modus operandi

In his song "When you give it away" from the album "Breakfast in New Orelans," Canadian musician Bruce Cockburn says
"Deep in the city of the saints and fools
Pearls before pigs and dung become jewels
I sit down with tigers, I sit down with lambs
None of them know who exactly I am"

I would never want to project my understanding of an artwork on an artist as being his intent, but, I do have a romantic notion of what he might have meant. As a Christian and a serious artist, he must feel lonely. The Christian music audience, as well as the Christian music industry, could not be home for him. They could never understand his use of language they might deem objectionable, his left-leaning politics, or his refusal to obey the arbitrary standards to which the contemporary Christian music industry often holds artists. However, he probably will never be overly-popular in the so-called secular world either. I don't know if it is that he is too candid, or perhaps if he is perceived as being too religious. Perhaps his concern for suffering and injustice offends people as it did with Christ. Whatever the reason, I assume he feels a bit alienated from this audience as well. I would not describe myself as an artist. I am a teacher, a father, a student, a friend, a son, and a husband. In my attempt to do these things, and do them well, I find this song resonating with me. Cockburn might say that I am totally missing his point. I may be. Words, though, do not always have one meaning. The older I get, and the more I think about the teachings of Christ, the more I feel loneliness in the midst of my surroundings. My purpose is to elaborate on why, evaluate myself, hopefully be evaluated, and possibly to provoke some thought in others. There is one other line in the song that will be critical for me. He says "I was wearing OJ's gloves, and I couldn't get 'em off." I think his song is not written from some elitist perspective of world-loathing. It is born out of careful self-examination, and a desperate attempt to place himself in existance. I don't want to complain about everyone and subsequently set myself up as some type of hero or martyr. I just want to document what it is like on the road (sorry J.K.).