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I finally understand Ray of Light


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Before I start the post, I just want to beg all of you to not bring religion into the discussion. I respect everyone's religious beliefs, and I'm just sharing what I have learnt recently.

Gosh I am absolutely MIND BLOWNNNNNNN. The song and video completely took on a new meaning after I've read more about spirituality recently. I am absolutely in awe of the art she has created with the team, I never knew I could love this song even more. Please bear with me, you will appreciate and love ROL even more, and understand what Madonna really wants to say through the song.

If you are not exposed to spirituality, the song can easily be misinterpreted. To the general public the song may seem to express how fast her life passes by, how she's got the whole universe as a successful person, how she feels like having a piece of heaven on earth, how her legacy will live on through the generations to come.

But after learning more about spirituality, I finally understood the intricate meanings in the song and video. Before I dive into the lyrics, I'll try my best to explain some common understandings across spiritual teachings.
 

Summary of my spirituality learnings

When you are awakened spiritually, you are one with the universe. In the higher spiritual realm, there is no you, there is no me. There is no hate, there is no love. No past and no present, same for every other examples of duality you can think of. Each only exist because of the absence of the other, but in the spiritual world these dualities do not exist. Very much like how yin and yang are opposites, but becomes a whole when joined. We are one with everything that needs to be known and no explanation is needed anymore, you can be anything, you can do anything, you are in heaven.

In the real physical world that we live in, concepts of dualities exist hence the chaos. You understand the meaning of peace, only when there is war in the world. You feel sadness, because you understand how happiness feels.

Our spiritual self exists through various physical forms across time. A popular belief that also shares the same concept is reincarnation. In the spiritual realm everyone and everything is connected, so your spiritual self is also known as "God" in some religions.

 

Song lyrics

In summary, the whole meaning of the song is about her spiritual journey and how the Universe/God/Cosmic Energy/Spiritual Self welcomes her home. At the start she struggles in the physical world, and learns about spirituality. There are times she feels one with the universe but it's always gone quickly, it is not easy to always be spiritual in the real world. As the song progresses, we can tell that she is slowly becoming one with the universe. Towards the end, she has awakened and become one with the universe.

The highlight in the song writing is when she uses third-person and first-person when referring to herself. When she uses "I", it is her true awakened spiritual self/God/Universe/CosmicEnergy that exist in various forms through time. When it comes to phrases with "she", it refers to Madonna that we all know of in the physical world.

The music starts out peaceful and heavenly, like how we are born as pure and untainted. But with the rude awakening of the real world and what society teaches, our lives become very chaotic. This is the start of Madonna's spiritual journey where she questions the world she lives in.

Zephyr in the sky, at night I wonder Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun
"I", her spiritually awakened self, ponders on the troubles of the world which keeps her up at night. She wonders if all this sadness will magically disappear when she wakes up.

She's got herself a universe gone quickly For the call of thunder threatens everyone
Even though "She" manages to be one with the universe when she is spiritually aware, Madonna always snaps out of this awakened state due to various threats and fear in the real world. People's hate, war, cruelty, news, consumerism etc.

And I feel like I just got home And I feel And I feel like I just got home And I feel
A celebration of the start of her spiritual journey. "I" welcomes Madonna to her true spiritual self.

Faster than the speeding light she's flying Trying to remember where it all began
"She" is becoming much more spiritually aware as she learns about the truth, questioning religion, trying to understand her world.

She's got herself a little piece of heaven Waiting for the time when earth shall be as one
"She" enjoys a little piece of heaven, because she understand what it's like to be spiritually awakened. But the rest of the world is not aware, so she waits for the world to wake up and show more compassion, to be one and not separate.

And I feel like I just got home And I feel And I feel like I just got home And I feel
"I" welcomes Madonna to her true spiritual self. This welcoming occurs throughout the song as she gets closer to the truth/God/Universe.

Quicker than a ray of light Quicker than a ray of light Quicker than a ray of light
At this point at her highest pitch, it almost feels like she has awakened spiritually and is at peace. She is one with all that defies the logic of our physical world where speed of light is the fastest.

Zephyr in the sky, at night I wonder Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun She's got herself a universe gone quickly For the call of thunder threatens everyone
The music quietens to an introspective mode. A sombre final question at her deathbed if all the sadness of the world will indeed disappear in the afterlife. Again in a fearful state, this time the call of thunder is death in the physical world. She sings and drags "threatens everyone" like she is breathing her last. The music finally bursts into dizzying warped effects and high pitch bleeps, like an exhilarating journey to another realm.

And I feel quicker than a ray of light Then gone for Someone else shall be there Through the endless years
At her current afterlife spiritual state, she finally sees the truth. She understands that this spiritual state she's in will end, because she will exist in the physical world again in another form, and the cycle repeats over and over.

She's got herself a universe She's got herself a universe She's got herself a universe
This time her universe is not gone quickly, she is one with the universe.

And I feel like I just got home And I feel And I feel like I just got home And I feel
At this stage, "I" is indeed home. And Madonna screams her famous triumphant shriek of victory.

Quicker than a ray of light she's flying Quicker than a ray of light I'm flying
"She" and "I" has become one finally after the whole spiritual journey.

 

Music Video

In the music video, the span of a lifetime is shown through the concept of day to night.

It starts with the sun rising peacefully, very much like our spiritual state when we are born. But the chaos and madness of the real world kicks in really rudely, if I may say, almost like the call of thunder.

At moments throughout the music video, we see a transparent Madonna being spiritually aware of the world she is in at various stages of her life. This is her being ecstatic and dancing freely in her awakened state, where she can be her true self, hence the awkward spontaneous dancing.

The journey progresses as she sings "And I feel like I just got home" against the backdrop of clear blue skies. She has got herself a piece of heaven, she has become more awakened spiritually. She is also becoming more and more ecstatic in her movements.

At 2:45 after climatic fast cuts of life, we see Madonna doing an yin yang, as though she has become one with all that she has learned in her life. The sun sets as she solemnly sings at the end of her life. BAM! I love this part! She starts travelling to the spiritual realm after death and is absolutely ecstatic, the visuals and lights here are insanely trippy!!! Her expression is overwhelmed in this segment, she is gaining knowledge of all that is this universe. She has become one, she expresses this very obviously at 3:48 circular motion, again at 3:55 because this cycle is endless.

Towards the end at the disco scene, she has arrived home. Everyone's blissful heaven. She has become one with everyone. A very nice touch at the end at 4:54 where she breaks the 4th wall and show the physical world spinning furiously through time. Almost to remind us how time does not exist in her heaven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9pP0-LY9MA
Check out this video of her explaining the song at the start of the interview. You can tell she really struggled to explain the spiritual meaning for the general public and decided to go with a more generic dumbed down explanation. She has a song to promote after all. It's a shame she can't dive into the art that she so masterfully pieced together.

Many do not understand the meaning of ROL, and some find the lyrics nonsensical even. If you like my analysis, please share with other Madonna fans. Thank you for reading such a long post!

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It's what happens when a narcissist realises she is not the centre of the universe and realises other people exist.

Tough job for a Leo.

Sounds like she needs a little more spiritual work these days, another Ray of Light to shine in her direction.

I feel the divorce covered her in a shell and she hasn't truly recovered from it. Just listen to her lyrics after 2008.

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2 hours ago, anaglyphx said:

It's what happens when a narcissist realises she is not the centre of the universe and realises other people exist.

Tough job for a Leo.

Sounds like she needs a little more spiritual work these days, another Ray of Light to shine in her direction.

I feel the divorce covered her in a shell and she hasn't truly recovered from it. Just listen to her lyrics after 2008.

Once again, I couldn't agree more with what you say! :laughing:

One time, a lawyer said (in relation to the custody battle): "as if you had to thank her for the sun rises and sets every day". ??

I don't remember now exactly the interview. 

2 hours ago, anaglyphx said:

Tough job for a Leo.

Hahaha, she admit it herself (somehow): "I know that I can be difficult and demanding and push you, and sometimes my ego is out of control but I am a Leo", Madonna said in the a preview clip from her 'Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour'.

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Black Box part 2000 comes to mind ala Ray Of Light.
Madonna was given a rare prog 'classic' of legendary fame that no-one except a few had ever heard of.
Like any sty;e of song, these gems get rarer 'n rarer.
For example, I listen to Portishead, Massive Head etc and go in my head 'oh that's Isaac Hayes'...and go play the original.
NOW everyone on Earth claims to have always LOved Loleatta Hollloway despite chart numbers that prove otherwise.
If Madge hadn't put a beat under it, I'd never had heard of it ?

Maybe it was fate or God that she was mean't to record it, it's still rather good all 't same.
 

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Well I just wanted to share the spiritual meaning of Ray of Light, why is everyone talking about whether Madonna wrote it hahahha. I would love to read other opinions on the lyrics actually, because for me before I learn about spirituality, I always thought she's just singing about the fast pace of modern life.

I just have a question for Madonna fans here. Is her creative direction of the whole song production, lyrical meaning, video not justified for you to give her credit when it's due? She didn't write the original song, she didn't direct the video, she didn't style herself, she didn't create the beats, she didn't design the album cover.

She is the creative director of the project. She wanted to talk about spirituality, she had a vision for it, and she directed it so masterfully. Nobody else could have done it this way because this is her own story to sing at that point in her life. This is not the story Curtiss Maldoon wanted to tell. Is this enough for you?

I'm glad she rewrote the original Sepheryn song, it was too complicated for the masses. If Madonna wanted to go spiritual for this project, she absolutely cannot dive too deep into it because she wants to appeal to radio. Just look at the video link in the first post, she is clearly holding back on describing ROL.

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^

Yes i tottally give credit to Madonna for Ray Of Light. She took a nothing song to a complete different level turning it into a classic anthem. Of course Orbit gets credit too.  They did it together. 

And i have always given Ray Of Light a spiritual meaning. I assume anybody else has if you pay attention to the lyrics.

 Theres also another way of looking at it though. Some people i know have suggested that the song is about drugs which is absurd knowing Madonna but i guess the psychedelic feel throughout the song can give people that kind of idea. More than often lyrics get lost in the beats and big production in dance songs. 

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For some, drugs brought them to the level of concsciousness of seeing that we are only one tiny part of the entire universe. Drugs and spirituality sometimes go hand in hand (unfortunately). This said, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the original was a nothing song. On the contrary, don’t underestimate the originator’s own spiritual path put into the song. And people have experiememted with drugs since forever, also at that time.

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