The Mirror of the Soul — Chris de Burgh

Music for the soul

You probably have heard songs by Chris de Burgh on the radio before like, Lady in Red or Don’t Pay the Ferryman. But if you dig deeper into the library of all the songs that this prolific writer has penned, you begin to discover that many of his songs tell stories.

This morning, I was reminded through my own writings and ponderings of the song The Mirror of the Soul.

This is a song about the ways that established religions can often lead us astray from our true path, and forget to find the Mirror of the Soul that lives deep within us all. We all have our own goodness, just as we all have sin. As we begin to aspire towards our higher nature, we become who we are meant to be.

Brother, there’s a man at the gate, he has something in his hand; He says it fell down from the sky, should I let him in? Maybe it’s an omen, maybe it will take away our sin, our sin…..

’Tis a diamond that he has, the biggest one I’ve ever seen, And when he holds it in his hand, it’s shining like the sun, He says it’s from another world, he calls it the mirror of the soul;

We must place it on the altar high, send the Devil to the fire, Power over men we’ll have when they see it shine, when they see it shine;

Brother, fetch the Abbot now, tell him of this wondrous thing, Tell him that we’ll have control of all the riches it will bring; When people come to see it, for money we will purify their souls, their souls;

With my knife I’ll kill this man, I’ll send him to the Promised Land, And when we take the diamond, we will have the future in our hands, In our hands;

When we place it on the altar high, send the Devil to the fire, Power over men we’ll have when they see it shine, when they see it shine!

Religious practitioners in this story take the Mirror of the Soul from the true seeker who brought it to them in pureness of heart by force. Why they felt like they had to kill him to take his treasure is unclear, as he brought it without any motivation to keep it for himself.

Sometimes, the church is this way. Guarding its secrets as something precious, in an attempt to use religion to hold power over others. True religion isn’t meant to be about controlling others, but we often see it twisted this way by those who don’t have a pure motivation in their spirituality.

That’s how it started, that whole new religion, and people everywhere, Had to give up all their possessions at the Abbe St. Pierre, But with their gold they could buy a redemption, and the promise of Eternal life, And the center of it all was a diamond divine, It was up there on the altar high but for the monks it would not shine, So with subterfuge they used the light of the sun, fooling everyone;

When someone claims to have the Truth, or a Truth, people flock to them. Everyone wants to find a way to find salvation, purpose, and something greater than themselves. Those who profess to have this take power over others by placing themselves as the purveyors of salvation.

It was late at night when a young boy was in there with his friends, And they dared him up to the altar, to touch the famous gem, And when he did, the whole place exploded with a great and wonderful light, And people came from everywhere to see it, When he took it from the altar high, everyone could make it shine, Except the Abbot and his men, for them, no light, They could not make it shine.

The Truth will always find a way to shine it’s way through the darkness. Those with pure hearts and intentions are able to bring the world alight in a different way than those who want to hide the Truth for themselves. When you have pure motivations, you make the world shine in a whole different way.

And in the end, many heard the brothers, making confession of the Things they had done, And the Abbot led that sad procession, as they went through the Gate past the place where it had begun;

And all their dreams of glory, all their schemes and stories, Would come to nothing after all, Because a power greater from the world’s creator Gave us love to light the mirror of the soul, Only love can light the mirror of the soul;

All through the world, there are many others, who always follow Everything they are told, By men with rules and regulations, using old superstitions and Tales to assume control;

But all their dreams of glory, all their schemes and stories, Will come to nothing after all, Because a power greater from the world’s creator Gave us love to light the mirror of the soul, Only love can light the mirror of the soul;

When the Truth surfaces, it can cause many of us to look inward at our own faults and shortcomings. No matter how hidden the true path may seem, or how many people may assert control over others using religion, it can never last forever if it isn’t the truth.

As they say, “The truth will out.”

It always does. And when that happens, those who had attempted to use Truth as a scarce resource will lose their grip over others. More and more people will realize that the Truth is right there in front of them, plain as day to see.

You can find the Mirror of the Soul in your own life. Just walk towards the light, and it will guide you towards it’s brilliant, blinding Source. Once you find the source of the light, you will realize that you possess within yourself the power to make it shine.

I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do, and that it provides you a little perspective on the corruption that can take place though religion when it is misused by those who only seek power.

If you love music the way that I do, and like reading commentary on songs, check out the rest of my list, Music for the Soul.