Mumford & Sons - Timshel Lyrics Meaning

I've never gotten anything about abortion out of this song. I think maybe the reason people connect the song with abortion is because of the "pro choice" slogan and it's broad use in today's society.

If you're as big of a Steinbeck buff as me (Especially East of Eden-- it's like the bible but better), you connect the word choice with Timshel first, East of Eden second, your life third, and abortion maybe sixteenth or seventeenth.

This song is beautifully written and is a great description of the power in the word that is it's title. If you love East of Edent it's because "timshel" changed your life. "Timshel" doesn't just mean "thou mayest." It means that you have a choice.

In the novel, timshel was used specifically as a blessing- a choice given to a son by a father. One could choose to be good or evil. The character of Samuel Hamilton takes the meaning of the word even further. In context with that character, it means that you can choose whether or not you're going to accept things about yourself as good or evil qualities. Ultimately,"timshel" means that you can be what you want to be- good, evil, different, conformist, optomistic, pessimistic, inventive, strict, enthusiastic. Timshel sets you free.

This song talks about "timshel" in the sense that it was explored in the novel (the foundation for it's extended meaning and importance).

Here's my breakdown:

Cold is the water
it freezes your already cold heart

(The world is a cold place and it increases your tendency to be cold along with it.)

And death is at your doorstep
And it will steal your innocence
But it will not steal your substance

(Death is immenent. Humans realize this immenance and lose the innocent part of themselves that indulges in life without fear of death. But, at the same time, death's immenance creates a purpose for your life and provides a motive for personal substance.)

And you are not alone in this
And you are not alone in this
As brothers we will stand and hold your hand
hold your hand

(I think that this is an allusion to the brotherly bonds in the book. Both Adam and Charles and Aron and Caleb had odd brotherhoods. They had rivalry so intense the it drove them to opposite ends of a spectrum of good and evil (at least in the eyes of the reader- and not really with Caleb) but they were always a partnership- loyal to one another. Maybe this line is a call to help your brother and not let the rivalry hinder your support for one another on life's journey.)

This is the part that gets people

And you are the mother
the mother of your baby child
the one to whom you gave life

(In the book, Kathy/a lot of other names is the mother of the twins Aron and Caleb. She is a symbol for evil. There is absolutely no good in her anywhere. In saying, "you are the mother," M&S is pointing out the inate depravity and evil that lies within all of us.)

But you have your choices
And these are what make men great
His ladder to the stars

(This is actually an almost direct quote by one of the characters, Lee. I don't know how they got away with that. It is an allusion to the meaning of the word and the song. Right before Lee says this, he says that "timshel" is "possibly the most important word in the world." I think it is. You have your choices. We are inately evil but we don't have to be. We can rise above our evil and be something bigger, in a league with supreme individuals, in the presence of God Himself some day.)

With repitition of the chorus, we are reminded that we can help each other in acheiving this ultimate goal. But the end...

I will tell the night
And whisper, "Lose your sight,"
but I can't move the mountains for your

... is complex, beautiful, and a an aspect of Steinbeck's work that is extremely well thought out.

(I will tell the night, the darkness, the evil to "lose your sight." This is a call of the brother to the evil in his brother to go unseen. The beautiful part is the allusion to the scripture that says, "faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains." In the last line, they are saying, "I can demand the darkness to stay within you, but only you can make the choice and remove it altogether.")

That's just my interpretation of the song. Believe it or not- timshel.