Crossfit, Paleo, Positive Psychology, Lifehacking. My daily goal is to make my next problem a high quality problem. Self improvement is a game of existential Russian roulette. I've never felt more alive.

"Be a big social experiment in getting what you don't want. Find value in what we've been taught is worthless." - Chuck Palahinuk
Title: Samson Artist: Regina Spektor 31 plays

What was Samson’s passion?

The biblical story of Samson and Delilah is my favorite love story. Samson, whose perspective I believe was captured in the song below, willingly gave up his strength for Delilah. Below, is someone’s interpretation of the song:


 “I think the narrator of this song— Delilah— is lamenting about what could have been. Because she secretly did love Samson. All of the stories say that Samson loved Delilah, and make no mention of her returning the feelings. The lyric “I loved you first” seems to imply that not only did she love him back, but she loved him before he even loved her.

As I see it, this song is about how she imagined a different ending for their tragic romance. In this version, after she cuts his hair, he just eats a piece of bread, tells her it’s okay, it’s all right, nothing has changed. They make love and get a happy ending.

And in her version, the Bible doesn’t even mention them because what she did didn’t matter— he didn’t change history, and they just loved each other, quietly.”

In the tale, Samson became powerless and ordinary and Delilah had to leave. With no hair/strength Samson had his eyes gouged out and was ridiculed, humiliated, and sent to slave away in the mines. They weren’t allowed to be in love because of their importance in everyone else’s lives.

She loved him first and he loved her too, but together “We couldn’t bring the columns down, No we couldn’t bring down a single one.” Ironically, I know you had to go because I wasn’t christian enough for your family to keep the columns from crashing down on their world. I hope the part in our story that comes across to you the most is “he told me that I had done alright and he kissed me till the morn’ light, the morn’ light.” They were both what the other needed but we never hear about that, “the bible didn’t mention us” [Samson is mentioned in the bible, us = as a couple].

Samson gave up his strength and fell into a doomed life because he loved her enough to let her go, which btw makes Romeo and Juliet look like they took the easy way out! Samson’s complete submission to a powerless miserable life was an expression ofhis capacity to unconditionally forgive the woman he loved. The only thing Samson would have to comfort him while he spent the rest of his life in blind slavery was the memory of Delilah’s love held against his unwavering acceptance of her love. She didn’t trick him and really did love him first. He knew this was true, because he would have never have allowed his hair/strength to be vulnerable to Delilah unless he truly loved her back.

Sound familiar?….I get it now, I mean Delilah does end the song with “You are my sweetest downfall. I loved you first, I loved you first”


2 years ago April 16, 2011 via 4 notes