This generation shall not pass

A cryin’ man prays for a peace in his land then raises his arm and closes his hand

To strike the face of the woman he wed children the number one prophet said

This generation shall not pass till all these things will be fulfilled and done

This generation shall not pass before that great day come

The man on the mountain said this last days would bring

Failing up hearts the downfall of kings

Hurt waits in wars and phantoms will spread children the number one prophet said

This generation shall not pass...

When the green leaves cover the big tree of life then understand that summer is nigh

Beware of the world it’s blind and it’s deaf children the number one prophet said

This generation shall not pass...

Back in 1971, the late great Marion Williams recorded this song. What does it mean?

The interpretation is three layers deep. The title and the refrain allude to Mt 24:34, in the KJV (“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled”). Then there’s whatever Henson Cargill had in mind when he incorporated that ancient oracle into his song. Then there’s whatever Williams had in mind when she sang it.

The song contains veiled allusions to the Sixties counterculture. The anti-war movement. The civil rights movement. The “war on poverty.”

The imagery is rather vague, intentionally so–I suspect–because Cargill wanted to do a protest song without, however, alienating his conservative country-western constituency.

It’s easy for me to read between the lines because I myself lived through that era. I also know a few things about Cargill, and a good deal more about Williams. Cf. Tony Heilbut, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times. 

But suppose I stumbled across this recording hundreds of years later? To know what it means, you need to know something about Cargill’s background, as well as Marian Williams, as well as when the song was composed, as well as when the song was recorded. Otherwise, it would be fairly opaque.

And the same considerations apply to ancient oracles, like Mt 24:34. From our distance, ancient oracles contain vagaries. The topical or literary allusions may often be lost on the modern reader.