There's a song on Regina Spektor's album, Begin to Hope called "Samson." It's a beautiful song that is seemingly about Samson and Delilah...except that part of the song is "I loved you first" and "the Bible didn't mention us, not even once." This was curious to me, so this weekend I set out to figure out what the hell song means once and for all.
The natural starting place: the Bible. What exactly is the Samson and Delilah story anyway? I had vague memories from childhood, but a more precise reading was going to be needed to interpret the song.
I learned two things. A) I was confusing Samson in my head with David and Goliath. I know, I know...I need to go back to Bible School. B) Samson and Delilah isn't really a glorious love story. This was somewhat more shocking to me.
Did you guys know this? I thought Samson and Delilah were like two peas in a pod, that they shared this great love affair, that they were one of the Bible's golden couples. As it turns out...not so much.
You see, that ____ Delilah sold him out. He fell in love with her, and she used him. She made him trust her, tell her what gave him his strength, and then told the Philistines how to get him. She sold his love for some coins of silver. Unbelievable.
The natural starting place: the Bible. What exactly is the Samson and Delilah story anyway? I had vague memories from childhood, but a more precise reading was going to be needed to interpret the song.
I learned two things. A) I was confusing Samson in my head with David and Goliath. I know, I know...I need to go back to Bible School. B) Samson and Delilah isn't really a glorious love story. This was somewhat more shocking to me.
Did you guys know this? I thought Samson and Delilah were like two peas in a pod, that they shared this great love affair, that they were one of the Bible's golden couples. As it turns out...not so much.
You see, that ____ Delilah sold him out. He fell in love with her, and she used him. She made him trust her, tell her what gave him his strength, and then told the Philistines how to get him. She sold his love for some coins of silver. Unbelievable.
Apart from how this affected the song's meaning (i.e. I, for one, don't think it's about Samson and Delilah - but there are other interpretations), this was shocking to me. How could I have misremembered the story like this? Did they just teach it wrong in Sunday School, kind of like how they left out Japanese internment camps in high school US history? Or am I just an idiot?
How did you guys remember that story? Do I just have a really crappy memory for Bible stories (ok, I do, but besides that) or has popular culture transformed this story? What other stories do I falsely remember?
How did you guys remember that story? Do I just have a really crappy memory for Bible stories (ok, I do, but besides that) or has popular culture transformed this story? What other stories do I falsely remember?
(In case you're interested, no, I never found any definitive meaning for the Regina Spektor song. There seem to be several theories that predominate, but I've decided the beauty of the song is that the listener can construct her own interpretation...just as good art should be.)
Regina Spektor performing "Samson" live
2 comments:
I confess I remember the Samson and Delilah story pretty well - but this is mostly because we had the Bible Story Books and I very clearly remember the pictures from that story. Poor Samson ends up blind and he's all chained to the millstone, but he hulks out and destroys the temple. I can see that picture of him all chained up with his short hair.
I think I was really disappointed that it didn't turn out to be a great love story.
I'm with Ashley--I remember the story. I also remember watching the movie as a child a lot--it's my mom's favorite biblical story. He does get his eyes cut out and he's tied to these two big columns, which he pushes down.
And I'm a little hurt that you didn't ask me about the Samson and Delilah story. Ouch Nik, Ouch.
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