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Theologians - Wilco
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Tabbed by: Dave McGinn
Email: davidmcginn@gmail.com
Tuning: Standard
Intro:
Bb Am Gm C
Bb Am
Theologians
Gm C
They don't know nothing
Bb Am
About my soul
Gm C
About my soul
Bb Am
I'm an ocean
Gm C
An abyss in motion
F D7
Slow motion
Gm Bb C
Slow motion
F D7
Inlitterati lumen fidei
Gm Bb C
God is with us everyday
F D7
That illiterate light
Gm Bb C
Is with us every night
Bb Am
Theologians
Gm C
That don't know nothing
Bb Am
About my soul
Gm C
Oh they don't know
F D7
They thin my heart with little things
Gm Bb C
And my life with change
F D7
Oh in so many ways
Gm Bb C
I find more missing every day
Bb Am Gm C X2
Theologians
Solo:
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-------------5~----------5~-----------------7------------------------------|
A|-5h8~-5---5-8---8p5---5-8---5--5~--8p5--5-8-----5p3~-----------------------|
E|--------8-----------8---------8--------8-----------------------------------|
e|-------13p12-10---------13p12-10----------------13p12-10-------------------|
B|--10h13--------10~----10---------12~-/15---10h13--------10~----------------|
G|--------------------10-----------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Dm Dm/C
I'm going away
Dm/B Dm/Bb
Where you will look for me
Dm Dm/C Dm/B Dm/Bb
Where I'm going you cannot come
D5 F5 G5
No one's ever gonna take my life from me
D5 F5
I lay it down
G5
A ghost is born
A ghost is born
A ghost is born
Bb Am
I'm an ocean
Gm C
I'm all emotion
Bb Am
I'm a cherry ghost
Gm C
Cherry ghost
Bb Am
Hey I'm a cherry ghost
Gm C
A cherry ghost
Bb Am Gm C X3
Bb
===============================================================================
That's pretty much it. I didn't put in the little slidey parts cos they're
scattered everywhere and the tab would look messy. I didn't put the 2nd solo
in either, cos it's only about 6/7 notes, so it aint worth it.
===============================================================================
Brought to you by the GUITARMASTA - http://www.guitarmasta.net
Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
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No Picture
ian Average |
#1 by ian mckinly at Oct 22, 1970 at 2:19 PM EST |
| pstanton79, interesting about what you say are Jeff Tweedy's views on God. Where'd you hear about that, an interview or something? | |
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No Picture
Ale Wanna Be |
#2 by Ale Rosado at Apr 14, 1971 at 3:06 PM EST |
| I think all the religious connotations in this song make that expanation a bit TOO obvious. This song has been banging around in my head for weeks, and I'm starting to think that it's actually about the music. This may be a bit out of left field, but bear with me... I see the metaphoric "God" in this song as the totality of music...something that everyone knows about and has some sort of opinion on. Both "God" (music) and the "illiterate light" (music in general, unaffected by personal taste or selection) are with us day and night. Tweedy sings about Theologians not knowing anything about his soul. The theologians in this case could very well be music critics, self-appointed fan experts, Jay Bennett...anyone who pass judgement on what's "good" and "bad" music, based solely on their own opinions, and try to impose those opinions on others. Tweedy's heart is thinned "with little things...in so many ways"...his resolve to be himself musically is challenged and has sometimes been changed by these so-called experts, who constantly buffet him with alternating praise and criticism. The "No one's gonna take my life from me...I lay it down" section says to me that his musical 'life' is his to do with as he pleases, and he's choosing to ignore what the critics and fans say and go whatever direction he chooses...leaving nothing but "a cherry ghost" of his past exploits behind. And given the radical directional change he went through on this album, this seems almost like the mission statement. | |
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No Picture
alex Lead Player |
#3 by alex beaulieu at Jul 4, 1976 at 6:03 AM EST |
| i don't think Jeff's trying to "bash" God. "Illiterate," i think, refers to the theologians' inability to read other people's relationship with God. I think this song shows how we're supposed to embrace God on our own terms, disregarding those who claim they know God better. This song expresses how your relationship with God is personal, not something a religious scholar can claim you have or don't have. Only YOU know your relationship with God. "A ghost is born" i interpreted to mean how Jesus rose again and how we, as Christians, lay down our lives (doing away with our old sinful ways)and are born again. "Cherry ghost" I figured to mean the blood of Christ. | |
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No Picture
Dan Average |
#4 by Dan Flores at Sep 30, 1978 at 11:26 PM EST |
| I just looked at the lyric sheet in the CD and it actually says "I'm a notion, I'm all emotion" for the last few lines. I guess the idea of being a notion is just more transcendentalism or escapism. Maybe this song fits with "Hummingbird"--being a notion, forever standing still in the past, being all emotion (remembered only for the emotional experiences shared by the people?) | |
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No Picture
Harry Average |
#5 by Harry Johnson at Aug 20, 1979 at 10:53 PM EST |
| This song is grand. I think I have an insight into the lyric "No one's ever gonna take my life from me/I lay it down/A ghost is born." Many Christians believe that the Holy Ghost did not begin to ihabit the souls of believers until after the death of Jesus. So by Jesus laying his life down at the cross the holy ghost is born. I think cherry ghost definately means new as in a cherry car or a virgin. | |
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No Picture
Tommy Wanna Be |
#6 by Tommy Tang at Dec 4, 1979 at 12:20 PM EST |
| good posts... here's my take... consider this: jesus says in John 10:17-18: "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." It seems that Tweedy is taking this idea from jesus, maybe just stating it, maybe trying to follow the example that we voluntarily lay down our lives and that no other human can take our souls. as for ghost is born, maybe it's also a connection with jesus in that once jesus laid down his life (and was resurrected) the Holy Ghost was given to the church. of course, this is a stretch in that the Holy Ghost has always been present (as part of the trinity) but maybe it was "born" to humans. and maybe tweedy is just trying to relate to that. or maybe he's being "born again" into a new creation, as stated before. | |
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No Picture
Vicky Average |
#7 by Vicky Barnard at Jan 4, 1981 at 6:38 AM EST |
| I was looking at "Hummingbird" and "Hell is Chrome" and the three songs fit together well. Here's part of what I put on "Hell is Chrome" as it relates to "Theologians". I also wonder about the color symbolism between the songs. If uncaring cities are chrome and the devil is also chrome and not red, then the red color is NOT the color of the devil, so when he becomes "a cherry [red] ghost" in "Theologians", he is not evil, amoral, or unfeeling, he is something else. The only other red on the album is on "Less Than You Think", where "red plastic mouths" are mentioned, and it seems to me that these are a reference to prostitution or something figuratively like it, so that's why he's a "cherry ghost" instead of a red ghost--the color symbols would get mixed up. Basically the red color symbolism enhances the trancendentalism of "Theologians" and the innocence of "Hell is Chrome". | |
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No Picture
Jeremy Average |
#8 by Jeremy Rees at Feb 9, 1984 at 9:49 PM EST |
| I have to say I fell in love with this song the very first time time I heard. The guitar break just made me go nuts. I love the line "A Ghost is Born", freedom or death in a way no? | |
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No Picture
nate Average |
#9 by nate eastman at May 27, 1987 at 9:46 PM EST |
| i'm pretty sure it means "illiterate, faithful light" - just as the following lyrics suggest. inlitterati=illiterate; lumen=light; fidei=faithful Maybe in latin adjectives end in i? I love this song. I read an article somewhere in which Jeff was saying that he basically just thought the whole concept was funny. I like that he's honest about that. It's silly, if you think about it - "Theologians don't know nothin' bout my soul" sounds so stubborn and proud, not to mention grammatically incorrect! It's true, though, what he's trying to say; no matter how brilliant someone is, they won't ever know all that you have inside of you - it's unique only to you, especially if you want to mask it. Jeff has an obsession with being true to his soul and not letting anyone get in the way of that - just look how that whole Yankee Hotel Foxtrot ordeal turned out! The record company tried to "compromise something that was a part of [his] soul," and hell no he didn't let them. Because why? Because they don't know NOTHIN' about Wilco's soul! But thanks to his genius songwriting and musical skills, WE know a little bit more and more about it with each listen of each Wilco song. God i love that man. | |
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No Picture
Zach Wanna Be |
#10 by Zach U haft 2 ask 1st at Jan 19, 1991 at 6:44 AM EST |
| I'm pretty sure the phrase 'illiterati lumen fidei' means 'the light of uneducated faith.' Lumen (light) has other definitions like pride and glory, too. It probably means something like 'the pride of uneducated faith.' As an atheist, I view this song a little differently. I see it as someone having religion forced upon them against their will and rather than lose their identity and life, they "lay it down." A 'live free or die' sorta thing. The symbol of the ocean, the line about having life taken away, thinning the heart with little things, finding more of yourself missing everyday, running away, all that led me to that meaning. | |
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No Picture
Ziggy Professional |
#11 by Ziggy at Apr 8, 1991 at 2:03 AM EST |
| Good post, thermo. Even if Tweedy doesn't aim these lyrics at the music critics, there's definitely a parallel. I'm under the opinion that one can take the lyrics more literally. Being "literate" on a subject as abstract (and subjective) as faith is an impossibility. Anyone who claims to be one is probably drawing upon the oft-spat platitudes cemented in the minds of the blindly faithful, relying on their frequency for credibility. Perhaps Tweedy finds his heart "thinned" by the formalities of organized religion. He's diluted by the importance of the "little things", i.e. the traditions hung like ornaments onto the idea of a higher being. This idea is rehashed later on: "Where I'm going you cannot come," the singer's own introspective, soulful universe unique from all others. I think Tweedy and Emerson would have really hit it off. | |
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No Picture
Bobby Lead Player |
#12 by Bobby Parker at Jun 11, 1991 at 4:59 PM EST |
| Jeff has said that 'cherry ghost' was a metaphor for leaving a sweet memory. | |
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No Picture
NIK Average |
#13 by NIK blaszczyszyn at Oct 25, 1991 at 6:18 AM EST |
| inlitterati lumen fidei means like false light or something, i cant quite remember a friend and i found it on some old vatican document online. i also think this song is amazing. hes able to put into lyrics my feelings toward religion and such | |
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No Picture
aleXeXeX Rhythm Player |
#14 by aleXeXeX at Jun 22, 1992 at 2:57 PM EST |
| the scripture reference yall are referring to in the phrase "I'm going away Where you will look for me Where I'm going you cannot come" is from John 7:36 when Jesus was confronting the religious authorities or "theological scholars of the day" on his being the Christ. i was just doing my daily bible reading and thought that verse sounded like a wilco song. sure enough it was theologians | |
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No Picture
Goat Average |
#15 by Goat Screwer at Sep 27, 1992 at 3:55 AM EST |
| maybe this is just me being ignorant, but is it a theologians job to know about each individual's soul and their relationship with god? i thought theology was just the study of god, so why would theologians know anything about jeff tweedy's soul or for that matter yours or mine? i dont get that | |
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No Picture
Jaime Average |
#16 by Jaime at Sep 17, 1994 at 5:51 PM EST |
| Inlitterati lumen fidei means Faith illuminates the illiterate. I love the song. Jeff Tweedy is a theologian. | |
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No Picture
bec Average |
#17 by bec madden at Aug 11, 1995 at 4:44 AM EST |
| to me it seems as though there are always 2 meanings to tweedy's songs and they are polar extremes! not knowing his religious beliefs it is hard for me to deterrmine which point he's trying to make. In "Theologians" my interpretation is that tweedy does believe in God but the idea of religion and what it's associated with has been so distorted that he may not want to be associated with being "religious", but rather as being "a believer" I believe this song is saying that he does not need to be judged. someone could say that since he has done drugs, he's not as good of a christian as someone else, but in reality only he can be the judge of that He is tweedy and no one else, and no one knows his soul but him, so how can someone else determine his soul? they can't. | |
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No Picture
edwin Wanna Be |
#18 by edwin henrriquez at Jan 20, 1996 at 2:18 AM EST |
| I am under the impression that Jeff underwent a major change before and while producing this album. While becoming sober, he has realized several things: one, the church doesnt really know who HE is; only God and Jeff know what is going on in his head. He has overcome a major obstacle in his life and he can be whoever he chooses to be. Though, he doesnt denounce God, he acknowledges God. I also thought the ghost reference was to himself. He is shedding his old self, the drugs and alcohol, and now is born new. Now, he is a cherry (happy....that may be a stretch) ghost. It is such an enlightening song. Who knows what he was actually trying to convey, but what I tak is amazing. He is a new person with a new outlook. He has shed his past and begun a new life. | |
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No Picture
Joe Average |
#19 by Joe Montana at Jan 26, 1998 at 3:38 AM EST |
| I might have a different translation, but I have the verse as John 8:21. "Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come." I agree with a combination of the interpretations here, and I think thermo4's is particularly profound. I, however, think that Jeff Tweedy isn't speaking in his own voice the entirety of the song. I know he is being tongue-in-cheek, but I think it's telling that on the "One True Vine" live version of the song he introduces it "We're gonna get all religious now." And I think he is up to something from the get go. The direct use of Christ's words at the conclusion, I think, is a clue that Tweedy is speaking from his perspective. I get the impression that this is the crucified, resurrected, ascended Christ looking down on the theologians who proport to do his will on Earth, but really don't know nothing about his soul. And how could they, he is an ocean, an abyss in motion? The theologians discussed here are in the same vein as the Pharisees in Christ's time. How silly Christ must have thought them, arguing with the son of God on theological matters. The "cherry ghost," of course, is his spirit, which Christ tells Peter he will leave with him to start his church. Whether Tweedy intended this, or is even religious, I doubt, but this is the entire point of that Holy Spirit, I think, the very depth of that abyss in slow motion. It causes its story to be told whether the teller knows it or not. This combined with "The Ruling Class" makes for a very interesting theology. I definitely think Tweedy knows more about Christ's soul than any theologian. | |
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No Picture
John Lead Player |
#20 by John Fitch at Dec 15, 2001 at 10:39 PM EST |
| My take on "cherry ghost" is in line with pstanton, but not cherry as in happy - cherry as in new, unblemished. Like a new car is cherry, or a virgin loses his/her cherry. | |
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No Picture
Jon Lead Player |
#21 by Jon Zell at Mar 26, 2003 at 5:55 AM EST |
| the scripture reference yall are referring to in the phrase "I'm going away Where you will look for me Where I'm going you cannot come" is from John 7:36 when Jesus was confronting the religious authorities or "theological scholars of the day" on his being the Christ. i was just doing my daily bible reading and thought that verse sounded like a wilco song. sure enough it was theologians | |
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No Picture
keith Lead Player |
#22 by keith at Oct 3, 2004 at 11:02 PM EST |
| I think this song is more religious than it may seem at first glance. I think the whole thing is about Jesus. Jesus said something similar to "I'm going away/Where you will look for me/Where I'm going you cannot come." He then refers to the idea that basically all Christians hold: that Jesus wasn't killed but actually laid his life down for sinners. He then seems to bash Jesus with saying "A ghost is born." This would put forth the idea that Jesus didn't actually rise from the dead. That idea puts the whole Christian faith in the hole. Also, "I'm a notion/I'm all emotion" puts forth the idea of Jesus being some normal guy that made himself out to be more. And on the "cherry ghost," I saw at one site that it read "cheery ghost." I was wondering if those are the actual lyrics. And "That illiterate light/Is with us every night" bashes God. | |
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No Picture
Eric Average |
#23 by Eric Phillips at Nov 21, 2005 at 8:47 PM EST |
| i love this song! but i've always wondered, what does inlitterati lumen fidei mean? | |
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No Picture
♥WeEzY Average |
#24 by ♥WeEzY♥ at Jul 7, 2007 at 2:58 PM EST |
| the scripture reference yall are referring to in the phrase "I'm going away Where you will look for me Where I'm going you cannot come" is from John 7:36 when Jesus was confronting the religious authorities or "theological scholars of the day" on his being the Christ. i was just doing my daily bible reading and thought that verse sounded like a wilco song. sure enough it was theologians | |
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No Picture
Dylan Average |
#25 by Dylan Ruiz at Sep 7, 2007 at 10:11 AM EST |
| I've wondered mainly about the "I'm going away Where you will look for me Where I'm going you cannot come No one's ever gonna take my life from me I lay it down A ghost is born A ghost is born A ghost is born " part. I believe the "where I'm going you cannot come" is similar to something Jesus said, so if you follow it logically, Jesus "lays down his life" and "a ghost is born". I'm not familiar with the religious views behind this, but it sounds to me like he's rejecting the idea of resurrection in a physical sense. However, if he's remaining "himself" and not talking from the perspective of Jesus, it's his (literal or figurative) death, and an otherworldly new "life" that follows-- he's no longer physically real, he's "an ocean [he's] all emotion". Of course the meaning of this depends on the whether he's talking of a literal or figurative death. I believe it's a figurative death, since the line "No one's ever gonna take my life from me, I lay it down" suggests that a literal death did not occur and instead he "lay[s] it down", perhaps meaning an escape from some situation. However, the line "Where I'm going you cannot come" may mean death, but I think it's some sort of transcendance, possibly through drugs, but more likely it's some escapist mental state where he goes to get away from the hardship of reality, and in this state he feels connected to the world, that he has expanded beyond himself to become "an ocean", that he has expanded beyond physical reality and entered the mental or spiritual world to be "all emotion". anyways that's my take on it. I think I might be way off base though. | |
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