Music Videos with Religious Symbolism and Lyrics

Music Videos with Religious Symbolism?

An in depth article taking a closer look at mainstream and Indie music videos that feature a religious theme (obvious and hidden) and christian iconography.

This is a look in the opposite direction of the Illuminati in the Entertainment Industry article posted recently that as predicted proved incredibly popular, hence this one.

This article sets out to prove there is some good in the entertainment industry but you just have to search a bit harder for it. Here we move away from the Occult and Satanism and it's associated symbolism and into more of the Religious/Christian symbology and lyrics realm. We'll take a look at lyrics of some music from the past and present from various Genres from some of the major names in music and also see what symbolism and lyrics are used. I'll leave the why for you to figure out. The interpretation just like a painting is down to the individual.

You will notice with most of these music videos that the stars are not stripping off, there is no rampant occult symbolism, hypnotic dance routines, the in your face energy levels are turned down a few notches, things are vibing on a deeper level here, waters that run way way deeper, these are songs that contain the truth and have no hidden agenda and appeal more to a deep down human level as in your soul. You could say some may have some sort of "rock your very foundations" and life changing qualities about them. These are the sort of songs that even played decades from now never lose their power. Some songs will make you laugh
, some will make you nod in agreement, some will make you cry. Some are the official music videos others are live performances where in my opinion that performance exceeded the original live music video.

Some videos have been included that are not immediately apparent as religious but on closer inspection they are but in a more subtle way. Some videos included are personal reruns' of my past life, they may be for you too 16, 18 and 24 are very much myself and my past life but are more probably about City life and stresses but do have religious undertones. Some videos will have obvious words such as God or Jesus but words such as faith, light, holy, hope, forgiveness, the other side and love in a spiritual sense are indicators that something deeper may be implied within the lyrics

Some darker videos have been included in the final section which work in an Illuminati style but coming at you with Christian symbolism or lyrics but meant in a darker more blasphemous way, you can see they clearly have a different agenda. Is there back masking in these videos. I don't know, to be honest I don't want to know or even care. These were highly controversial videos at the time of release causing all sorts of outrage and they still do to this day. I've included them here as a polarity illustration along the similar lines of the previous Good Vs Evil post.

1. Adele Hello Oct 2015

Over 1 Billion views! Powerful video, powerful vocal performance, powerful main  message with many possible spiritual hidden messages.  On the surface the first interpretation it's about failed relationships, loss, pain, guilt,  but it could also be applied to repentance. Yes there are very strong repentance under currents moving within this video. Picked this still above from the video as it looks like she is almost, almost about to pray?

The second interpretation and according to Adele in a recent interview Hello’ is just about reconnecting with everyone else and myself. From the other side, I couldn’t get over my guilt of leaving my kid to go and write a record and stuff like that. So getting over that— getting on the other side of that. It was just, you know, it’s in general, just hello to everyone.”

The third interpretation is mine and I think this song is definetly about repentance and asking for forgiveness. At 4:08 she looks up at the sky and says "I'm sorry for EVERYTHING that I've done". At 4:41 she has her hands together praying style and at 5:57 she has her hands clasped and eyes closed. Those things are definetly there and are not there by accident. Lastly the continued reference to "the other side" also has strong spiritual connotations! Just a music video but has we have seen with David Bowie and Lazarus, music is a form of expression and a releasing of innermost thoughts coming from the very soul of that person.

I've seen a fourth Illuminati interpretation in this song, search on You Tube, it's there. I didn't watch and I've turned a blind eye and let sleeping dogs lie on that one.

Hello Sample Lyrics
There's such a difference between us
And a million miles
Hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times to tell you
I'm sorry, for everything that I've done”

Relevant Biblical Quotes
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,
Heb 6:19
For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death.
2 Cor 7:10

2. David Bowie Lazarus Jan 2016

Look up here, I'm in heaven
I've got scars that can't be seen
I've got drama, can't be stolen
Everybody knows me now

3. Coldplay Viva La Vida Live Glastonbury 2011

I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know St Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

16 and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Eph 6:16-17

4. U2 One Unplugged 2011?

Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
We hurt each other
Then we do it again

5. Swing Low Sweet Chariot Ella Eyre 2015

Well, now I looked over Jordan and what did I see
Comin' for to carry me home
There was a band of angels a comin' after me
Comin' for to carry me home

Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home

Well, I'm sometimes up and I'm sometimes down
Comin' for to carry me home
But I know my soul is heavenly bound
Comin' for to carry me home

6. Natasha Bedingfield Pocketful of Sunshine 2008

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gte3BoXKwP0

There's a place that I go
That nobody knows
Where the rivers flow
And I call it home
And there's no more lies
And the darkness is light
And nobody cries
there's only butterflies

[Chorus 2x]

The sun is on my side
Take me for a ride
I smile up to the sky
I know I'll be alright

Therefore see to it that the light in you is not darkness.
Luke 11:35

7. Bruce Springsteen Streets of Philadelphia 1993

Ain't no angel gonna greet me
It's just you and I my friend
And my clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles just to slip this skin

The night has fallen, I'm lying awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me brother with your faithless kiss
Or will we leave each other alone like this
On the streets of Philadelphia

Relevant Biblical Quote
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell and locked them up in chains in utter darkness, to be kept until the judgment,
2 Pet 2:4

8. Taylor Swift -- "Eyes Open" 2015

So here you are, two steps ahead and staying on guard
Every lesson forms a new scar
They never thought you'd make it this far
But turn around, they've surrounded you
It's a showdown, and nobody comes to save you now
But you've got something they don't
Yeah you've got something they don't
You've just gotta keep your eyes open

Relevant Bible Quote
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober.
1 Ths 5:4-6

9. Katy Perry Unconditionally 2013

Come just as you are to me
Don't need apologies
Know that you are worthy
I'll take your bad days with your good
Walk through this storm I would
I'd do it all because I love you, I love you

Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
There is no fear now
Let go and just be free
I will love you unconditionally

Relevant Biblical Quote
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him.
John 14:23

10. Bruce Springsteen The Rising 2002

There's spirits above and behind me
Faces gone black, eyes burnin' bright
May their precious blood bind me
Lord, as I stand before your fiery light

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la - la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la - la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

I see you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin' on the end of my line

11. Tori Amos Crucify 1991

I've been looking for a savior...
Looking for a savior...
I've been raising up my hands...
Got enough guilt to start my own religion
Please be save me
I cry

12. Bob Marley Redemption Song Live

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery,
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Some say it's just a part of it,
We've got to fulfill the book.

13. Run Snow Patrol 2003

Lead singer Gary Lightbody said of the song in Q Magazine April 2007: "I've never told anyone before and I don't want to spoil it for people because it has its own meaning for them. But in 2000 I was on a massive bender and one night I was drinking in the bar of the Glasgow School Of Art. I fell down a full flight of stairs. Jonny Quinn (Snow Patrol's drummer) found me in the stairwell with blood coming out of my head. He said I looked like a police chalk line and he thought I was dead.

I was very lucky. A fall like that could easily finish you off. I split my head open and my eye was closed and I lost a few teeth. I was put on a plane to see my mum and dad and they were terrified when they saw me. I wrote Run soon after in this little guitar I'd tried to smash up in my S--t little room near Hillhead. The words 'Light up, light up' gave this sense of a beacon. There had to be a light at the end of a tunnel."

Lyrics
I'll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You've been the only thing that's right
In all I've done

And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we'll make it anywhere
Away from here

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

14. The National Demons 2013

Huddle with them all night long
The worried talk to God goes on
I sincerely tried to love it
I wish that I could rise above it

But I stay down with my demons
I stay down with my demons
I stay down with my demons
I stay down with my demons
I stay down with my demons

Relevant Bible Quote:
Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.
Luke 8:30

15. George Michael Jesus to a Child 1995

Sadness
In my eyes
No one guessed
Or no one tried
You smiled at me
Like Jesus to a child

Loveless and cold
With your last breath
You saved my soul
You smiled at me
Like Jesus to a child

Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matt 11:29

16. Craig David Walking Away 2000

Well I don't want to live a lie
Too many sleepless nights
Not mentioning the fights
I'm sorry to say lady

I'm walking away
From the troubles in my life
I'm walking away
Oh, to find a better day

17. Him Lily Allen 2009

Would you please take me away from this place
I cannot bear to see the look upon your faces
And if there is some kind of god do you think he's pleased
When he looks down on us I wonder what he sees
Do you think he'd think the things we do are a waste of time
Maybe he'd think we are getting on just fine

18. Under the Bridge All Saints 1997

Sometimes I feel
Like I don't have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angels
Lonely as I am
Together we cry

I drive on her streets
'Cause she's my companion
I walk through her hills
'Cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie

19. What I've Done Linkin Park 2007

Put to rest what you thought of me
While I clean this slate
With the hands of uncertainty
So let mercy come and wash away
What I've done

I'll face myself to cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

20. Time of your life Green Day 1997

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right
I hope you had the time of your life

21. Who will save your soul Jewel. 1995

You got social security, but that don't pay your bills
There are addictions to feed and there are mouths to pay
So you bargain with the Devil, say you're ok for today,
You say that you love them, take their money and run
Say it's been swell, sweetheart, but it was just one of those things
Those flings, those strings you've got to cut,
So get out on the streets, girls, and bust you butts.
Who will save you soul when it comes to the flower
Who will save you soul after all the lies that you told, boy
Who will save your soul if you won't save you own?

22. Time after Time Cyndi Lauper 1983

If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting

Time after time
Time after time
Time after time
Time after time
Time after time

23. Bridge over Troubled Water Simon and Garfunkel 1970

When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all

I'm on your side

When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

24. Bittersweet Symphony The Verve 1997

Well I never pray,
But tonight I'm on my knees, yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,

25. In your eyes Peter Gabriel 1986

In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
The heat I see in your eyes

26. Let it be The Beatles Live 90s

And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

27. Nine Inch Nails Terrible Lie 1989

My head is filled with disease.
My skin is begging you please.
I'm on my hands and knees
I want so much to believe.
Don't take it away from me.
I need someone to hold on to.
Don't take it away from me.
I need someone to hold on to
I give you everything.
My sweet everything
Hey God, I really don't know who I am.
In this world of p#ss

28. Alice in Chains Heaven Beside You 1995

Go out and seek your truth
When I'm down and blue
Rather be me than you
Like the coldest winter chill

Heaven beside you, hell within
Like the coldest winter chill
Heaven beside you, hell within
Like the coldest winter will

29. Vampire Weekend's "Unbelievers" 2013

If I’m born again I know that the world will disagree
Want a little grace
But who’s going to say a little grace for me?

We know the fire awaits unbelievers
All of the sinners the same
Girl you and I will die unbelievers
Bound to the tracks of the train

I’m not excited
But should I be
Is this the fate that half of the world has planned for me?

30. God shuffled his feet Crash Test Dummies 2007

After seven days
He was quite tired, so god said:
"Let there be a day
Just for picnics, with wine and bread"
He gathered up some people he had made
Created blankets and laid back in the shade

The people sipped their wine
And what with God there, they asked him questions
Like: do you have to eat
Or get your hair cut in heaven?
And if your eye got poked out in this life
Would it be waiting up in heaven with your wife?

Music Videos with blatant Religious Symbolism

1. Madonna Live to tell confessions tour Live 2006

I know where beauty lives
I've seen it once, I know the warmth she gives
The light that you could never see
It shines inside you - can't take that from me

A man can tell a thousand lies
I've learned my lesson well
Hope I live to tell the secret I have learned
Till then, it will burn inside of me

2. Lady Gaga Judas 2011

In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance
Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind
But in the cultural sense
I just speak in future tense
Judas kiss me if offenced,
Or wear an ear condom next time

I wanna love you, but something's pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue and Judas is the demon I cling to I cling to

Also Alajandro with her as a Nun eating a Rosary?

3. Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” 1989

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there

I hear your voice, it's like an angel sighing
I have no choice, I hear your voice
Feels like flying
I close my eyes, Oh God I think I'm falling
Out of the sky, I close my eyes
Heaven help me

4. Marilyn Manson’s “Coma White” 1998

In addition to Marilyn Manson and Rose McGowan reenacting the Kennedy assassination, this controversial video features crosses everywhere and ends with Manson being crucified on one.

5. Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” 1993

Nirvana in a controversial way manages to capture the spirit of both popular Christmas spirits, Jesus and Santa Claus, by having an old man in a Santa hat hang himself on a cross (his hat later changes to a pope-like head adornment) and accompanied by Crows.  There’s also a  girl in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. All very Kurt Cobain!