People tend to divide themselves. People draw borders, form friend groups, join clubs and find endless other methods to make their lives unique. For some people, that group is a religious one. Singer-songwriter Joshua Tillman (better known by his stage name Father John Misty) is someone who has become conflicted with the groups he grew up with. He was raised a Catholic and found himself at a conflicting crossroad as he grew older and moved away from his home and religious roots. To discuss his inner conflict with religion and purpose, Tillman wrote a 2017 album titled Pure Comedy, whose titular track presents him as an outsider observing the religious groups he used to be loyal to.
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[Verse 1]
The comedy of man starts like this:
Our brains are way too big for our mothers’ hips
And so nature, she devised this alternative:
We emerge half-formed and hope whoever greets us on the other end
Is kind enough to fill us in
And babies, that’s pretty much how it’s been ever since
Now the miracle of birth leaves a few issues to address
Like, say, that half of us are periodically iron deficient
So somebody’s gotta go kill something while I look after the kids
I’d do it myself, but what, are you gonna do to get this thing its milk?
He says as soon as he gets back from the hunt, we can switch
It’s hard not to fall in love with something so helpless
Ladies, I hope we don’t end up regretting this
[Chorus 1]
Comedy, now that’s what I call pure comedy
Just wait until the part where they start to believe
They’re at the center of everything
And some all-powerful being
Endowed this horror show with meaning
[Verse 2]
Oh, their religions are the best
They worship themselves yet they’re totally obsessed
With risen zombies, celestial virgins, magic tricks
These unbelievable outfits
And they get terribly upset
When you question their sacred texts
Written by woman-hating epileptics
Their languages just serve to confuse them
Their confusion somehow makes them more sure
They build fortunes poisoning their offspring
And hand out prizes when someone patents a cure
Where did they find these goons they elected to rule them?
What makes these clowns they idolize so remarkable?
These mammals are hell-bent on fashioning new gods
So they can go on being godless animals
[Chorus 2]
Oh comedy, their illusions they have no choice but to believe
Their horizons that just forever recede
And how’s this for irony:
Their idea of being free is a prison of beliefs
That they never ever have to leave
Oh comedy, oh it’s like something that a madman would conceive!
The only thing that seems to make them feel alive
Is the struggle to survive
But the only thing that they request
Is something to numb the pain with
Until there’s nothing human left
[Outro]
Just random matter suspended in the dark
I hate to say it, but each other’s all we’ve got
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The first verse looks at luck and the hunter-gatherer origins of humans. I personally like the line which says, “We emerge half-formed and hope whoever greets us on the other end / Is kind enough to fill us in.” He emphasizes how everything we do in our life, can often be decided at birth depending on what family we are born into, where that family is located, and what that family decides to teach their child. In the first chorus, he sings that it’s comedic that people think “they’re at the center of everything,” while he sees the whole experience as luck based on the first verse, so he questions why people think they are so special.
In the second verse, Tillman takes some direct shots at religious teachings. Specifically, how people “get terribly upset” when you “question their sacred texts.” I would also say he makes fun of capitalism when he sings, “They build fortunes poisoning their offspring / And hand out prizes when someone patents a cure.” I read that line as him describing situations where the richest people in society run these corporations that can destroy people’s health and happiness, like fast food and social media, and then teach their kids how to continue exactly what they started.
I personally don’t believe that this song is meant to tell people not to be religious. In fact, after releasing the album, Tillman said “For all intents and purposes, I am a Christian,” and his stage name is a reference to his religious childhood. Instead, in the final chorus, he ultimately presents his frustration with people whom “their idea of being free is a prison of beliefs.” This whole song is him doing the exact opposite. By pointing out all the irony in the human experience, he’s taking a step outside the beliefs that he was trapped inside for most of his upbringing. He realizes that all he can do is laugh at how absurd the divisions people create because of ideologies like religious beliefs. In the final line, he laments, “I hate to say it, but each other’s all we’ve got,” which wraps up the entire song with a message promoting unity despite what Tillman has been led to believe his entire life where politicians, religious leaders, and parents are always describing who we should be afraid of.
I would say that certain elements of this song are a bit overdramatic and not necessarily indicative of problems with religion. However, I would say that he ultimately highlights one of the biggest problems with society today: the inability to take a step back and laugh. Especially with political polarization on the rise, some people could certainly benefit from laughing at their own beliefs. Would you say that “taking a step back” is a skill that can be taught or is it something that only happens in cases like Tillman’s where he becomes frustrated with the system he’s in?
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