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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage

"wings of a dove" - idiomatic? connotations?

Hi everyone!
In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young calls out to "Goin' after Satan / On the wings of a dove". I was wondering about how idiomatic this "wings of a dove" image sounds to native speakers, since I read / heard it in a number of different contexts. Is it a common phrase? And what are its usual connotations, particularly in the song cited above? Does Young suggest to "go SWIFTLY after Satan" or to confront Satan peacefully? And if the latter seems to be implied: Would native speakers understand this line as being ironic?
Regards,
Andreas.
  

Top answer

Andreas Schlenger (Email Removed) wrote on 02 Jan 2004: [nq:1]Hi everyone! In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young calls out to "Goin' after Satan / On the wings ... confront Satan peacefully?

  • Andreas Schlenger (Email Removed) wrote on 02 Jan 2004: [nq:1]Hi everyone!
  • In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young calls out to "Goin' after Satan / On the wings ...
  • confront Satan peacefully?
  • [/nq] Sounds like wunna them good ol' boy cuntry songs ta me: Wings Of A Dove ~*~ On the wings of a snow-white dove He sends His pure sweet love A sign from above (sign from above) On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove) ~*~ When troubles surround us, when evils come The body grows weak (body grows weak) The spirit grows numb (spirit grows numb) When these things beset us, He doesn't forget us He sends down His love (sends down His love) On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove) ~*~ On the wings of a snow-white dove He sends His pure sweet love A sign from above (sign from above) On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove) ~*~ When Noah had drifted on the flood many days He searched for land (he searched for land) In various ways (various ways) Troubles, he had some but wasn't forgotten He sent him His love (sent him His love) On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove) ~*~ On the wings of a snow-white dove He sends His pure sweet love A sign from above (sign from above) On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove) ~*~ On the wings of a snow-white dove He sends His pure sweet love A sign from above (sign from above) On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove) Recorded by: Ferlin Husky Words and Music by Robert B.
  • Ferguson Sequenced by Redsal Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
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26 Answers
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Andreas Schlenger (Email Removed) wrote on 02 Jan 2004:
[nq:1]Hi everyone! In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young calls out to "Goin' after Satan / On the wings ... confront Satan peacefully? And if the latter seems to be implied: Would native speakers understand this line as being ironic?[/nq]
Sounds like wunna them good ol' boy cuntry songs ta me:
Wings Of A Dove
~*~
On th
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[nq:1]Hi everyone! In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young calls out to "Goin' after Satan / On the wings ... of different contexts. Is it a common phrase? And what are its usual connotations, particularly in the song cited above?[/nq]
It's a phrase in traditional folk songs and gospel songs. On a hunch, I checked Biblegateway.com, King James version:
Psalm 55:6
And I said, Oh that I
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[nq:1]In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young calls out to "Goin' after Satan / On the wings of a ... confront Satan peacefully? And if the latter seems to be implied: Would native speakers understand this line as being ironic?[/nq]
It's certainly familiar to me, but from a piece of church music written by Mendelssohn: "O for the wings of a dove."
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[nq:1]Hi everyone! In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young calls out to "Goin' after Satan / On the wings ... peacefully? And if the latter seems to be implied: Would native speakers understand this line as being ironic? Regards, Andreas.[/nq]
Certainly well known in the UK from 'O for the Wings of a Dove', a musical setting by Mendelssohn of Psalm 55 which I remember singing in Church as a
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MC schrieb:
[nq:1] It's certainly familiar to me, but from a piece of church music written by Mendelssohn: "O for the wings of a dove."[/nq]
Thanks a lot for all the replies so far. It seems to me that the strongest connotation of the line is that of freedom, swiftness and mobility in context with religious (but not necessarily peaceful) implications.
Andreas.
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[nq:2]Hi everyone! In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young ... implied: Would native speakers understand this line as being ironic?[/nq]
[nq:1]Sounds like wunna them good ol' boy cuntry songs ta me: Wings Of A Dove ~*~ On the wings of ... pure sweet love A sign from above (sign from above) On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove)[/nq]
[nq:2]Recorded by: Ferlin Husky[/nq]
[nq:1]Words
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"Maria Conlon" (Email Removed) wrote on 03 Jan 2004:
[nq:2]Sounds like wunna them good ol' boy cuntry songs ta ... On the wings of a dove (wings of a dove)[/nq]
[nq:2]Words and Music by Robert B. Ferguson Sequenced by Redsal[/nq]
[nq:1]That was the first thing that came to my mind, too, Franke. The song enjoyed a bit of "cross-over" popularity ... Detroit. Um... about your first line (
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[nq:1]Hi everyone! In the lyrics to "Let's roll", Neil Young calls out to "Goin' after Satan / On the wings ... confront Satan peacefully? And if the latter seems to be implied: Would native speakers understand this line as being ironic?[/nq]
It would need more than just two lines to be able to see whether irony was intended.
In a Christian context "the wings of a dove" might allude to the
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Steve Hayes schrieb:
[nq:1] It would need more than just two lines to be able to see whether irony was intended. [/nq]
The "story" of the song is told from the perspective of a passenger on one of the flights which crashed or were supposed to crash into the WTC / Pentagon / (White House). The speaker describes how the passengers decide to attack the hijackers and concludes with the general
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[nq:2] That was the first thing that came to my ... "country" would have been the better spelling, dialect or not.[/nq]
[nq:1]You might be right, but I was thinking of Shakespeare's "country matters" and the general nature of country music.[/nq]
Now, now, Franke. We know you've been singing along with it. The 'Sequenced by...' is a dead giveaway that you printed the lyrics out from your ka

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