In God's Country???

[greenbax]

Could someone please explain the lyric:

She stands with a naked flame
I stand with the sons of Cain
Burned by the fire of love

Especially the 'sons of Cain' line as I can't find any reference to Cain having any son's (although I haven't really looked all that hard!)

Thankyou muchly

 

[AvsGirl41]

"She stands with a naked flame" I believe refers to the Statue of Liberty.

The sons of Cain (I'm taking this from English Lit, someone must better info than me) were basically exiles from civilization. In literature, you run into them as monsters--they are "the other", Grendel in "Beowulf" is described as a decendant of Cain.

I imagine Bono means that he stands with the exiles, people seeking refuge but being denied it by Lady Liberty--the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, except we don't really want people like *you* And Irish immigrants were particularly not welcome in the U.S. and could certainly be viewed as exiles. (But are they the same as the sons of Cain? Hmmm.)

My take. Anyone else?

 

[Axver]

I agree, AvsGirl41. Makes sense to me.

 

[nbcrusader]

Cain was condemned to be "a restless wanderer of the earth" after killing his brother Abel. Genesis 4:12

Cain feared being killed for his act. God placed a mark on him so that no one who found him would kill him.