Classic Rock Lyrics No One Can Explain

Dio's epic 1983 song "Holy Diver"certainly tells a story; the only problem is you're never quite sure exactly what's going on. First, you've got the titular Holy Diver, who has been "down too long in the midnight sea" (per Genius). Then, you're riding the tiger and "you can see his stripes, but you know he's

Dio's epic 1983 song "Holy Diver" certainly tells a story; the only problem is you're never quite sure exactly what's going on. First, you've got the titular Holy Diver, who has been "down too long in the midnight sea" (per Genius). Then, you're riding the tiger and "you can see his stripes, but you know he's clean." Amidst pearls of wisdom like "life's a never-ending wheel" and "some light can never be seen," you have a ton of cat-related imagery. And at one point, singer Ronnie James Dio emphatically asks, "Oh, don't you see what I mean?" No, not quite.

As lyricist Ronnie James Dio told Banger in 2004 (via Rocking in the Norselands), it's a religious song about a Christ-like figure on another planet – the Holy Diver – who must travel to other worlds to save more lives. As Dio noted, "The tiger symbolizes strength, while its stripes suggest impurity." Riding the tiger, therefore, meant harnessing its strength without judging its imperfections. He claimed it was a song about the selfishness of humanity, who wanted to keep the Holy Diver to themselves rather than allow him to venture forth and save more people. While Dio's metaphors are sound, the lyrics of this powerful and imaginative song ultimately make sense to him and no one else.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCFlnBwaWpfmLmiv9Kimmaqn5i4brjYq6Ccq12jvG67zZ5knJmeYrK5vMuaoKdn

 Share!