Jethro Tull: Aqualung Meaning

Aqualung Lyrics

the man without life-breath ruined

torn asunder

defeated

dying

no friends

family

life

reason to live except a dog-end

hears the faint sound of something from a distant world

entirely different than the one he's...

1. anonymous

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   Mar 13th 2023 !⃝

   Matthew, you are just a tree in my original thoughts, if this turns out to be not the truth, I want you to smoke. All praise "how down to earth you are."
2. anonymous

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   Jan 12th 2016 !⃝

   "The Army's up the Road": referring to the charitable organization Salvation Army, helping homeless addicts spiritually and physically with food and shelter--"salvation a la mode and a cup of tea".
   Aqualung--the name illustrates the rattling respiratory condition (TB?) of the aged homeless alcoholic as he approaches death.
   "You poor old sod, you see it's only me": the observer recognizes that 'there but for the grace of God go I' and expresses empathy, calling him "my friend"
3. anonymous

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   Oct 2nd 2014 !⃝

   One must look outside of the box to understand these prophetic type of lyrics, that began around the time of the early blues and spirituals of the late 30's & early 40's, which as we all know are the roots to rock 'n roll which the Stones and Beatles blew wide open and invited all types of music to join in. and they did!
   Firstly though if you're gonna equate Wordsworth (who in the end is just another words-worth, which isn't worth much unless action is taken with it) then certainly you don't want leave out others like Shakespear or Bob Dylan etc. Beacuse just look around & listen and you'll find that it's almost everywhere. Although I do find your anology that the Aqualung is a metaphore for humaity as a whole, interesting,but there are other hints in there too, such as the Aqualung can stay 10 x longer at the bottom (In Hell if you will) than the rest who fall apart when in the deep end, of a dark & cold Ocean floor.
   And his fate is still up to him. It's one senerio that could happen, there's thousands of others to consider as we make life's choices!
   Secondly, the "it's only me" thing is taken also from the roots. Example "John would often lift his glasses and say "It's only me, mate"" Paul McCartney!
   "Tell all the people that you see. it's just me" The Doors
   "Open up your eyes now and tell me what you see. Don't you realize now what you see is me"
   The Beatles.. etc...
   My point is.. It's nothing new, but outside of music & poetry it's not really spoken about... not even a scrath on the surface do we dig!
   "The years ahead will surely show just how little we really know"
   Little Lamb/Dragonfly by Paul McCartney :-)
4. anonymous

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   Oct 2nd 2014 !⃝

   One must look outside of the box to understand these prophetic type of lyrics, that began around the time of the early blues and spirituals of the 30's and late 40's which as we all know are the roots to rock 'n roll which the Stones and Beatles blew wide open and asked all types of music to join in. and they did!
   Firstly though if you're gonna equate Wordsworth (who in the end is just another words-worth, which isn't worth much unless action is taken with it) then certainly you don't want leave others like Shakespear or Bob Dylan etc. Beacuse just look around & listen and ypou'll find that it's almost everywhere.Although I find your anology that the Aqualung is a metaphore for humaity as a whole, but there are other hints in there such as the Aqualung can stay 10 x longer at the bottom (In Hellif you will) than the rest who fall apart when at the deep end, the dark & cold Ocean floor. And his fate is still up to him. It's one senerio that could happen there's thousands of others to consider when making life's choices!
   Secondly, the "it's only me" is taken from the roots. Example "John would often lift his glasses and say "It's only me, mate"" Paul McCartney!
   "Tell all the people that you see. it's just me" The Doors
   "Open up your eyes now and tell me what you see. Don't you realize now what you see is me"
   The Beatles.. etc...
   My point is.. It's nothing new, but outside of music & poetry it's not really spoken about... not even a scrath on the surface do we dig!
   "The years ahead will surely show just how little we really know"
   Little Lamb/Dragonfly by Paul McCartney
5. kooljohn176

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   Sep 2nd 2013 !⃝

   a homeless man in the eyes of the world with the weight of our sins on his back, paying at the end with his life.
6. anonymous

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   Jul 3rd 2013 !⃝

   The song is really within a British tradition of meditating on a derelict old man. Wordworth's "The Eel Catcher" is of the same ilk, as is a poem of Ted Hughes about a tramp: "I thought about what strong trust must be in him" the narrator says coming upon the old man sleeping in a wooded area after a downpour. Cf. Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.
   Of course, the right-thinking way to view a shabby old person eyeing "frilly panties" and evincing a "bad intent" toward "little girls" is to be shocked and repulsed. But "Aqualung" begs our sympathy and pity for this pathetic personage, this old one "crying in the wilderness"--if not for salvation or for the spirit, than at least for life, more life, in the form of concupiscence. Age and youth, health and disease, winter and spring: these are some of the polarizing opposites that structure the poem and make the otherness of the outcast an epiphany of identification: "Aqualung, my friend, don't you start away uneasy. You poor old sod, you see, it's only me." We have met the dirt old lustful mortal living on the edge, and he is us.
7. anonymous

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   Nov 13th 2012 !⃝

   A torn apart man having nothing to show for of his life looks back at his past and walks to a new life.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
8. anonymous

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   Mar 5th 2012 !⃝

   This song is about a hobo

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

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