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The Alan Parsons Project - Ammonia Avenue
Capo 1
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Is there [Am]no sign of light as we [Em]stand in the darkness?
[Am]Watching the sun [G]a[Am]rise [A9,Am7,A9]
Is there [Am]no sign of life as we [Em]gaze at the waters?
[Am]Into the stran[G]gers [Am]eyes [A9,Am7,A9]
And [F]who are [G]we to [C]criti[F]cize or
[Dm7]scorn the [G7]things that they [Am]do? [A9,Am7,A9]
For [F]we shall [G]seek and [C]we shall [F]find
Am[Dm]monia [Em]Ave[Am]nue
If we [Am]call for the proof and we [Em]question the answers
[Am]Only the doubt [G]will [Am]grow [A9,Am7,A9]
Are we [Am]blind to the truth or a [Em]sign to believe in?
[Am]Only the wise [G]will [Am]know [A9,Am7,A9]
And [F]word by [G]word they [C]handed [F]down
the [Dm7]light that [G7]shines to[Am]day [A9,Am7,A9]
And [F]those who [G]came at [C]first to [F]scoff,
[Dm] Remained be[Em]hind to [Am]pray
Yes [F]those who [G]came at [C]first to [F]scoff,
[Dm] remained be[Em7]hind to [Am]pray
When you [Am]can't hear the rhyme and you [Em]can't see the reason
[Am]Why should the hope [G]re[A]main? [A9,Am7,A9]
For a [Am]man will be tired and his [Em]soul will grow weary
[Am]Living his life [G]in [Am]vain [A9,Am7,A9]
And [F]who are [G]we to [C]justi[F]fy
the [Dm7]right in [G7]all we [Am]do? [A9,Am7,A9]
Un[F]til we [G]seek un[C]til we [F]find
Am[Dm]monia [Em]Ave[Am]nue
[Dm]Through all the [G]doubt
[F]somehow they [G]knew
And [F]stone by [G]stone they [C]built it [F]high
[Dm7]Until the [G7]sun broke [Am]through
A [F]ray of [G]hope, a [C]shining [F]light
Am[Dm]monia [Em]Ave[Am]nue
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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
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No Picture
dimebag 66' Average |
#1 by dimebag 66' at Sep 28, 2007 at 10:12 PM EST |
| This is a very religious song, and one of Parsons' best. The first stanza is a reference to how we are lost without a view of God. We're just standing in darkness, waiting for the sun to rise. These unreligious people critizice the religious and come to scoff, but in the end, they find Ammonia Avenue (something religious, I'm not sure what) and learn to pray. And then it talks about questioning God (call for proof and question the answers), which only leads to doubt. This emphasizes blind faith. They handed down the light that shines today refers to people generally being the same religion as their parents. It could also refer to oral tradition. However, then we see that blind faith leads to living one's life in vain, which is just as bad as living an unreligious life. Then the people, tired of living their lives in vain, build a tower (Tower of Babel, anyone). While the song leaves this open, we can assume that it gets torn down. However, we do not truly know, which allows this song to be seen as both in favor of or against religion. Again, a great song. And actually, religion isn't really the opposite of asking questions. Judaism, for sure, and maybe other religions, too, greatly encourage it. | |
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No Picture
nick Wanna Be |
#2 by nick at Sep 30, 2007 at 11:04 AM EST |
| This is a true gem of a song. To me, it is about the conflict of science vs. religion in our everyday lives. "If we call for the proof and we question the answers only the doubt will grow." Ask any grad student and they will tell you this is dead on. Of course, this is the crux of science; to question everything. Religion is just the opposite. Faith, by definition is accepting without questioning. Too often, faith is looked down upon by scientists, and this song adresses the wrongness of that. I especially love the significance of the title as it merges the two themes of science and religion. See if you can puzzle that one out on your own. Write me if you want my solution at parikd01@yahoo.com. (The title bugged me for several years, and I felt a great thrill when I figured it out. I want to give others a chance to do it on their own without spoiling it, so I don't want to post it here.) | |
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No Picture
Bill Wanna Be |
#3 by Bill Rossi at Oct 4, 2007 at 11:35 PM EST |
| A song telling the story of how the nonreligious become religious when SCIENCE becomes their new religion. After all, isn't most science based on theory, rather than fact? We hope, we assume, we weigh what can't be seen, but the reality is that we don't really know, do we? Humans have shown that they need answers to the questions they have - why wouldn't science and atheism taken to extremes not be their own belief system? 1 | |
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