listened to the best "New Wave" radio station in my area, so that's probably why I heard it so much. Here's a 1987 article on bomb threats in Panama City, FL: www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-07-27-8702240892-story.html
@@RegebroRepairs don't be a rude bastard. Look at what is going on in Washington, how they are asking for censoring "misinformation". Look at all the censorship going on at RUclips. WAKE UP!
XTC - one of the best and most under-rated British bands ever. They provided the soundtrack to my teenage years. Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding are Fabulously talented song-writers.
Fantastico hai detto una cosa più che giusta il duo degli XTC con le dovute distanze sono l ' altra faccia Di Lennon - McCartney, La faccia più proletaria dell' ' Inghilterra musicale.....
This song hit me so hard, I'm a girl who grew up in a very strict Muslim family. I'm 17 now, and I discovered this song when I was 13. It really meant a lot to me to know that I wasn’t the only one who had a childhood where, out of fear of being judged, I never questioned my beliefs out loud or shared my true opinions about religion. I didn’t express my feelings about it to my closest friends either, out of fear they would tell my parents. Living in a constant role that I didn’t identify with made me feel distressed, as if there was no place for me. I felt trapped, without freedom of opinion. Every time I listen to this song, I feel happy because it was something I could see myself reflected in for the first time in my life
Thankfully, you’re so very close to having your own independence and being able to ignore the judgemental nature if religious family. You can build your own family of loved ones through friends you connect with as a fully formed adult
Oddly enough, my mom did the same when my older brother brought home the (first U.S.?) Queen album ( whicher one had "another one bites the dust" on it) Broke the first one. Scratched and buried the second one, burned the third one. Funny thing is, all these years later, she loves the groovy music.."it's a classic!" (She's 81 now) I guess over time, the music you hated then, becomes "easy listening" by todays standard. :D
@@animationcycles7109That's funny in a weird way bro lmao. Btw, the album you talking about is "the game" and is from 1980. The last one from queen's golden years era, as it preceeds the infamous "hot space".
That's rough. I was pretty pissed when my mom threw out my 'Straight to Hell' t shirt, but I didn't push my luck by buying another one. Or maybe I just didn't have the money.
Stoics didn't have all of the answers. True, They didn't claim to have them. They simply accepted everything as "God given" That's what marks them out from "The Religious"@@the_absurd_hero
As an 11 year old kid, I was forced to go to youth group on top of church. They had these videos dissecting evil rock music, and this was one of the videos upon which they focused. Thank you youth group for showing me a song I instantly loved 😅
I never realized how incredible this video is, look at the camera panning, you can see how the camera moves all in one shot at several points in the video, amazing.
I grew up extremely religious in rural Louisiana. I went to church every Sunday, I went to as many events as humanly possible if it had something to do with Christianity. Over the years, I began to notice the corruption you find in such small towns, the racism, the hate, heard and saw some unimaginable things happen to people. I watched my own family be falsely imprisoned for questioning the justice system, lost my home multiple times to multiple circumstances. I went to church every Sunday, got on my knees every night praying for whatever miracle I demanded at the time and not once did it ever change for the better. I had my home absolutely devastated after hurricane Katrina and I didn't understand why me and every other citizen of New Orleans had to suffer such a thing especially when I payed my belief every chance I got. I respect anyone who is still Christian today, I have no hate but I don't understand it. I can't believe it and won't believe a book for my life.
I just want to know what the suffering we must go through benefits. What grand plan is advanced by human misery? It's been 30 years and I still don't have an answer.
Without suffering and sadness you would never understand love and joy . It's all part of life. If God made everyone happy 24/7 and made life easy what would be the point of heaven? The small amount of suffering we may have in our short lives is a very small price to pay for eternal joy in heaven. Find your way back. God bless.
I have found the replies very interesting. It certainly incites strong feelings, mine too. I was raised in evangelistic and Pentecostal churches (healings, speaking in tongues). Lots of talk of God’s love and threats of hell. God’s glory and perfection. Then I look out the window and the world seems quite imperfect. We make our own choices, they said; free will. Except that if you do not walk their fine line, you shall burn in hell forever. That, friends, is not free choice. It’s a great question: Where did the Universe come from? Religions are man’s attempt to explain that, and comfort us for lost loved ones, and to control others and gain power. No human has the right to speak for god, whatever that might be. All of this Universe had to come from somewhere. I applaud XTC for bravely creating and releasing this song. I feel that same resentment, having been indoctrinated as an innocent child. The Bible is absolute truth written and translated by god working through inspired humans? No. It’s a story. With a moral. And everywhere, I find that each individual has their own different ideas: Christian(even in the same church pew), Humanist, tribal, Islamic, etc., on and on. One cannot claim a god is omniscient, all powerful, and then give that god credit for all the good things, and let him/her off the hook for all the bad things. Oh, yes, the bad things are the fault of humans. No. The world is best described by the Yin/Yang circle of black and white, with a little black in the white and white in the black. Just rolling along to where? We just don’t know. Treat others as you’d have them treat you. Thank you XTC for the great music!
Exactly, because the minute you question God's existence (in light of so much mayhem) people instantly become defensive, and deem you unholy or a nonbeliever. In reality, you're only asking questions
So with you, how can so many people be indoctrinated and sheeplike in following a book of rules that obviously humans wrote that doesnt even have a clear plan. It blows my mind, a lot of gullable, non- thinkers in this world, it's scary. Our future as a species does not look very bright.
Our family lost our youngest cat recently and shortly after I heard this song on the radio for the first time. Our cat became sick and weakly in the course of two weeks, healthy to at death's door, and was hospitalized. I'm not a religious person but I prayed and I bargained for him to be saved. I bought a bible and said I would read it an hour a day until I finished it if our cat could be saved. I couldn't promise that I would believe in god after, but I promised I would read the bible start to finish and see how I felt after. I read it here and there when I could while our cat was hospitalized, I visited him every day, twice a day, for five days. On the fifth day I could see he did not have much time left so I sat outside the vet's office and started to read the bible. While reading it the vet called and said I needed to get back inside quickly as we didn't have much time. They rushed our baby into the room and he died gasping in my arms. Now you tell me how I should feel about god.
It hurts when we lose a pet. They are members of our family. I had to have my cat euthanized 2 1/2 years ago and it still hurts. In reference to your cat and God. You can choose to say that there is no God because he let your cat die. Or you can choose to say that you had five extra days with your cat that maybe if you had not prayed he would’ve passed away sooner. Religion is very tricky. You can believe 100% or you can choose to not believe at all. I’m sorry for the loss of your cat. 😢🐈✝️💟
@@charlenemack7040 I'm sorry for your loss also. I'd like to think that there was a bigger reason to our cat getting those extra days with us, but in my mind the only thing that helped was the around the clock blood tests and supplements to keep him stable and the thousands and thousands we went into debt to get him the help. I realize nothing is definitive, but when you put 100% of your effort, trust, and faith into something and it still fails you there's not much reason to believe after.
@@ernesthernia418Although this is a hilarious interpretation, I think you are being dismissive. This person is asking because they have no idea how to feel. Funny quip, though, like I said.
As an atheist I've studied the New Testament, despite some occasional weirdness its main thrust really is Love. Humility, kindness, empathy, the rejection of ambition, money and status. Millions of people self identify as Christian when in reality very very few people genuinely follow these teachings. We are dealing with liars and charlatans, not Christians.
"As an atheist I've studied the New Testament, despite some occasional weirdness its main thrust really is Love." I basically agree with this sentiment, but have you never studied the OLD Testament? The one which Jesus (according to Matthew 5:17-18) said he had come to fulfill?
The main thrust of the NT is that God gave his son to redeem us from Adam n Eves mistake and take us back to his original plan . Eternal life living on a New Earth sans the drag of sin that separated us. Just a matter of time now.
Jesus ( God) is LOVE ( period). It is humans that muck it up with Religion. Churches have an agenda. I have a personal relationship with Jesus because of the love he gives, teaches, and more. I also stay out of the old testament as Jesus made a new commandment that erased everything prior.... "Love others as you would have them love you. Pretty basic and good advice for any human, regardless if you are religious, agnostic, or atheist. Thank you so much for your post.
Reading it as an atheist must make the difference, because reading it like a literalist, what I suspect you are referring to by 'occasional weirdness" overtakes the whole. You remember the good bits because those are what speak to you, and you have no compulsion to make the whole thing make sense.
@Chris Miller I do believe and at the same time have troubles believing in God. It's just part of the human nature, we're doubtful beings. But believing or not believing is my problem, and I wouldn't try to convince anyone from one thing or the other... religion is a personal matter, at the end of the day. So how is your attempt to convert a "big catholic" into a non believer any different from those people trying to "sell" the concept of God to atheist and agnostics? Hypocrite much?
I turn 44 in less than a month. I've heard this song many times in those 44 years. HOWEVER... I've been obsessing over this song and the lyrics. All is incredibly fabulous. Then... THEN the video. Holy hell. XTC is a sleeper...I can only hope I can spread the word
This band seems like such an anomaly. All their music sounds so ahead of its time. This track and even this video look like they were produced in the 90s or early 00s. Incredible.
I've just heard this song for the first time ever today. It's a goddamned masterpiece. Seriously, I am absolutely spellbound by it. I can't believe how much I love it.
I was never religious, but i am a music lover at my core.. your story reminded me of the two times i shared music from my classes, growing up.. the first was show and tell, 4th grade, 1984. I played BERLIN... SEX... I'M A... haha, google the video and song if you don't know it. Years later, in 8th grade, the photography teacher asked us to play a song for the class.. he is the man in the photo, on the back of the Woodstock concert album... most kids played 80s po, one kid played iron Maiden.. i played Deep Purple, Child In TIme.. he was blown away. He was a flower child., from that time, but never even heard it. AGain, I ask you to look the song up, there is a great 1970 music video for it, here on RUclips.
I just discovered this song and damn this hits hard. My parents are Christians and I grow up believing in God and I went to church every Sunday. But since I’m 10 years old, I discovered the world’s suffering and violence. And I started asking myself questions, like « if God is so good, why doesn’t he do something ? I heard that he could do miracles, so why ? ». At 13 years olds, I realized that I liked girls instead of boys. When I went to church every week with some others people of my age, the adults talked to us about sin. They always said that all the people who don’t believe in god are gonna be sent to hell, that we have to confess and to made god forgiving us for our sins. Also, they said that homosexuality is a sin and I started feeling trapped in my own religion. My friend’s mother died the same year and my other friend tried to attempt suicide. I started rejecting religion. When I asked « why does god allow wars, sickness, little kids dying, kids losing their parents, people trying to kill themself ? », nobody gived me a clear answer. I don’t believe in anything now and I’ve left the church, and I can say that I’m less anxious than before
everyone wants free will until they suffer for their bad choices, then they want a miracle from a God that they could care less about when they are fat and happy.
Good on you. I have to say I was much older before I "woke up" and realized God, Jesus, religion is just a pile of hogwash. But I finally "came to my senses" and moved away from religion and the church. All praise Joe Pesci.
Listen, I’m not going to try to convince you of anything, but religion should comfort you. It’s a thing you choose to believe, take it as deep as you want, but you won’t be able to absorb the benefits or feel positively about what you can get from it if what you’re looking for is cold, hard, fact. The truth is that there’s tons of things biblically that don’t make sense, but you can choose to take from it what you want. Don’t let anyone push you into thinking that if you aren’t perfect that you can’t choose to believe in God, love God, or lean on God when you feel you might need him. Of course this is all figurative if you want it to be. I’m a flexible person, this is a great song, and I’m personally a Christian, the real boring traditional kind. That’s because I enjoy the principals of love that are supposed to be the foundation of Christianity. The Bible as I know it, the teachings of Jesus, etc spattered themes throughout, have influenced me personally to embrace things like love, forgiveness and tolerance. You can practice those things without ever stepping foot in a church, but it is interesting to study as you wish and just not think too deep on the historic play by plays that may not make sense right off the bat. To answer your question, the thing is that it’s up to us to guard others and ourselves when possible, God doesn’t swoop in to save us in a cape, he’s there to protect our minds when we feel weak, to inspire us to feel strong and go on when we experience bad things, to offer a safety net if we feel we or others need forgiveness. I’m so sorry this was so long, I just wanted to offer some perspective from my point of view. Wishing you so many good things, a great life, and clarity.
@@cussininthekitchen8224 Sorry, but I just can’t believe in God. I don’t find any comfort in the religion, it just oppress me and I feel much better since I left the church. For me, it’s just impossible that there’s a God out there. And even if it was real, I would still think it’s pretty fucked up to say « Hey, if you don’t adore me, you will burn in hell forever ! Oh, and by the way, almost everything you do is a sin ! ». I can have tolerance and acceptance outside of the religion, I can embrace love, tolerance and acceptance without religion. I can’t believe I God, there’s too many kids who die from sickness in this fucked up world
I love it. I grew up with a very religious family, where I was forced to perform religious ceremonies and believe in a God from the age of three. I couldn't question that belief, they put fear in my body. At 9 years old I stopped being a believer, and they still forced me to take communion even though I opposed it. Now I am 16 years old. It makes me sad that the little ones are indoctrinated with these ambiguous beliefs. The meaning of life and the formation of life itself is very complex, a person needs time to develop their morals. We must be free, and at last I am.
I WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN THE 70S AND 80S, I NEVER EVER BELIEVED A SINGLE WORD OF IT NOT AT ANY AGE , NOR DID ANYONE I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH ,YOU WERE VERY GULLIBLE EVEN AT 9, MAYBE ITS GENERATIONAL BUT IM 59 AND MY GENERATION NEVER GAVE ONE SHIT ABOUT ANYTHING OUR IDIOT PARENTS SAID WE JUST LAUGHED AT WHAT MORONS THEY WERE . WE ALL GRADUATED WITH OUR ATHEISM INTACT , WHEN I WAS ABOUT 7 YRS OLD THERE WAS THE COMMUNION THING AND I REEMBER TELLING MY DUMB CUNT OF A MOTHER I WONT DO IT, I DONT BELIEVE IN ANY OF THE HORSESHIT, SHE ESSENTIALLY BRIBED ME TO GO THROUGH WITH IT, BASICALLY, CASH GIFTS AND A PARTY WITH CAKE ICECREAM AND WHATEVER ELSE I WANTED
No, I wouldn't call them ambiguous. Organized religion teaches self hatred and shame, guilt and fear. Being promised eternal reward, if you do as you're told, or eternal damnation if you don't, in some kind of make believe afterlife.
As someone raised in a Christian-centric environment; thos was one of the first songs I heard that posed the same questions I had but noone would properly acknowledge or answer. Great song, must hear for all humans.
it's crazy you all still REPEAT THE LIE that this is "Christianity". NOTHING could be further than Christ's teachings than the right wing psychos known as "Christians", and they all BRAG of being anti-christs! They love GREED, war, police brutality etc. LOOK UP WHAT THE ROMAN POLICE DID TO JESUS. STOP calling it christianity. It's PRECISELY the opposite.
They wrote this song way ahead of their time. Just listen to the lyrics. I cannot and will not believe in works in mysterious ways. This song relates to me so much. I heard it long ago, and I still love it
This video was released in the second of 3.5 years that Mom lived with & struggled with metastatic breast cancer. She had raised me to be Roman Catholic; I had already been thinking about leaving the Church & organized religion in general in '85 (the year she got diagnosed)...this song & video hit me right in the brain & heart, & has aged well for me, a less-bitter agnostic person than I was in the late-'80s. "Did you make disease / and the diamond blue?" No kidding. This song lives within me, along with memories of Dr. Carl Sagan ("Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", & "We are made of star-stuff). As old as this tune is, it does not get old for me. I like that Partridge is singing to God in the lyrics; I related to the broken-heart of the singer, & to the Problem of Evil eloquently described in the lyrics.
heard this song in summer of '87, two months after mom lost a brutal 2-year, 9-month battle to ovarian cancer. Understand people have to die, but to suffer like that? Fuck God and all that religious bullshit
Satan made your mom sick. And all disease as well. Satan runs earth. See you dont no this thats the problem with every comment on here the blame the wrong person. Your made in elohims image who is satan. Get it now.
They released "Dear God" as a single only afterwards. IIRC it was released as a b-side and obviously the "controversial" lyrics (let's just call them this way) gathered attention and radio stations started to play it. So it became popular and they decided to release it as a single of its own, with an accompanying videoclip. So not so much "balls".
one of the most popular songs of 2021 featured a video of Lil Nas X giving the devil a lap dance, but you don’t think the US could handle a song about root issues of christianity ???
I’m a recovering catholic (lol) but still very spiritual. But I love this song because it makes sense. Hit the nail on the head. (Please don’t strike me down God)
I think that proves a couple of things. First of all, the world continues to be a shitty place because people never learn from the mistakes. Secondly, artists with their open minded thinking recognize this and write timeless songs.
Decades later, I still get goosebumps whenever I play this brilliant song. Absolutely fantastic poetry, message, music and video... one of the top 10 ever.
This song represents the inner struggle perfectly. Trying so hard to believe in God only to never be able to believe that such a "benevolent omnipotent" would allow for all this.
Yeah, I just can't see an all-powerful being sitting back watching putin's missiles slam into hospitals and churches without doing *something* but what do I know.
@@thehouseofcrumblingidols2694 did you just compare a person with no power to an OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT being who we're told all our lives he's benevolent and wants to help everyone? Also, if I had the power to know the future and the power to stop it, I'd probably do so, yeah! "Do you condone all evil humans and natural disasters?' NO! AND I DIDN'T CREATE THEM EITHER!
@AnxietySquid I just think it's quite hubristic for people to wail to God about His "injustices" when we're all individually drowning in our own self created hypocrisy, complacency, shrewdness, anger, jealousy, etc. Almost as if humans are to blame for their own problems. Once you see with the eyes of eternity, your ideas about human suffering change.
@@thehouseofcrumblingidols2694 he created humans. He knew what would happen. He talked to humans once knowing hed eventually stop. He created humans IN HIS IMAGE. Also, what about natural disasters and disease? What about the fact he made Jesus spread his message knowing it would cause wars? Also, why should I serve a God who has given up on me?
I know andy partridge doesn't want to perform, and I respect his decision - but let me say, at this point in my life, I would pay thousands of dollars to see a concert. as a child born in 92, his music SHAPED ME and brought my gen X mum and myself so much closer together
I grew up in a small Texas town in the 80's. We weren't super religious but i never liked church. I secretly knew i was an atheist long before this song came out, but the first time i saw this video i broke down and cried. They articulated what i was so afraid to admit.
Sometimes it takes someone else to put words to our own thoughts. I knew I was not a believer when I screamed “fuck your god” to my ex-wife. (Is it any wonder why she’s my ex?). But it wasn’t until people like George Carlin and Christopher Hitchens came along, did I find the vocabulary to express why I hated the concept of god(s). Raised Mormon FYI...
I grew up in London in the 80's and 90's. My school was Church of England but none of my teachers were religious. I saw prayers and christian songs as historical teaching like in religion class we learned about the cradle of civilization and the geography and ethnic groups that lived there. When this song came out, he seemed very strange. So angry. I suppose from the perspective of someone who didn't know any christians, it was a cute tune but he seemed a bit angry. My parents were atheists, Irish grandfather was Catholic but the rest were agnostic, previous generations hadn't been going to church since before WW1. There wasn't anything to rebel against or be angry about.
That's very similar to my experience with this song. I was in my early 20's when it came out, and it so perfectly articulated a lot of what I'd been feeling/saying since I was a teen. It hit home really hard, and the song itself is a melodic piece of genius.
I don't know that it was ahead of its time. Atheism is nothing new. It's more honest than most songs and the melody matches the words, making it very powerful. I say that as someone who believes in God. I think when this song came out, it helped me understand atheists better.
I’m 40 now, but remember this XTC song from childhood; it got me thinking then as much as it does now ; we’ve learned nothing; especially here in the United States; we are truly the bratty teenager of the globe. Shame.
Definitely should be bigger hit. Wikipedia about video: The music video for "Dear God", one of the first to be directed by photographer Nick Brandt, received the 1987 Billboard Best Video award and was also nominated for three categories at the MTV Video Music Awards.[3] In 2009, the song was ranked at No. 62 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s,[4] despite the fact that XTC had higher charting singles in the decade.
Putting things into perspective, this song seems to grow with age. And 2022 is yet again proving this song was wayyy ahead of its time and gets more personified with each year that passes. A pure classic 👍🏻
I love this song. I played it for my coworkers while we mapped the human genome in SLC, Utah. They were spell bound. The local polygamy colonies 👪 facilitated the accuracy of the project. The lyrics of the song gave pause to the local geneticists. It was as if the world stood still. Some pondered why "ladies" were singing the beginning of the song. They were surprised to learn that young boys were singing these parts. Evolution in progress my friends...and it was peaceful... peaceful.
This song is so brilliant on so many levels. Obviously the questioning of god's existence and an atheists point of view which i 100% agree with, but also the music. Everything works, the lyrics hit you hard in the face with reality facts over feelings/faith. Beautiful melody, intricate guitar picking, fantastic arraignment , uplifting bridge (did you make disease...) and of course the pretty but haunting violins. Very Beatlesque, Sgt Pepper era, but XTC.. Absolute brilliant song and in my opinion XTC masterpiece. Bravo 100 times over Andy Partridge 💥
@@xxshadowchainxx9246 English is not my native language, but about the Big Bang Theory: first of all, this theory is not about an explosion (but expansion), and secondly, it does'nt talk about "nothing out of nothing" actually. It's about a point in space (singularity), relic radiation and so much more (like dark matter and antimatter)! Lawrence M. Krauss talks a lot about this, if you're interested (for example 'A Universe from Nothing' is one of his lectures exactly about this).
This is such a good song. You never hear many songs about atheism and the doubt in god. This song was very bold for its time and it's amazing. This is easily one of my favorite 80s songs for sure.
@ Beezeldrop > I don't think it's so much about atheists as I do it is about false beliefs or false notions of what religion could or should mean To The Individual...my opinion...
Ask Jews how they feel about a book written hundreds of years later proclaiming the character of Jesus as the Messiah in the so called "New Testament", which was created to Steal the Crown of God's Chosen People from the Jews. Now you can only get to Heaven through Jesus. Please, you are at least somewhat open minded and intelligent. The Greatest Theft in History has you expecting the return of a Messiah that was never here. I am so very sad for the thousands upon thousands of generations of Christians that will be waiting for Jesus to return, clutching that book that can never change. It's Blasphemy to change even one word. You have been duped. Believe in a God if you must, but the Trinity and the Book are simply Metaphors. Your Faith is NOT being tested by dropping the Fable. Please produce and independent account of the life of Jesus that does not involve the Church and it's documents saying it's true. The "Old Testament" left off that the Messiah had not come yet, and a bunch of Opportunists gained Power by writing their own continuation of the Story. An Utter Fiction. And So Bloody Poorly Written As Well. These "Elders" Were Idiots.
@@alexiatheodorou715 I'm being 100% serious. Firstly I think the song makes a lot of valid points. Too often humans have misspoke for God and have done incredibly evil acts in the name of God. I imagine God's head shaking in sadness and brokenness. Secondly I enjoy the music and art of the song. I don't feel like I need to agree with something just to appreciate it's beauty. Ironically many songs which have come from the church I disagree with strongly and find little to none creativity and art in them.
@@evansiggson 100% my thoughts, am Christian too. Any Christian at a certain point - if they're growing in their faith - has to wrestle with these questions, and they're questions that people have been asking for centuries. I think it's sad that Andy and so many others have been led to this perception of God but tbh Christians have done a terrible job of acting Christ-like and of helping people wrestle with these questions. Hate from so-called Christians is what led me away from it in high school and college and funnily a psychologist that isn't even Christian helped me find my way back! What a world
I have always loved this song, since it first came out; absolutely brilliant. I am neither an atheist nor religious; I am a spiritually minded but also open-minded person. I think this song is honest, intelligent, and emotional. A classic.
You can still live a good life, full life, decent life without religion and you should not be ashamed of being an atheist, it's wonderfully freeing in many ways.
@arrowguy173 When you see those finger flipping, low life, low mentality trash, how do you know they were not brought up in a Christian household or under the same conditions that you were, but chose a different path? You do sound very self righteous and ignorant. People raised with religion can be arrogant and rude, commit crimes too and so can people without a religious background. Atheists are exactly the same, it's down to us a humans to live a decent life. The difference for me, is I do not believe in any God, heaven or hell and therefore I fear no judgement after death.
@@nicolehayward7151 all of our ideas of a decent life came from the Bible. There are good and bad people, believers and non-believers. l think you will find that the most evil people in the world don't have a conscience, because they don't fear judgement. People in power at the moment are a prime example of this.
@@michaelwhite8031 "all of our ideas of a decent life came from the Bible" sorry buddy but humans have been around a lot longer than the Bible and there are certainly millions or even billions of people who have long traditions and ideas about the good and decent life. It's very childlike to need the fear of punishment as an inducement to be good. The world and good and bad are much older and larger than christianity or the bible. And a majority of good people in the world aren't christians.
@@michaelwhite8031 Oh yeah and one more thong, I would NEVER use Titanium white to mix flesh tones. Its a nasty, cold color not really found in nature. Try lead white, much warmer, transparent and a stronger, less brittle paint.
@@origamimambo545 depends on your idea of good. If you are a student of history l think you will find pagan belief is smothered in blood. I am not saying that there are not people who act in a good way. There is no religion that is older than the Bible. The book of John says " In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and was God". The word if you look it up is Christ. Nothing was made except through him. All ancient people sprouted from the first man and woman who he created. The whole premise of this song is arguing with a God he says doesn't exist.....so he's talking to himself then !? Ultimately it's a wast of time arguing with someone who doesn't believe. You have your point of view and l have mine. You can very seldom argue someone into belief but you can argue someone out of it with bad science. Belief usually comes about by the synchronicity of events that you can't explain. I can't win an argument with a closed mind.
@@Jaylopezzz-sb2qb As a Christian I will say without judgement as I am no one to judge. What you are saying is very dangerous. Do not misinterpret the Love and Compassion that Jesus Christ wants you to give to EVERYBODY (which is not the easiest thing to do) on this planet. Not only must you REJECT and show NO TOLERANCE but you must take the opportunity to speak of The Lord Jesus Christ via the Holy Spirit to everyone when facing blasphemy. DO NOT LET THE demon confuse you. Stay focused on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Theodicy, the problem of evil. It's it's own field of apologetics the consequences are so devastating. Epicurian Trilemma If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful. If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good. If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?
@@disrxt Excellent question. I wondered this when I was at church at 12 years of age. And yet 3000 people show up on Sunday at the nearby Free Chapel to hear the showman speak for god with great certainty and drama. Cultural indoctrination.
That's totally normal. It's not your fault, your not broken or evil. Hell was created to scare. It not real. We were indoctrinated from birth (as our parents were) to hate certain groups of fellow humans who are no different from us. Continue to question. Get away from the negative people and find a tribe that doesn't make you feel yucky. We're all in this together. You can live in darkness or in light.
The fact that Dear God is the same title of another song and some people will inevitably click on this thinking it's the other one and hear the lyrics makes me happy.
This song actually helped to heal me from all the indoctrination I had been through but also to say goodbye to the horrible Christian God that took residence in my head so I want to thank XTC for this song
@@holyrage22 Hating on someone because they doesn't share the same beliefs sounds like a fine beginning for dictatorship. Also the reason why I don't like the abrahamic religions, they tell you to believe something and do everything a special way and if you don't do that they threaten you with "hell".
I‘m so sorry for your experience but if youd known the real God, Jesus Christ, you wouldnt say that. God exists and he loves us so much that he gave his only son to die for the sin of the world and the whole world doesn‘t even realize that and goes on with their sinning. Thats why Jesus cried out on the cross: father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Jesus loves you and wants you to turn to him to meet the real God. Just cry out to him, he says that those who truly seek him will find him
@@juliamar46 imagine someone bragging about how watched their kid getting brutally murdered and could've saved them but didn't and expecting you to be grateful
Maybe not the highest charting song ever released by XTC, but absolutely their most influential classic. Covered repeatedly, yet never equaled. One of my most coveted possessions for years was a cassette of Skylarking that included this track. Skylarking, for that matter, was one of the best albums of the 80's, hands down.
XTC is one of my all time favorite music artists. Very much of their works are fabulous. - I am a member of the Roman Catholic Christian church.While first of all I fully 100% do NOT agree with this songs message,I fairly often enjoy Hearing Dear God.I may disagree with a song's meaning message be I love music with very great meaning - Mostly,yes I do love a song with not only with very great powerful meaning.I don't have to necessarily agree with it's Meaning Message but I just simply love music with fantastic and deeply rendered and successfully delivered at being well made awesome quality.❤
I believe the precise moment we needed this song was sometime after lunch on July 22nd, 1992. It was an otherwise whimsical day. Perhaps if this song hadn't been created years before we never would have deal with that 'Be Like Bob' meme. I've always blamed too much faith in God at that precise moment in time to have been the cause. Nowadays we need Party Rock Anthem by that precocious pop duo and their box head friend LMFAO so save us from the evils and the good of the world. At least, scientifically speaking.
So PERFECTLY stated throughout...easily one of the most powerfully potent pop songs ever, especially as that outro just builds and builds toward the crescendo. Genius!!
@@noelfarrell7627 As if an Atheist does not know endless love? Sorry but Atheists have more respect and love for everything and everyone, than you think.
Although I'm not an atheist myself, 35 years later this song is so relevant especially in current times. Outside of the box this track is so about human exploitation and those who are put in the seat of power enjoy seeing others in pain whether or not physical or psychological just blame others and hide behind a mask of lies from the mess they cause.
If you're still listening to this song from 1986....you have great taste in music and we can be friends.
Watching this in 2024. I remember when this song came out and some radio stations in the States refused to play it. Land of God, glory, country, all that BS. I used to hear it late at night on the Canadian radio stations. I had not yet even heard of Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, but I was already leaning in that direction. It just all seemed like so much nonsense.
Amazing
Hadn't thought about this song in years. So powerful and always pertinent unfortunately😢
We have great taste in music and we hate the nonexistent God
@Cyberzombie23 I'm a Christian and I love this song.
As an atheist teenager I thought this song was purely anti-religion. But as an adult I realize that it is questioning religion, not excoriating it. The irony layered in is brilliant and I think it's one of the best songs ever written.
As a 16 year old listening to it for the first time in 1986 it scared me because I felt this very same way. I lost my father 4 yrs prior and I was lost. I'm 53 years old now and it still resonates with me now. It's okay to question our beliefs our thoughts. Think about this for a second. What
Wow, a kindred soul. We have the same mindset.
This song still speaks truth.
I was also 16 when this came out, one of a small handful of kids into indie/college radio music in a high school of 2200... 2197 of which never heard of XTC and hated kids they called 'punk rockers'
My dad passed away the previous December of '85, and I never got along well with my mom or older brother.
I dove deeply into my music and my friends, and while perhaps religion might have helped at the time, I rejected that too. My dad was a mildly religious person, and my best friend, and I just couldn't see the point of following the path that he had chosen after walking out of his funeral before I was even old enough to drive.
This song really hit a chord with me, when it was released early that summer, and still to this day. I don't listen to it often, I don't want recent memories and associations to replace the ones from that summer: Hearing it the first time on WTSR ( Trenton State's radio station)... listening to it with a girl I had a huge crush on, laying under a tree in her back yard while everyone else at the party was in the house... playing it a thousand times in my friends' cars - which they eventually got pretty sick of, to be fair... listening to Skylarking in my room while trying to pretend the other two people in my house weren't right down stairs.
I never questioned my atheism, and until 2016 I never questioned people who chose to believe in god. I respected their right to make up their own minds just as I thought they should do for me.
Anyway, hang in there man, I hope life got better for you. Sorry to hear about your Dad.
I would say it's more than okay to question our beliefs and thoughts. In fact, if you're interested in seeking truth, it's essential. Otherwise, you just end up in a dogmatic loop where you and your fellowship are just reinforcing the same beliefs and ideas - which may end up being completely wrong - within an echo chamber and blocking yourself from discovering whatever actual truth may (or may not) be out there. If you never seek, you can't possibly find.
When I was a teen, I began studying various religions and philosophies in a search of common threads and anything that felt like it transcended local cultures and traditions to become a more "universal truth." My VERY Christian aunt freaked out (of course) because I was daring to explore other ideas rather than accepting everything some random pastor was saying as 100% truth and putting all my faith into that. I tried to explain to her that, if there's a God, then that God should appreciate the predicament we're in (and which, theoretically, that God put us in): We live in a world where every religion claims to be the "one true" religion, every religious person believes their book, their version of God, and their cultural traditions are "the right way" and everyone else's is wrong. And there's literally no evidence for ANY of it, so all we have to go on is the fervent claims of humans who don't have any more evidence than we do and for whom "the one true religion" just coincidentally happens to be the one they grew up with and which is predominant in their homeland. Well, that and "what feels right" inside of ourselves, which may or may not mean anything.
So, what's a truth-seeker to do? I explained to my aunt that if there's an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God then it would understand that I'm not interested in worshipping human tradition, I'm interested in finding whatever truth is behind it all, and would appreciate the fact that I was on an honest, open-minded spiritual journey of investigation and discovery to find it and not just repeating traditions because I selfishly desired the carrot (Heaven) and feared the stick (Hell). And if there's not a God... well, then it doesn't matter.
To me, that's the only reasonable approach but my aunt, of course, believes with all her heart that this means I "have a demon" in me and am going to Hell. I've told her repeatedly that if seeking the truth of God rather than just mindlessly repeating cultural customs and ceremonies is a "sin" that causes God to condemn me to burn for eternity, then (1) God is less compassionate and intelligent than I, a mere human, am and I would find it difficult to respect that (as it would essentially just be a superpowered but childish alien rather than some greater, wiser being); and (2) I'm absolutely comfortable with my intentions and my decision to take a step away from tradition and look deeper. And if God is what she and others claim it is, then it would be comfortable with those intentions and that decision too. She, of course, just looks horrified and tells me that she'll be praying for me to find God (meaning HER version of God) and I, in turn, infuriate her by telling her I'll be doing the same for her (though I don't really pray, per se, so I'm just winding her up a little).
Whatever the truth, I treat people with respect and compassion, work hard, play fair, and would never stab anyone in the back to get ahead. And I don't do this because I want the reward of Heaven or fear the punishment of Hell (I'm pretty much agnostic at this point in my life, so neither Heaven nor Hell enter any of my equations); I do it because it's the right thing to do, it's the way I'd want to be treated, and, imo, the only way a society functions without tearing itself apart.
My aunt, on the other hand, has claimed to be a Christian for 30+ years. She goes to church multiple times a week, prays constantly, doesn't watch, listen to, or read anything other than spiritual material given to her by her pastor or which has been recommended by her fellow church-goers (and ONLY religious stuff, nothing like *GASP* "Harry Potter" or any of that secular stuff which, in her mind, is all "satanic"). And if anyone wonders aloud about something religious that goes against anything her pastor has ever said, she visibly pales and starts talking about demons and how that person is going to Hell. Meanwhile, everything about her is the exact opposite of the example of Christ that she claims to follow. She's extremely racist, obsessed with her appearance, obsessed with money, is disgusted by poor people and homeless people, and although she prays constantly, what she mostly prays for is for God to give her money, bring her a rich husband, help her lose weight, etc. When she got sick last year and ended up in the hospital for months and months, my mom drove an hour and a half to the hospital every day to visit and take care of her. My mom's husband died in an accident earlier that year and my mom - who's retired, on a very small fixed income, and living in a small apartment - burned through most of her husband's life insurance payout by paying my aunt's mortgage while she was in the hospital, buying all her groceries, taking care of her dog, and once my aunt finally went home, driving out to her house and cooking for her to make sure she ate. When it was all over, how did my aunt thank her? She invited my mom to her church. When my mom said she wasn't really interested, my aunt told my mom that she obviously had a demon in her because demons can't hear the word of God, then proceeded to argue and insult my mom so badly that my mom left and didn't go back for a couple of months.
This is where three decades of NOT questioning her church or pastor's interpretation of things and only living inside her church's echo chamber has landed her. She's a horrible, selfish person who only follows the religious rules to get a reward/avoid a punishment, but still looks down on everyone around her for not being as "holy" as she is. It's legit delusional.
@@johnplaysgames3120 i wish i could give you more than one thumbs up.
The 'motivation for morality' thing with christians has always bothered me. Most atheists and agnostics I know are, like you indicate, good people for the sake of just being good, decent, people. The many deeply religious people I know are demonstrably less good people (reasoning, I've been told, that their church attendance compensates for their shortcomings) and seem much more self-centered and hateful.
I do my best to let people like that roll off my back, and move on with life. There's nothing I can do about it and its not my job to try. They live the life they choose for themselves, as I live the life I choose for myself.
Almost 40 years ago.
No progress in the hypocrisy of man.
Great song by an even greater band.
Message spot on.
As an old Atheist, and an even older XTC fan I always loved this. Way back in the day when nobody had the balls to admit to being an unabashed Atheist, XTC were a rare honest voice we Atheists needed.
Yeah.
But what is that 40 years.
It's from the beginning of
the human thinking.
Earth is where God gives man freedom of choice. Men run the earth and men commit the ungodly. This was written by a man with no faith.
@@gmlgml780I think we should still keep our hopes up. It has existed for so long, sure, but if people keep standing up against it, and education around the world increases, surely it will at least be reduced.
To be fair, at the beginning of human thinking they didn't have evidence for much, so it was slightly less irrational to be religious then than it is now. The only way religion lives on today is through child abuse, indoctrination from birth and lack of education.
Ireland, once one of the most conservative and devout Christian countries in the world, now allows same sex marriage and abortion within the first trimester (or later for medical reasons).
Where I live, public schools are not allowed to promote any particular religion, and can only provide religious instruction as an optional, outside school hours activity.
And even the pope himself acknowledges the reality of climate science.
So... there is some progress I'd say.
The intro with the child's voice is pure genius. I love the guitar work on this as well.
Like he’s been questioning it forever.
@@i_dont_live_here True. As a singer-songwriter myself, I am always appreciative of the new and different. If you like female vocalists, check out my new single on RUclips and tell me what you think, Phil. Thanks. ruclips.net/video/ogtka6jmr1k/видео.html
I heard that the kid in the video is his real son.
@@djcedric Sounds right.
The child is actually played by a girl named Jasmine Veillette, who's the daughter of a friend of producer Todd Rundgren. The voice was dubbed by a boy.
Agree or disagree with the message, it's hard to deny that this is an immaculately constructed song: the way it's bookended by the kid singing, the way Andy Partridge goes from quietly inquisitive to angry about man's ills and organized religion, that violin solo, the way the music gets chaotic as Partridge goes into full denouncement mode...it's all perfect.
If you disagree with the message you hundreds of years of out date
@@milesgreb3537 Look can we just be ok with each other's beliefs even if we don't believe them? Believe what ever you want but it is really weird to be mad at other people for an opinion. If you absolutely love red or some other color but my favorite is a different one it would be really annoying if I tried to convince you that my favorite color is better even though you know your opinion won't change
it's the actual quality of the song that made it a hit, in the first place. It's like an atheist version of Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody".
@@VoidBirdYou mean your favourite colour isn't red? What's wrong with you?
In all seriousness, what you speak against is precisely what religions try to do: try to install a belief into as many people as possible (because they think it's the only way not to be tortured for eternity) and get into power to install that belief wherever possible. Evidence: Islam and its instructions for a totalitarian regime, and the entire blood-drenched history of Christianity.
People aren't usually convinced by their parents during their childhoods what favourite colour they should have, or what foods their brains enjoy. Those are opinions.
Being under the illusion that an all-knowing, all-seeing, immortal timeless dictator exists, created everything, loves you and, in Christianity, actively spares from punishment for the sin of being born, isn't an opinion the same way favourite colours are. Those "opinions" are caused by childhood indoctrination and restricting their minds from thinking freely.
@@VoidBird it's not similar to that. Calling religion as arbitrary as color preference is calling controlling, bigoted systems of power arbitrary. Violence and hatred are not arbitrary.
"Did you make mankind after we made you?" is to this day one of the smartest lyrics in all of popular music. The answer to his question is a resounding "yes".
I knew religion was bs as a child. After 45 years of studying it, yup.. all made up
Unless we were made by someone else, I recommend reading the Wes penre papers if you want to go down the rabbit hole.
Most arrogant comment I've ever seen.
Why? I just love that lyric and think it's really smart. To be honest though, I don't know the answer. But that's the beauty of it. He's asking a really good question and leaving it up to the audience.
@@jeffbrown-hill7739 You said in your original comment "The answer is a resounding yes!"
I'm not even an atheist, and I think this song is genius. Still holds up after all these years.
This song isnt written from an atheist's pov anyway, it's clearly from a believer/questioning person who is trying to make sense of the suffering of the world
@@hankpink6274 It was written from the singer's perspective. He was fed up with religion, the harm it causes and wasn't about to take anymore of it.
@@hankpink6274not so much of "a believer", but definitely an agnostic.
@@troubleintransit6485 "I've experienced stuff I can't even explain"
don't know your story, but I bet it's not because you can't, but because the mundane, materialistic explanation doesn't appeal to you as much as mysterious and magical one does
ex. coincidence - such an underwhelming explanation, don't u think?
comming from raised Catholic with confirmation, firm atheist and blasphemer for over a decade
@@troubleintransit6485 "I'm not explaining it because it's extremely personal"
I never asked u to explain it to me, so your story being "extremely personal" doesn't really prevent u to explain it to youreself, does it?
and that is my point. you don't want to explain it even to youreself because it would mean that:
1 u are not special and there is no super being interested in your life
2 u are a subject of human weaknesses like cognitive bias and such
3 u are a victim of society and its religious systems who exploit human weaknesses like:
fear of death, fear of not meeting ur lovedones after they die, desire of cosmic justice for "evil" people who live and die comfortable life while a lot of "good" people are destitute and victimised by those comfortable "evil" people
"You see it as fantasy" yes I do, can u make anyone, starting from ureself, distinguish it from fantasy?
The fact that people reacted violently to the song's message is THE EXACT POINT OF THE SONG and I dont think a single person who phoned in a bomb threat to a radio station understood that.
OMG people phoned in bomb threats? Frighteningly ironic.
@@kimtardie2942 Who killed innocent children? Based on the OP's comment, I thought he was referring to the time when this song first aired on the radio. But then, I probably would have heard about that. I'm sure it got plenty of airplay because I remember it well, even though I didn't buy the album (back in the "olden days" you'd have to buy a whole album if you wanted to hear a song or do a good job of catching it on your tape recorder as soon as it came on the radio).
@@kimtardie2942 I looked it up and Nick is referring to bomb threats in 1987. At the time, I listened to the best "New Wave" radio station in my area, so that's probably why I heard it so much. Here's a 1987 article on bomb threats in Panama City, FL: www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-07-27-8702240892-story.html
@@janetbeatrice9505 It does not matter. This man is a cultist and it ledto the death of innocent children.
@@kimtardie2942 Who? Who is a cultist? And who led to the death of children? The lead singer of XTC?
For being in the 80's this was ballsy, brave and enormous, massive credit they dared to question all of this insanity.
Not really risky because it's the UK.
No, the censorship is MUCH worse today. The politically correct sheep are much more prevalent today.
Try moral majority by the dead kennedy's.
@@stevetrosok9438 Take your meds.
@@RegebroRepairs don't be a rude bastard. Look at what is going on in Washington, how they are asking for censoring "misinformation". Look at all the censorship going on at RUclips. WAKE UP!
XTC - one of the best and most under-rated British bands ever. They provided the soundtrack to my teenage years. Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding are Fabulously talented song-writers.
Fantastico hai detto una cosa più che giusta il duo degli XTC con le dovute distanze sono l ' altra faccia
Di Lennon - McCartney,
La faccia più proletaria dell' ' Inghilterra musicale.....
Making plans for Nigel is perfection
Same here.
What about Danny Partridge?
They never got much airplay in Australia sadly. Thanks to who and 2JJ+2JJJ who played them
This song hit me so hard, I'm a girl who grew up in a very strict Muslim family. I'm 17 now, and I discovered this song when I was 13. It really meant a lot to me to know that I wasn’t the only one who had a childhood where, out of fear of being judged, I never questioned my beliefs out loud or shared my true opinions about religion. I didn’t express my feelings about it to my closest friends either, out of fear they would tell my parents. Living in a constant role that I didn’t identify with made me feel distressed, as if there was no place for me. I felt trapped, without freedom of opinion. Every time I listen to this song, I feel happy because it was something I could see myself reflected in for the first time in my life
Thankfully, you’re so very close to having your own independence and being able to ignore the judgemental nature if religious family. You can build your own family of loved ones through friends you connect with as a fully formed adult
@@Tortilla.Reform Yes, you're right, I'm excited about it.
You are not alone. Many of us feel the way you feel. Take care. x
@@Bizzle65 Thank you, take care:)
I totally feel you.❤️
My Mother took this album every single time I bought it. I kept buying it. Best song. Spot on.
kind of a waste of cash homie
Respect!!!
Oddly enough, my mom did the same when my older brother brought home the (first U.S.?) Queen album ( whicher one had "another one bites the dust" on it)
Broke the first one. Scratched and buried the second one, burned the third one. Funny thing is, all these years later, she loves the groovy music.."it's a classic!" (She's 81 now) I guess over time, the music you hated then, becomes "easy listening" by todays standard. :D
@@animationcycles7109That's funny in a weird way bro lmao.
Btw, the album you talking about is "the game" and is from 1980. The last one from queen's golden years era, as it preceeds the infamous "hot space".
That's rough. I was pretty pissed when my mom threw out my 'Straight to Hell' t shirt, but I didn't push my luck by buying another one.
Or maybe I just didn't have the money.
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful” ~Seneca, A stoic.
Stoics didn’t have all the answers either
@@the_absurd_hero You're right, and neither did the 4,400 or whatever the number is presently...
Stoics didn't have all of the answers. True, They didn't claim to have them. They simply accepted everything as "God given" That's what marks them out from "The Religious"@@the_absurd_hero
So this is the forefather of r/atheism
one of my favorite quotes of all time, he's spot on
As an 11 year old kid, I was forced to go to youth group on top of church. They had these videos dissecting evil rock music, and this was one of the videos upon which they focused. Thank you youth group for showing me a song I instantly loved 😅
I saw the exact same thing in my youth group.
@@Astronautism 100% it was the same propaganda vhs 😅
what
how old are you?
@@meepbeep2464 44
@@meepbeep2464 46
This is not only a simple song, but is a Masterpiece, Music and Lyrics.
I never realized how incredible this video is, look at the camera panning, you can see how the camera moves all in one shot at several points in the video, amazing.
it was the director's first music video (he was a photographer) and won a few awards back in the day
@@CarlChristensen64 I have heard of his name. It's Carl Christensen 😂
@@CarlChristensen64 yeah the reversing footage of people jumping from the tree would have been fire back in the days
"did you make mankind after we made you" that says it all. Full stop.
Totally agree.
Facts
POW!
That lyric floors me. So brilliantly and succinctly put, and in the form of a question. There is no way to overstate Andy's genius.
Exactly God didn't write the Bible SMH
I grew up extremely religious in rural Louisiana. I went to church every Sunday, I went to as many events as humanly possible if it had something to do with Christianity. Over the years, I began to notice the corruption you find in such small towns, the racism, the hate, heard and saw some unimaginable things happen to people. I watched my own family be falsely imprisoned for questioning the justice system, lost my home multiple times to multiple circumstances. I went to church every Sunday, got on my knees every night praying for whatever miracle I demanded at the time and not once did it ever change for the better. I had my home absolutely devastated after hurricane Katrina and I didn't understand why me and every other citizen of New Orleans had to suffer such a thing especially when I payed my belief every chance I got. I respect anyone who is still Christian today, I have no hate but I don't understand it. I can't believe it and won't believe a book for my life.
Soy católico, pero respeto tu opinión
I just want to know what the suffering we must go through benefits. What grand plan is advanced by human misery? It's been 30 years and I still don't have an answer.
@@artistwithouttalent im still looking for an answer to lifes problems
Without suffering and sadness you would never understand love and joy . It's all part of life. If God made everyone happy 24/7 and made life easy what would be the point of heaven? The small amount of suffering we may have in our short lives is a very small price to pay for eternal joy in heaven. Find your way back. God bless.
@@jbillareezy3223 I too understand...
Andy Partridge .... pure genius. It's what rock music is truly about - irreverance, compassion and wisdom.
I have found the replies very interesting. It certainly incites strong feelings, mine too. I was raised in evangelistic and Pentecostal churches (healings, speaking in tongues). Lots of talk of God’s love and threats of hell. God’s glory and perfection. Then I look out the window and the world seems quite imperfect. We make our own choices, they said; free will. Except that if you do not walk their fine line, you shall burn in hell forever. That, friends, is not free choice.
It’s a great question: Where did the Universe come from? Religions are man’s attempt to explain that, and comfort us for lost loved ones, and to control others and gain power. No human has the right to speak for god, whatever that might be. All of this Universe had to come from somewhere.
I applaud XTC for bravely creating and releasing this song. I feel that same resentment, having been indoctrinated as an innocent child. The Bible is absolute truth written and translated by god working through inspired humans? No. It’s a story. With a moral. And everywhere, I find that each individual has their own different ideas: Christian(even in the same church pew), Humanist, tribal, Islamic, etc., on and on.
One cannot claim a god is omniscient, all powerful, and then give that god credit for all the good things, and let him/her off the hook for all the bad things. Oh, yes, the bad things are the fault of humans. No. The world is best described by the Yin/Yang circle of black and white, with a little black in the white and white in the black. Just rolling along to where? We just don’t know.
Treat others as you’d have them treat you. Thank you XTC for the great music!
This song was, and still is, saying what many wish to say or how they truly feel, but are afraid to say so openly.
I always diss BS guaranteed 100% NO DUMB GOD
Exactly, because the minute you question God's existence (in light of so much mayhem) people instantly become defensive, and deem you unholy or a nonbeliever. In reality, you're only asking questions
@Paul Gauthier Or... Be very afraid, especially in the Bible belt.
@@myswanktrendz or when you meet god---and you will...
Oh I am very open about feeling this way. I have made many think about and question things
One of the best songs ever written. Period.
Amazing song with amazing lyrics and one of the best videos ever
YOU ARE A CRY BABY. GOD BLESS YOU PERIOD.
Ditto
So with you, how can so many people be indoctrinated and sheeplike in following a book of rules that obviously humans wrote that doesnt even have a clear plan. It blows my mind, a lot of gullable, non- thinkers in this world, it's scary. Our future as a species does not look very bright.
Come on please!
Our family lost our youngest cat recently and shortly after I heard this song on the radio for the first time. Our cat became sick and weakly in the course of two weeks, healthy to at death's door, and was hospitalized. I'm not a religious person but I prayed and I bargained for him to be saved. I bought a bible and said I would read it an hour a day until I finished it if our cat could be saved. I couldn't promise that I would believe in god after, but I promised I would read the bible start to finish and see how I felt after. I read it here and there when I could while our cat was hospitalized, I visited him every day, twice a day, for five days. On the fifth day I could see he did not have much time left so I sat outside the vet's office and started to read the bible. While reading it the vet called and said I needed to get back inside quickly as we didn't have much time. They rushed our baby into the room and he died gasping in my arms. Now you tell me how I should feel about god.
It hurts when we lose a pet. They are members of our family. I had to have my cat euthanized 2 1/2 years ago and it still hurts. In reference to your cat and God. You can choose to say that there is no God because he let your cat die. Or you can choose to say that you had five extra days with your cat that maybe if you had not prayed he would’ve passed away sooner. Religion is very tricky. You can believe 100% or you can choose to not believe at all. I’m sorry for the loss of your cat. 😢🐈✝️💟
@@charlenemack7040 I'm sorry for your loss also. I'd like to think that there was a bigger reason to our cat getting those extra days with us, but in my mind the only thing that helped was the around the clock blood tests and supplements to keep him stable and the thousands and thousands we went into debt to get him the help. I realize nothing is definitive, but when you put 100% of your effort, trust, and faith into something and it still fails you there's not much reason to believe after.
So, you're blaming God because he didn't make your cat immortal.
@@ernesthernia418Although this is a hilarious interpretation, I think you are being dismissive. This person is asking because they have no idea how to feel. Funny quip, though, like I said.
@@ernesthernia418Get help. You're sick.
As an atheist I've studied the New Testament, despite some occasional weirdness its main thrust really is Love. Humility, kindness, empathy, the rejection of ambition, money and status. Millions of people self identify as Christian when in reality very very few people genuinely follow these teachings. We are dealing with liars and charlatans, not Christians.
"As an atheist I've studied the New Testament, despite some occasional weirdness its main thrust really is Love."
I basically agree with this sentiment, but have you never studied the OLD Testament? The one which Jesus (according to Matthew 5:17-18) said he had come to fulfill?
The main thrust of the NT is that God gave his son to redeem us from Adam n Eves mistake and take us back to his original plan . Eternal life living on a New Earth sans the drag of sin that separated us. Just a matter of time now.
I wouldn't consider it having empathy or humility or kindness to condone slavery.
Jesus ( God) is LOVE ( period). It is humans that muck it up with Religion. Churches have an agenda. I have a personal relationship with Jesus because of the love he gives, teaches, and more. I also stay out of the old testament as Jesus made a new commandment that erased everything prior.... "Love others as you would have them love you. Pretty basic and good advice for any human, regardless if you are religious, agnostic, or atheist.
Thank you so much for your post.
Reading it as an atheist must make the difference, because reading it like a literalist, what I suspect you are referring to by 'occasional weirdness" overtakes the whole. You remember the good bits because those are what speak to you, and you have no compulsion to make the whole thing make sense.
It’s always okay to question anything, everything to be clear
It’s imperative
This song is nothing less then a masterpiece !
Totally agree !!!
@@pickledragonrebel A1 Song...dat'z for sure!
as are you...
Also totally agree
absolutely 100% agree with you
This song is more relevant today than ever.
Actually not at all. Nothing relevant nothing new... it has been this way since time began... People were stupid back then too.
I am a big catholic but I still listen to this every now and again. It's turned into one of those songs that I will listen to over and over
Chris Miller or it’s just a very well made and ear-pleasing song
@Chris Miller I do believe and at the same time have troubles believing in God. It's just part of the human nature, we're doubtful beings. But believing or not believing is my problem, and I wouldn't try to convince anyone from one thing or the other... religion is a personal matter, at the end of the day.
So how is your attempt to convert a "big catholic" into a non believer any different from those people trying to "sell" the concept of God to atheist and agnostics? Hypocrite much?
Lol! I’m Christian and love this song.
I am Christian and I love the song
not an atheist but i like the song, i've been listening to this since i was 4 or 5
Wow! Andy really strapped on a pair when he decided to release this song. Simply brilliant!
I never listened to XTC but I have returned to this song decade after decade, it is such a true classic. Gives me chills every. damn. time.
its shit pal
I recommend all eleven (!) XTC albums, as well as both records by their side project Dukes of Stratosphear; XTC built a world.
I hope you listened to the advice the first responder made. He, and they, are spot on 👍
They weren't just another pop group singing about teenage love. Making plans for Nigel and Senses working overtime, are also quite good.
There's more and better in there. May I suggest Black Sea and English Settlement?
I turn 44 in less than a month. I've heard this song many times in those 44 years. HOWEVER... I've been obsessing over this song and the lyrics. All is incredibly fabulous. Then... THEN the video. Holy hell. XTC is a sleeper...I can only hope I can spread the word
This band seems like such an anomaly. All their music sounds so ahead of its time. This track and even this video look like they were produced in the 90s or early 00s. Incredible.
Yes. When I was a DJ of the 90s, I heard this for the first time in 96. I just assumed it was new or maybe a year old.
Feels like Nickelback took inspiration.
British bands have always been ahead of the curve, anyway; stuff from 1978 sounds like it's from 1996.
@@heinoustentacles5719 I remember the first time I heard Oasis I felt they were taking inspiration from the Beatles' later years.
I'll agree that the song seems like it was ahead of its time, but the video absolutely has an 80s vibe to it imo.
They are brilliant. Not sure they have a time ❤
I've just heard this song for the first time ever today. It's a goddamned masterpiece. Seriously, I am absolutely spellbound by it. I can't believe how much I love it.
I was never religious, but i am a music lover at my core.. your story reminded me of the two times i shared music from my classes, growing up.. the first was show and tell, 4th grade, 1984. I played BERLIN... SEX... I'M A... haha, google the video and song if you don't know it. Years later, in 8th grade, the photography teacher asked us to play a song for the class.. he is the man in the photo, on the back of the Woodstock concert album... most kids played 80s po, one kid played iron Maiden.. i played Deep Purple, Child In TIme.. he was blown away. He was a flower child., from that time, but never even heard it. AGain, I ask you to look the song up, there is a great 1970 music video for it, here on RUclips.
you got good taste in music then.. :)
It's a fabulous song!
I’m 9 months behind you. Just heard it for the first time now. Great song!
Same here!!
I just discovered this song and damn this hits hard. My parents are Christians and I grow up believing in God and I went to church every Sunday. But since I’m 10 years old, I discovered the world’s suffering and violence. And I started asking myself questions, like « if God is so good, why doesn’t he do something ? I heard that he could do miracles, so why ? ». At 13 years olds, I realized that I liked girls instead of boys. When I went to church every week with some others people of my age, the adults talked to us about sin. They always said that all the people who don’t believe in god are gonna be sent to hell, that we have to confess and to made god forgiving us for our sins. Also, they said that homosexuality is a sin and I started feeling trapped in my own religion. My friend’s mother died the same year and my other friend tried to attempt suicide. I started rejecting religion. When I asked « why does god allow wars, sickness, little kids dying, kids losing their parents, people trying to kill themself ? », nobody gived me a clear answer. I don’t believe in anything now and I’ve left the church, and I can say that I’m less anxious than before
everyone wants free will until they suffer for their bad choices, then they want a miracle from a God that they could care less about when they are fat and happy.
Good on you. I have to say I was much older before I "woke up" and realized God, Jesus, religion is just a pile of hogwash.
But I finally "came to my senses" and moved away from religion and the church. All praise Joe Pesci.
Listen, I’m not going to try to convince you of anything, but religion should comfort you. It’s a thing you choose to believe, take it as deep as you want, but you won’t be able to absorb the benefits or feel positively about what you can get from it if what you’re looking for is cold, hard, fact. The truth is that there’s tons of things biblically that don’t make sense, but you can choose to take from it what you want. Don’t let anyone push you into thinking that if you aren’t perfect that you can’t choose to believe in God, love God, or lean on God when you feel you might need him. Of course this is all figurative if you want it to be. I’m a flexible person, this is a great song, and I’m personally a Christian, the real boring traditional kind. That’s because I enjoy the principals of love that are supposed to be the foundation of Christianity. The Bible as I know it, the teachings of Jesus, etc spattered themes throughout, have influenced me personally to embrace things like love, forgiveness and tolerance. You can practice those things without ever stepping foot in a church, but it is interesting to study as you wish and just not think too deep on the historic play by plays that may not make sense right off the bat. To answer your question, the thing is that it’s up to us to guard others and ourselves when possible, God doesn’t swoop in to save us in a cape, he’s there to protect our minds when we feel weak, to inspire us to feel strong and go on when we experience bad things, to offer a safety net if we feel we or others need forgiveness. I’m so sorry this was so long, I just wanted to offer some perspective from my point of view. Wishing you so many good things, a great life, and clarity.
@@cussininthekitchen8224 "Listen, I’m not going to try to convince you of anything"
-proceeds to type a 2000 word comment
@@cussininthekitchen8224 Sorry, but I just can’t believe in God. I don’t find any comfort in the religion, it just oppress me and I feel much better since I left the church. For me, it’s just impossible that there’s a God out there. And even if it was real, I would still think it’s pretty fucked up to say « Hey, if you don’t adore me, you will burn in hell forever ! Oh, and by the way, almost everything you do is a sin ! ». I can have tolerance and acceptance outside of the religion, I can embrace love, tolerance and acceptance without religion. I can’t believe I God, there’s too many kids who die from sickness in this fucked up world
I love it. I grew up with a very religious family, where I was forced to perform religious ceremonies and believe in a God from the age of three. I couldn't question that belief, they put fear in my body. At 9 years old I stopped being a believer, and they still forced me to take communion even though I opposed it. Now I am 16 years old.
It makes me sad that the little ones are indoctrinated with these ambiguous beliefs. The meaning of life and the formation of life itself is very complex, a person needs time to develop their morals. We must be free, and at last I am.
I WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN THE 70S AND 80S, I NEVER EVER BELIEVED A SINGLE WORD OF IT NOT AT ANY AGE , NOR DID ANYONE I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH ,YOU WERE VERY GULLIBLE EVEN AT 9, MAYBE ITS GENERATIONAL BUT IM 59 AND MY GENERATION NEVER GAVE ONE SHIT ABOUT ANYTHING OUR IDIOT PARENTS SAID WE JUST LAUGHED AT WHAT MORONS THEY WERE . WE ALL GRADUATED WITH OUR ATHEISM INTACT , WHEN I WAS ABOUT 7 YRS OLD THERE WAS THE COMMUNION THING AND I REEMBER TELLING MY DUMB CUNT OF A MOTHER I WONT DO IT, I DONT BELIEVE IN ANY OF THE HORSESHIT, SHE ESSENTIALLY BRIBED ME TO GO THROUGH WITH IT, BASICALLY, CASH GIFTS AND A PARTY WITH CAKE ICECREAM AND WHATEVER ELSE I WANTED
As a former Christian turned atheist, I wholeheartedly agree with you.
No, I wouldn't call them ambiguous. Organized religion teaches self hatred and shame, guilt and fear. Being promised eternal reward, if you do as you're told, or eternal damnation if you don't, in some kind of make believe afterlife.
I’m a Christian and I love this song. It’s one of my favorites by the band.
Me too
Same. I can respect people who form their own opinions on whether or not god, or multiple gods, are real.
It is a great song indeed, but why the need to say you are a Christian, do you want to be applaud?
@@FlatsSharps I know a lot of people that are Christians that Can’t appreciate art like this. Then there are a lot that can. Idk.
I get it. It is sometimes hard to have faith.
Can we just agree this is the perfect song?
As someone raised in a Christian-centric environment; thos was one of the first songs I heard that posed the same questions I had but noone would properly acknowledge or answer. Great song, must hear for all humans.
That's typical nowadays. Most people will avoid or deny the truth, unless they are part of the problem themselves. Keep asking the hard questions.
@@matthewfunk9271 Well stated Mathew Funk. I agree. 👍
it's crazy you all still REPEAT THE LIE that this is "Christianity".
NOTHING could be further than Christ's teachings than the right wing psychos known as "Christians", and they all BRAG of being anti-christs! They love GREED, war, police brutality etc.
LOOK UP WHAT THE ROMAN POLICE DID TO JESUS.
STOP calling it christianity. It's PRECISELY the opposite.
They wrote this song way ahead of their time. Just listen to the lyrics. I cannot and will not believe in works in mysterious ways. This song relates to me so much. I heard it long ago, and I still love it
This video was released in the second of 3.5 years that Mom lived with & struggled with metastatic breast cancer. She had raised me to be Roman Catholic; I had already been thinking about leaving the Church & organized religion in general in '85 (the year she got diagnosed)...this song & video hit me right in the brain & heart, & has aged well for me, a less-bitter agnostic person than I was in the late-'80s. "Did you make disease / and the diamond blue?" No kidding. This song lives within me, along with memories of Dr. Carl Sagan ("Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", & "We are made of star-stuff). As old as this tune is, it does not get old for me. I like that Partridge is singing to God in the lyrics; I related to the broken-heart of the singer, & to the Problem of Evil eloquently described in the lyrics.
heard this song in summer of '87, two months after mom lost a brutal 2-year, 9-month battle to ovarian cancer. Understand people have to die, but to suffer like that? Fuck God and all that religious bullshit
its common sense do you believe a man with a beard in the clouds wearing a robe is really looking down on us and sometimes just you LOL
I remember as a young atheist I heard this song and was in awe that someone had the guts to not only write but sing this. Awesome.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Satan made your mom sick. And all disease as well. Satan runs earth. See you dont no this thats the problem with every comment on here the blame the wrong person. Your made in elohims image who is satan. Get it now.
This song is utter genius and has not dated one second.
its shit pal
Damn they had balls to release this in the 80s too. I can't even imagine someone releasing this in the U.S nowadays.
They released "Dear God" as a single only afterwards. IIRC it was released as a b-side and obviously the "controversial" lyrics (let's just call them this way) gathered attention and radio stations started to play it. So it became popular and they decided to release it as a single of its own, with an accompanying videoclip. So not so much "balls".
I could just imagine the reaction videos “satanic song popular!”
one of the most popular songs of 2021 featured a video of Lil Nas X giving the devil a lap dance, but you don’t think the US could handle a song about root issues of christianity ???
@destinihaith9009 Do you live in the U.S? Reason terrifies alot of us even more than hell.
@@shadyd2544 yep, I’m terrified.
I’m a recovering catholic (lol) but still very spiritual. But I love this song because it makes sense. Hit the nail on the head.
(Please don’t strike me down God)
Thirty-two years later this song is more relevant than ever.
I think that proves a couple of things. First of all, the world continues to be a shitty place because people never learn from the mistakes. Secondly, artists with their open minded thinking recognize this and write timeless songs.
34 yrs, but who's counting?
Love it
"Did you make man-kind after we made you?"
As we head into "The End Times". The great Falling away
Decades later, I still get goosebumps whenever I play this brilliant song. Absolutely fantastic poetry, message, music and video... one of the top 10 ever.
This song represents the inner struggle perfectly. Trying so hard to believe in God only to never be able to believe that such a "benevolent omnipotent" would allow for all this.
Yeah, I just can't see an all-powerful being sitting back watching putin's missiles slam into hospitals and churches without doing *something*
but what do I know.
Do you allow it?
@@thehouseofcrumblingidols2694 did you just compare a person with no power to an OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT being who we're told all our lives he's benevolent and wants to help everyone? Also, if I had the power to know the future and the power to stop it, I'd probably do so, yeah! "Do you condone all evil humans and natural disasters?' NO! AND I DIDN'T CREATE THEM EITHER!
@AnxietySquid I just think it's quite hubristic for people to wail to God about His "injustices" when we're all individually drowning in our own self created hypocrisy, complacency, shrewdness, anger, jealousy, etc. Almost as if humans are to blame for their own problems.
Once you see with the eyes of eternity, your ideas about human suffering change.
@@thehouseofcrumblingidols2694 he created humans. He knew what would happen. He talked to humans once knowing hed eventually stop. He created humans IN HIS IMAGE. Also, what about natural disasters and disease? What about the fact he made Jesus spread his message knowing it would cause wars?
Also, why should I serve a God who has given up on me?
I know andy partridge doesn't want to perform, and I respect his decision - but let me say, at this point in my life, I would pay thousands of dollars to see a concert. as a child born in 92, his music SHAPED ME and brought my gen X mum and myself so much closer together
Born 30 years before you and I would I!
I grew up in a small Texas town in the 80's. We weren't super religious but i never liked church. I secretly knew i was an atheist long before this song came out, but the first time i saw this video i broke down and cried. They articulated what i was so afraid to admit.
Sometimes it takes someone else to put words to our own thoughts. I knew I was not a believer when I screamed “fuck your god” to my ex-wife. (Is it any wonder why she’s my ex?). But it wasn’t until people like George Carlin and Christopher Hitchens came along, did I find the vocabulary to express why I hated the concept of god(s). Raised Mormon FYI...
I grew up in London in the 80's and 90's. My school was Church of England but none of my teachers were religious. I saw prayers and christian songs as historical teaching like in religion class we learned about the cradle of civilization and the geography and ethnic groups that lived there. When this song came out, he seemed very strange. So angry.
I suppose from the perspective of someone who didn't know any christians, it was a cute tune but he seemed a bit angry. My parents were atheists, Irish grandfather was Catholic but the rest were agnostic, previous generations hadn't been going to church since before WW1. There wasn't anything to rebel against or be angry about.
Ok
That's very similar to my experience with this song. I was in my early 20's when it came out, and it so perfectly articulated a lot of what I'd been feeling/saying since I was a teen. It hit home really hard, and the song itself is a melodic piece of genius.
Oof... I was raised Catholic, saw this video on my 9th birthday in 1994. I was in tears by the end. Your comment is everything to me.
My favorite line: “Did you make mankind after we made you...and the Devil, too?”
Except that that's a lie...
IT🎈
There should’ve been another “can’t believe in you” after that part it would’ve fit
Me too
@ Crystal P~That lyric makes no sense at all !!!
The kid part is honestly such a bop
Better than any traditional kid’s bop 😂
Is that a good or bad thing??
your mom’s a bop
@@NKWTI my mom died 2 years ago
It’s actually an eight year old girl named Jasmine Veillette singing the part but a young boy lip-synchs her vocals in the video.
I'm absolutely obsessed with this song. Such visceral, aural fierceness. And it's almost new every time.
35 years old, and a timeless masterpiece. And as the years go by, its timelessness will still be there.
This song was so goddam far ahead of its time. I can never hear it enough.
I don't know that it was ahead of its time. Atheism is nothing new. It's more honest than most songs and the melody matches the words, making it very powerful. I say that as someone who believes in God. I think when this song came out, it helped me understand atheists better.
Or so far behind it's proper time... Shoulda hit the first person claiming to speak for a god upside the head with this one.
2024 and everything is still the same. Even worse. A visionary and timeless song. Greetings from Argentina!
I’m 40 now, but remember this XTC song from childhood; it got me thinking then as much as it does now ; we’ve learned nothing; especially here in the United States; we are truly the bratty teenager of the globe. Shame.
This is a criminally underrated music video. The song, too. But man. This video is incredible for 1987.
Are you suggesting music video’s have improved over time?
@@62tunes yes lmao
Definitely should be bigger hit.
Wikipedia about video: The music video for "Dear God", one of the first to be directed by photographer Nick Brandt, received the 1987 Billboard Best Video award and was also nominated for three categories at the MTV Video Music Awards.[3] In 2009, the song was ranked at No. 62 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s,[4] despite the fact that XTC had higher charting singles in the decade.
@@V8AmericanMuscleCar I don’t trust OHW compilations
@@TimmyTickle Same, they suck mostly, just because something is the most popular doesn't always mean it is the best either.
Putting things into perspective, this song seems to grow with age. And 2022 is yet again proving this song was wayyy ahead of its time and gets more personified with each year that passes. A pure classic 👍🏻
Especially right now
Well said
I love this song. I played it for my coworkers while we mapped the human genome in SLC, Utah. They were spell bound. The local polygamy colonies 👪 facilitated the accuracy of the project. The lyrics of the song gave pause to the local geneticists. It was as if the world stood still. Some pondered why "ladies" were singing the beginning of the song. They were surprised to learn that young boys were singing these parts. Evolution in progress my friends...and it was peaceful... peaceful.
Well I don't think it's people that are up gods ass that's the problem it's all the woke tards that have taken up the reigns
Pure
Here I am, almost 40 years later, and this song still holds. Hands down, this is near the top of my top ten most influential lifetime songs.
This song is so brilliant on so many levels. Obviously the questioning of god's existence and an atheists point of view which i 100% agree with, but also the music. Everything works, the lyrics hit you hard in the face with reality facts over feelings/faith. Beautiful melody, intricate guitar picking, fantastic arraignment , uplifting bridge (did you make disease...) and of course the pretty but haunting violins. Very Beatlesque, Sgt Pepper era, but XTC.. Absolute brilliant song and in my opinion XTC masterpiece. Bravo 100 times over Andy Partridge 💥
He's just telling the truth and that's why the song is so good
@@xxshadowchainxx9246 what
you know I really wish I was qualified to refute your argument, but I'm not. So I'll just wait for someone else to do it
@@xxshadowchainxx9246 English is not my native language, but about the Big Bang Theory: first of all, this theory is not about an explosion (but expansion), and secondly, it does'nt talk about "nothing out of nothing" actually. It's about a point in space (singularity), relic radiation and so much more (like dark matter and antimatter)! Lawrence M. Krauss talks a lot about this, if you're interested (for example 'A Universe from Nothing' is one of his lectures exactly about this).
@@xxshadowchainxx9246 What? You're not even responding to the song. Go look at the lyrics and write a new comment. Lmao.
just one opinion among the billions
just one opinion among the billions
This is such a good song. You never hear many songs about atheism and the doubt in god. This song was very bold for its time and it's amazing. This is easily one of my favorite 80s songs for sure.
THIS WAS A BOLD MOVE AND THIS BAND DID NOT CARE WE ALL HAVE DIFFRENT BELIEFS RESPECT THEM! BTW THERE IS NOT A GOD LOL
@ Beezeldrop > I don't think it's so much about atheists as I do it is about false beliefs or false notions of what religion could or should mean To The Individual...my opinion...
@@daniels.2720 it deals with how atheists feel about god.
OK beezlebob.
@@johnnycash578grow up. Before you perish. You were warned.
I am a metal head and this is one of my favorite songs.
I'm a metal head too! To me, this song encapsulates the same as metal music - pushing back and questioning everything!
Lyrically, this song is metal in attitude.
The climax hits me like my favorite metal songs always do. Pure fucking catharsis.
As a hardcore psy/techno head one of mine.
Also a metalhead, and this song has some of the most metal lyrics ever. Great melody as well. I think that it's a misunderstood masterpiece.
19 year old Christian. I’m very faithful towards God, but I gotta say this is a well crafted song. It’s both ironic and melodic.
Ask Jews how they feel about a book written hundreds of years later proclaiming the character of Jesus as the Messiah in the so called "New Testament", which was created to Steal the Crown of God's Chosen People from the Jews. Now you can only get to Heaven through Jesus. Please, you are at least somewhat open minded and intelligent. The Greatest Theft in History has you expecting the return of a Messiah that was never here. I am so very sad for the thousands upon thousands of generations of Christians that will be waiting for Jesus to return, clutching that book that can never change. It's Blasphemy to change even one word. You have been duped. Believe in a God if you must, but the Trinity and the Book are simply Metaphors.
Your Faith is NOT being tested by dropping the Fable. Please produce and independent account of the life of Jesus that does not involve the Church and it's documents saying it's true.
The "Old Testament" left off that the Messiah had not come yet, and a bunch of Opportunists gained Power by writing their own continuation of the Story. An Utter Fiction. And So Bloody Poorly Written As Well. These "Elders" Were Idiots.
The god you believe in was concocted by the Church and has zero relevance to your well being or place in the universe.
I'm a Christian, I love this song. Brilliant.
Me too.
I hope your joking. If you’re a Christian you obviously dont agree with this somg. Have you heard or read lyrics ?
@@alexiatheodorou715 I'm being 100% serious. Firstly I think the song makes a lot of valid points. Too often humans have misspoke for God and have done incredibly evil acts in the name of God. I imagine God's head shaking in sadness and brokenness. Secondly I enjoy the music and art of the song. I don't feel like I need to agree with something just to appreciate it's beauty. Ironically many songs which have come from the church I disagree with strongly and find little to none creativity and art in them.
@@evansiggson 100% my thoughts, am Christian too. Any Christian at a certain point - if they're growing in their faith - has to wrestle with these questions, and they're questions that people have been asking for centuries.
I think it's sad that Andy and so many others have been led to this perception of God but tbh Christians have done a terrible job of acting Christ-like and of helping people wrestle with these questions. Hate from so-called Christians is what led me away from it in high school and college and funnily a psychologist that isn't even Christian helped me find my way back! What a world
i’m a christian as well and i don’t believe in the lyrics but i love the song
I have always loved this song, since it first came out; absolutely brilliant. I am neither an atheist nor religious; I am a spiritually minded but also open-minded person. I think this song is honest, intelligent, and emotional. A classic.
Hey goofball, you either actively believe in a god or you're an atheist. Being spiritual, but not believing in God, is atheistic.
My thoughts exactly ❤
....🎶did you make mankind....after we made you.....🎶......the best lyrics I've ever heard....an absolute masterpiece 💯❤👍
IT HITS HOME FOR SURE
"... and the devil, too"
❤️❤️❤️❤️ the most wake up and get a clue song ever
You can still live a good life, full life, decent life without religion and you should not be ashamed of being an atheist, it's wonderfully freeing in many ways.
@arrowguy173 When you see those finger flipping, low life, low mentality trash, how do you know they were not brought up in a Christian household or under the same conditions that you were, but chose a different path? You do sound very self righteous and ignorant. People raised with religion can be arrogant and rude, commit crimes too and so can people without a religious background. Atheists are exactly the same, it's down to us a humans to live a decent life. The difference for me, is I do not believe in any God, heaven or hell and therefore I fear no judgement after death.
@@nicolehayward7151 all of our ideas of a decent life came from the Bible. There are good and bad people, believers and non-believers. l think you will find that the most evil people in the world don't have a conscience, because they don't fear judgement. People in power at the moment are a prime example of this.
@@michaelwhite8031 "all of our ideas of a decent life came from the Bible" sorry buddy but humans have been around a lot longer than the Bible and there are certainly millions or even billions of people who have long traditions and ideas about the good and decent life. It's very childlike to need the fear of punishment as an inducement to be good. The world and good and bad are much older and larger than christianity or the bible. And a majority of good people in the world aren't christians.
@@michaelwhite8031 Oh yeah and one more thong, I would NEVER use Titanium white to mix flesh tones. Its a nasty, cold color not really found in nature. Try lead white, much warmer, transparent and a stronger, less brittle paint.
@@origamimambo545 depends on your idea of good. If you are a student of history l think you will find pagan belief is smothered in blood. I am not saying that there are not people who act in a good way. There is no religion that is older than the Bible. The book of John says " In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and was God". The word if you look it up is Christ. Nothing was made except through him. All ancient people sprouted from the first man and woman who he created. The whole premise of this song is arguing with a God he says doesn't exist.....so he's talking to himself then !? Ultimately it's a wast of time arguing with someone who doesn't believe. You have your point of view and l have mine. You can very seldom argue someone into belief but you can argue someone out of it with bad science. Belief usually comes about by the synchronicity of events that you can't explain. I can't win an argument with a closed mind.
As a Christian, I love this song and 100% understand the other points of views. I will never turn down someone else's opinion or view about religion
@@Jaylopezzz-sb2qb As a Christian I will say without judgement as I am no one to judge. What you are saying is very dangerous. Do not misinterpret the Love and Compassion that Jesus Christ wants you to give to EVERYBODY (which is not the easiest thing to do) on this planet. Not only must you REJECT and show NO TOLERANCE but you must take the opportunity to speak of The Lord Jesus Christ via the Holy Spirit to everyone when facing blasphemy. DO NOT LET THE demon confuse you. Stay focused on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Or lack thereof? Freedom from religion too?
As a Christian this song really touches on my issues with moral dilemma
@ceine Oh dearie me.
Theodicy, the problem of evil. It's it's own field of apologetics the consequences are so devastating.
Epicurian Trilemma
If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful.
If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good.
If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?
@ceine.. if god isn't real, then he has "no job", so you have to ask yourself.. do you care about truth?
@@disrxt Excellent question. I wondered this when I was at church at 12 years of age. And yet 3000 people show up on Sunday at the nearby Free Chapel to hear the showman speak for god with great certainty and drama. Cultural indoctrination.
That's totally normal. It's not your fault, your not broken or evil. Hell was created to scare. It not real. We were indoctrinated from birth (as our parents were) to hate certain groups of fellow humans who are no different from us. Continue to question. Get away from the negative people and find a tribe that doesn't make you feel yucky. We're all in this together. You can live in darkness or in light.
Straight up one of the best songs ever written,
You can see the underlying compassion in his eyes. That, to me, sells the song.
The fact that Dear God is the same title of another song and some people will inevitably click on this thinking it's the other one and hear the lyrics makes me happy.
You have good music tatse Valentine
The most honest lyrics of all time, beautiful song in every way.
One of the greatest songs ever written. TOP 100 SONGS OF ALL TIME.
I am 100% aligned with Andy's message in this song. So many questions and no answers
GJP 🔕 the questions are answers...QUAQAH=QUESTION+QUESTION=ANSWER §
Wow this song is incredible. I've really been missing out on XTC, amazing band.
Still listening in 2023!
I’ve been a proud atheist since I was 12 (was Anglican). Thankfully being Canadian I can freely express that view.
Well for a little while longer.
It's not atheism or agnosticism, it's immunity to a disease/disorder/programming.
@@georgejenc489 The atheist party just may take over the US this very year!
Still devastating after all these years. Chills.
I agree. I am pretty agnostic and love this song.
This song actually helped to heal me from all the indoctrination I had been through but also to say goodbye to the horrible Christian God that took residence in my head so I want to thank XTC for this song
L you
@@holyrage22 Hating on someone because they doesn't share the same beliefs sounds like a fine beginning for dictatorship. Also the reason why I don't like the abrahamic religions, they tell you to believe something and do everything a special way and if you don't do that they threaten you with "hell".
I‘m so sorry for your experience but if youd known the real God, Jesus Christ, you wouldnt say that. God exists and he loves us so much that he gave his only son to die for the sin of the world and the whole world doesn‘t even realize that and goes on with their sinning. Thats why Jesus cried out on the cross: father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Jesus loves you and wants you to turn to him to meet the real God. Just cry out to him, he says that those who truly seek him will find him
Too much to say. A mere reply will not do. You don't need a "real god" or "fake god ." Do unto others etc. Listen to Marina and enjoy your life!
@@juliamar46 imagine someone bragging about how watched their kid getting brutally murdered and could've saved them but didn't and expecting you to be grateful
Maybe not the highest charting song ever released by XTC, but absolutely their most influential classic. Covered repeatedly, yet never equaled. One of my most coveted possessions for years was a cassette of Skylarking that included this track. Skylarking, for that matter, was one of the best albums of the 80's, hands down.
A lot of pain and frustration in this song. But taunting God to answer never gets an answer. I hope God gives him love, mercy and kindness.
Wow you just had someone point out a bicycle and you still called it a boat.
Missed the message by a mile
@@nskdhekahgfd I know right 😂
Wow that build towards the end kicks ASS.
40 years and still has the power to provoke. A masterpiece.
One of the best-written tracks of all time, brave and beautiful!
its awful r u dumb
XTC is one of my all time favorite music artists. Very much of their works are fabulous. - I am a member of the Roman Catholic Christian church.While first of all I fully 100% do NOT agree with this songs message,I fairly often enjoy Hearing Dear God.I may disagree with a song's meaning message be I love music with very great meaning - Mostly,yes I do love a song with not only with very great powerful meaning.I don't have to necessarily agree with it's Meaning Message but I just simply love music with fantastic and deeply rendered and successfully delivered at being well made awesome quality.❤
We need this song today even more than we did in 1986. Genius.
sadly you are right
Why's that?
MIKECNW it is because too many people point fingers at each other or other groups, instead of the source . In my opinion it is quite short-sighted.
Exactly why the words to this brought me here...today. 9/9/18. I believe...but I can see why others faith is fading. #Deepshit #Lyricstolastalifetime
I believe the precise moment we needed this song was sometime after lunch on July 22nd, 1992. It was an otherwise whimsical day. Perhaps if this song hadn't been created years before we never would have deal with that 'Be Like Bob' meme. I've always blamed too much faith in God at that precise moment in time to have been the cause. Nowadays we need Party Rock Anthem by that precocious pop duo and their box head friend LMFAO so save us from the evils and the good of the world. At least, scientifically speaking.
So PERFECTLY stated throughout...easily one of the most powerfully potent pop songs ever, especially as that outro just builds and builds toward the crescendo. Genius!!
yeah it's so powerful and popular that they play it on the radio today. /j
@@ChefBojack
they do play it on the radio today; I heard it on the radio in 2022.
The greatest and truest lyrics ever written
And if you're up there you perceive that my heart's here upon my sleeve...
I have no problem with God. It's his fan clubs I have the issues with.
Wow bro you're so deep.
Maybe its the idea of believing in something without evidence that is fucked?
I know it is.... i'm just trying to convince you
Ashannon888 I am so stealing this, thanks chap.
You can take this as a plea for help and guidance. We all believe in something 😊
AMEN!
But... If god is their leader. How can you not have issues with both?
30 years later the song is still relevant to today’s society
More so, especially in the US where religious crazies seem to have more influence than ever!
This song made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore, and more comfortable admitting that I was an atheist. I'm so grateful for this song,
I am a pagan lots of love
Yes but an Atheist you are or you are not. But having been, as you describe does this mean that you were an Atheist but now you are not?
@@noelfarrell7627 As if an Atheist does not know endless love? Sorry but Atheists have more respect and love for everything and everyone, than you think.
It definitely made me feel more empowered to express my views.
This helped me delve deeper into my own perspective/belief system/philosophy.....
Dear God thank you for this song ❤🙏
Heard this song when it first was released and it is still relevant today. Why isn't this great tune still being played? Absolutely love this track.
Love & respect to the genius that is Andy partridge
Although I'm not an atheist myself, 35 years later this song is so relevant especially in current times. Outside of the box this track is so about human exploitation and those who are put in the seat of power enjoy seeing others in pain whether or not physical or psychological just blame others and hide behind a mask of lies from the mess they cause.
I agree to an extent but I also think it’s about how religion causes conflict
It's about religion man, It's not that deep
I first heard this when I was 13. I'm 50 now and still a rational atheist. Thanks, XTC.
rational atheist, good oxymoron.
@@kylemihalek1200not really, if you have never seen proof of something and therefore dont believe in it you are a rational person