Based on the book "Iron John" by Robert Bly
Rock and Roll For Grown-Ups!!
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Story behind the song
This song is based on Robert Bly's excellent work "Iron John: A Book about Men". Bly uses the ancient story of Iron John to discuss the process of self discovery and initiation that was common in ancient cultures and is dismally absent from our modern society. Bly asserts that it is the role of the initiator, usually a "wild man" or a village Shaman on the outskirts of the society to take a young man out of the home of his father and mother and into the realm of manhood. Bly states that in the absence of an external initiator, we must look within ourselves for this "wild man" to become more in touch with our manhood, thus maturing to be strong, responsible, living, vibrant men; a rarity in todays culture of capitalism, greed, ambition, and war mongering.
Lyrics
Underneath the Water
In these days of mass confusion
What does it mean to be a man?
Fatherless children of fatherless children
We all do the best we can
We have to turn to a greater wisdom
To ancient tales from ancient days
To find a hero, to find a mentor
To guide us on to higher ways
Who will teach me?
Who can reach me?
The story tells of a secret place
The wild man sleeps in the darkest depths
The king takes him out and chains him up
But still an ancient god draws his breath
The darkness of a mother’s greed
Kept me from a world of light
I took my stand and took the key
And we walked off in the dead of night
I set him free
He set me free
Wild and hairy, red as rusty iron
As old as the mountains, strong as the wind
He taught me how to be a child of brightness
As long as I would stay with him
He was underneath the water
Underneath the water
Deep inside every one of us
Is the power to be truly free
A god of earth and sky and water
If only we can truly see
Live thru ashes or walk in gardens
Hiding our hearts of gold
Learn to be full of laughter and courage,
Always discerning, but always bold
He is there for me
There for me
Bold without anger, strong without hate
In touch with the earth in touch with the sky
When I win or lose am crowned or am wounded
The story says he will never die
Underneath the water
Underneath the water
The weirdness and the wildness
The relevance of ancient tales
They lead me on to wisdom
They lead me down forgotten trails
And when I look for someone
To teach me how to be a man
I find him deep inside me
A mentor from the ancient clan
Underneath the water
Underneath the water
