Bad Religion

I agree with this being about a struggle between his homosexuality and god.<br /> This song reminds me of Rufus Wainwright's 'The Maker Makes.' It's the same concept of one's homosexuality keeping them from being close to god. <br /> <br /> "One more chain I break, to get me closer to you<br /> One more chain does the maker make, to keep me from bustin' through<br /> ......<br /> One more smile I fake, 'n try my best to be glad<br /> One more smile does the maker make, because he knows I'm sad<br /> <br /> Oh Lord, how I know,<br /> Oh Lord, how I see, that only can the maker make a happy man of me"<br />

I dunno - I think the use of religion in the lyrics, here, is metaphorical. He's equating unrequited love with a religious experience. And, frankly, I think saying the song is "as simple" as being about a boy who didn't like him back diminishes its brilliance is a) diminishing the significance of this event in the artist's life (love, especially first love, can be an intense and life-altering experience) and b) ignoring the fact that some of the most profound and moving poetry in human history has been written about exactly that kind of thing.

I agree with gumbercules. I upvoted both of your comments, though, as I feel that there's always room for a richness/depth of meanings within a song. Why can't it be about both a god and a human being who (he feels) don't return his love.

"One-man cult" I think pretty clearly paints this is as not literally about God/religion, but about being in love with someone so much you idolize them/put them on a pedestal. <br /> <br /> How would it being about a boy who didn't like him back diminish its brilliance? Genius art is made about love all the time. More than anything else, it would seem. Not to mention, this is different than a straight love story. There is special significance with a story of gay unrequited love. There are different implications there, a different struggle. A boy not liking him back means more than just that--it's about how shame, the disguise, and the challenge of finding love as a gay man (or lesbian woman.)

&b community which Frank Ocean is a part of. So not only is he feeling heartbroken and despondent, he has to keep these feelings inside of him in order to fit in with people who would not understand.

Okay, I'm going to get a lot of hell for this. (No pun intended) But I sometimes wonder...although the lyrics of the first stanza state they say "I could never make him love me." Every time I hear album version of the first stanza. There's a slight change in pitch from first "him" to second "him". It sounds like he's singing: "I could never make God love me. Never make him (aka Him) love me." I wonder if this song is more about his struggle with acceptance of faith. Aka Organized Religion. Possibly even the fact that he feels he doesn't deserve that love..or faith. That's what I'm getting out of it. Does anybody else hear the "God" instead of "him" from the first stanza? Or is it me hearing it cos I was listening to it while having my "herbal tea"?