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I only want to say (Gethsemane) (Jesus Christ Superstar)
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This is a fragment of the legendary rock musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". This song shows the time right before Jesus' arrest, when He knew what was going to happen and felt really scared about it. He prayed God to stop it all, to save Him from the cross because He was afraid to die, especially that way. But He finally accepted God's will if die He must, and from that moment He was at peace.

This pray took place at Gethsemane garden (in Mount Olivet), that's why the song is titled "Gethsemane" /geθsemənɪ/.

Will no one stay awake with me?
Peter, John, James?
Will none of you wait with me?
Peter, John, James?

I only want to say,
If there is a way,
Take this cup away from me
For I don't want to taste its poison,
Feel it burn me.
I have changed I'm not as sure
As when we started

Then I was inspired
Now I'm sad and tired.
Listen, surely I've exceeded
Expectations
.
Tried for three years.
Seems like thirty.
Could you ask as much
From any other man
?

But if I die
See the saga through
And do the things you ask of me.
Let them hate me, hit me, hurt me
Nail me to their tree.

I'd want to know
I'd want to know my God
I'd want to know
I'd want to know my God
I'd want to see
I'd want to see my God
I'd want to see
I'd want to see my God

Why I should die?
Would I be more noticed
Than I ever was before?
Would the things I've said and done
Matter any more?

I'd have to know
I'd have to know my Lord
I'd have to know
I'd have to know my Lord
I'd have to see
I'd have to see my Lord
I'd have to see
I'd have to see my Lord
If I die what will be my reward?
If I die what will be my reward?
I'd have to know
I'd have to know my Lord
I'd have to know
I'd have to know my Lord
Why, why should I die?
Oh, why should I die?

Can you show me now
That I would not be killed in vain?
Show me just a little
Of your omnipresent brain
Show me there's a reason
For your wanting me to die

Far too keen on where and how
But not so hot on why.

Alright, I'll die!
Just watch me die!
See how, see how I die!
Oh, just watch me die!

Then I was inspired
Now I'm sad and tired.
After all I've tried for three years
Seems like ninety.
Why then am I scared
To finish what I started?
What you started.
I didn't start it.

God thy will is hard
But you hold every card.
I will drink your cup of poison.
Nail me to your cross and break me.
Bleed me, beat me,
Kill me, take me now,
Before I change my mind.

PETER, JOHN, JAMES= Jesus had many disciples (followers), but 12 of them were chosen to be His apostles (missionaries). Three of His apostles were His closest friends: Peter, John and James.
The tomb of St Peter is in Rome (under the Vatican city), the tomb of St John is in Turkey (next to Ephesus) and the tomb of St James is in Spain (in Santiago de Compostela).

NONE= /nʌn/ No one, nobody.

IF THERE IS A WAY= If it is possible; if there is another manner of doing things.

THIS CUP= A cup may refer to a chalice (see picture). Here it refers to "a cup of poison". It is used as a metaphor for all the death and suffering that was to come.

FOR= Because.

[I] FEEL IT BURN ME= I feel it burning me.
In this sentence the subject is missing. The verbs of senses (hear, taste, feel, see, etc.) can be followed by –ing or infinitive without to, though there's usually a little difference in meaning:
- I saw him cross the street (I saw the complete action)
- I saw him crossing the street (I saw him in the middle of the action)

SURELY= For sure.

EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS= If you exceed someone's expectations, you do more than what they expected from you, you do things better than expected.

[I] TRIED FOR THREE YEARS= I made an effort for three years. I've been three years trying to do my mission.

[It] SEEMS LIKE THIRTY= It looks like 30. It was 3 years, but for me, now they look like 30 years, I'm tired and it feels like a very long time.

COULD YOU ASK AS MUCH FROM ANY OTHER MAN?= It is impossible to ask a man for more than what I did. I did all my best, it's impossible for a man to do more than that.

SAGA= A series of events and adventures lived by a hero. It is often used for stories with a lot of suffering and pain. Here, Jesus is referring to His torture and death.

SEE THE SAGA THROUGH= If you see something or someone through, you provide help, comfort and support from the beginning till the end of a difficult situation.

NAIL ME= Drive nails through my body.

THEIR TREE= A symbol for the cross (because the cross was made out of wood from a tree).

I WANT TO SEE= I want to understand.

REWARD= A satisfying return or result; profit.

IN VAIN= For nothing. If something happens in vain, it has no results, it was useless.

OMNIPRESENT BRAIN= Something which is omnipresent is everywhere.
In this song, when Jesus refers to God's "omnipresent brain" He means that God can understand and know everything, so Jesus also wants a little piece of all that knowledge so that He can understand why he must die.

... A REASON FOR YOUR WANTING ME TO DIE= Show me that you want me to die for a good reason.
After prepositions and conjunctions the verb must be in the form –ing, because it acts as a noun. And because it is a noun, it can also have a possessive adjective.

FAR TOO= We use FAR to emphasize TOO (e.g. He's far too tall = He's really, really tall)

KEEN ON= If you're keen on something, you like it very much, you feel fascinated.
- She's very keen on children.

[you were] FAR TOO KEEN ON WHERE AND HOW= You were really explicit about where and how my death would take place. You told me everything about it.

BUT NOT SO HOT ON WHY= (coll.) But you didn't like telling me about why I had to die.
If you're hot on something, you are enthusiastic about it, you really love it.

JUST WATCH ME DIE= At least watch me die, that's all I'm asking for. I need to feel your presence at that moment.

SCARED= Very afraid.

THY= (Old English) Your.
In Old English we had two forms for the modern YOU:
THOU (singular)
YE/ YOU (plural)
The possessive form for the singular THOU was THY.

WILL= Your will is your desires, your wish, what you want.

THY WILL IS HARD= What you want is difficult.

YOU HOLD EVERY CARD= This expression (taken from card games) means that you have all the control, there's nothing I can do.

BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND= Before I decide to do something different.

Christians believe Jesus was the son of God, but they also believe He was a true man. Being God, he pushed the capabilities of humans to the limit, but being a man He could go no farther than that, so He loved as God, but suffered and feared as a perfect man.

The night from Thursday to Friday, after the celebration of the Jewish Pesah dinner (What Christians know as "The Last Supper"), He retired with His disciples to a nearby garden just outside Jerusalem to pray. Everybody knew it was really dangerous for Jesus to be in Jerusalem at that moment, because many wanted to kill Him. His closest disciples, Peter, John and James, accompanied Him to protect Him, but they fell asleep and Jesus was left alone. He knew He was going to be arrested, tortured and killed in the next hours, and He felt really scared about it. So He spent hours in anguish praying to God for strength, but He also asked His father to save Him from those torments and spare His life if it was possible. The Scriptures say He suffered so much that He began to sweat blood (a rare phenomenon that happens in some cases when the person is so stressed and full of anguish that some superficial capillary veins on your face, especially the forehead, explode and little drops of blood cover the skin).

Finally, after hours of praying he was able to accept God's will, whatever it was, and accepted death and torture if that was necessary for the success of His mission on earth. It was then when He pronounced the famous words: "Thy will be done", which means "I accept what you want". A short time later He was arrested and, after torture, He was killed on the cross before the next night. The most painful and humiliating kind of death at the time.

6:16            
 
 

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