Fluffy may be the only one that can really answer this question or find an answer to it, but while working on my cover of Bowl of the Altar (see the guitar tab/setup forum) I decided to plug "Bowl of the Altar" into Google to see what would come up.
What came up was this link among a few other similar references:
Right on the money GuitarGuy305! TR got the lyrics(and title obviously)from his readings of Carl Jung referencing the visions of Zosimos, a Gnostic alchemist of the third century: "And all things are woven together and all things are undone again; all things are mingled together and all things combine; and all things unite and all things separate; all things are moistened and all things are dried; and all things flourish and all things fade in the bowl of the altar. For each thing comes to pass with method and in fixed measure and by exact weighing of the four elements. The weaving together of all things and the undoing of all things and the whole fabric of things cannot come to pass without method. The method is a natural one, preserving due order in its inhaling and its exhaling; it brings increase and it brings decrease. And to sum up: through the harmonies of separating and combining, and if nothing of the method is neglected, all things bring forth nature. For nature applied to nature transforms nature. Such is the order of natural law throughout the whole cosmos, and thus all things hang together."
To learn more, I highly recommend checking out the link provided by GuitarGuy305 above. Here is is again for the lazy:
Peace & Keep the Faith Fluffy "THE MUSIC BUSINESS IS A CRUEL AND SHALLOW MONEY TRENCH-- A LONG PLASTIC HALLWAY WHERE THIEVES AND PIMPS RUN FREE AND GOOD MEN DIE LIKE DOGS. THERE'S ALSO A NEGATIVE SIDE..." -Hunter S. Thompson
TR seemed pretty excited when I asked him about the origin of this song. SomeTIMes he has to think about things for a bit but this one he knew right off the top of his head and seemed quite excited to talk about it. He was impressed that someone took the TIMe to dig deeper about one of his songs. He really liked that.
Peace & Keep the Faith Fluffy "THE MUSIC BUSINESS IS A CRUEL AND SHALLOW MONEY TRENCH-- A LONG PLASTIC HALLWAY WHERE THIEVES AND PIMPS RUN FREE AND GOOD MEN DIE LIKE DOGS. THERE'S ALSO A NEGATIVE SIDE..." -Hunter S. Thompson
That's cool. I'm working on a cover of it (and possibly Beneath the Surface) so hopefully TR will be able to hear it eventually as well as the others working on covers from this thread:
Bowl of the Altar song inspiration/meaning
Posted - 05/24/2008 : 6:59:41 PM
