5 Meanings
Add Yours
Share
Q&A

Secret Journey Lyrics

Upon a secret journey
I met a holy man
His blindness was his wisdom
I'm such a lonely man

And as the world was turning
It rolled itself in pain
This does not seem to touch you
He pointed to the rain

You will see light in the darkness
You will make some sense of this
And when you've made your secret journey
You will find this love you miss

And on the days that followed
I listened to his words
I strained to understand him
I chased his thoughts like birds

You will see light in the darkness
You will make some sense of this
And when you've made your secret journey
You will find this love you miss

You will see light in the darkness
You will make some sense of this
You will see joy in this sadness
You will find this love you miss

And when you've made your secret journey
You will be a holy man
And when you've made your secret journey
You will be a holy man

{fade}

And when you've made your secret journey
You will be a holy man
And when you've made your secret journey
You will be a holy man
Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.

5 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Cover art for Secret Journey lyrics by Police, The

A wonderful song, very straightforward. A young man receives training by a sage -- very "Eastern" in nature. The novel "Siddhartha" has a storyline like the one described in the song.

Cover art for Secret Journey lyrics by Police, The

“Secret Journey,” with its talk of holy men and “light in the darkness,” was based on Gurdjieff’s book, Meetings with Remarkable Men. The text narrated the exploits of a group of spiritual adventurers out searching for hidden mysteries, emotionally unattached to phenomena which are ultimately as fleeting as the rain, and thereby finding joy and love in life’s play of sadness and pain. In one of the semi-autobiographical tales, Gurdjieff himself was blindfolded (“His blindness was his wisdom”) and led to an enigmatic monastery.

[From Rock & Holy Rollers: The Spiritual Beliefs of Chart-Topping Rock Stars in Their Lives and Lyrics by Geoffrey D. Falk.]

Cover art for Secret Journey lyrics by Police, The

Maybe it has something to do with the masons? The song is 3:33 seconds long alluding to some Masonic symbolism. Also, the masons believe that in the darkness you will find the light (the light being lucifer or something to that degree). The only reason I believe it to be Masonic is because it's 3:33 seconds long and is about a secret journey or secret society and has to do with becoming a holy man which is what the masons strive to do. Am I wrong? Let me know what you think

Cover art for Secret Journey lyrics by Police, The

I thought it meant a man went on a "secret journey" [secret = personal?] and found himself. The holy man was himself. But that doesn't make much sense.

@DJgif Actually, I think this is exactly what Sting meant.

Cover art for Secret Journey lyrics by Police, The

@ DJgif:

Oh sure, that would make sense! I actually like the idea: The narrator meets the older and wiser version of himself (the holy man) who tells him that he shouldn't worry because eventually everything had worked out well (or will work out well, depending on which point of view you're talking from).

In general, I think this is a very nice song of describing the relationship to a person, older than you and experienced in how to handle their life, who had a special influence on you (eg. your parents, a teacher, an older colleague/friend).

"And as the world was turning It rolled itself in pain This does not seem to touch you He pointed to the rain You will see light in the darkness You will make some sense of this "

I think what these lines want to say is: When you're young, you often worry too much about things (you think the problem you're just dealing with is so big that it makes the earth roll in pain) and every now and then it's good to have someone older and wiser around you, who proves you that life always goes on and that maybe you will see things from a different point of view as time goes on.

However, for the younger one it's often difficult to understand what the older one wants to tell them, simply because they lack personal experience:

"I listened to his words I strained to understand him I chased his thoughts like birds"

As for the image of the "holy man": A priest recently told me that in the Catholic church, somebody who's "holy" is not seen as a perfect person but as someone "who made the best of their talents given" or, speaking more informally, "who did it right". I don't know if Sting meant it that way when he chose the word "holy", but anyway I think it fits.