Tough to say. But the consensus would seem to indicate it is either about 1) being addicted to heroin or 2) a scuba-diving priest with some creepy fetishes.
I think I'm the only one in Texas who doesn't love that song.
Holy Diver is about having a hard time changing the oil on your Harley Davidson motorcycle!
Holy Diver = HD = Harley Davidson
...down too long in the midnight sea.
Friggin oilpan drainplug too difficult to reach.
..ride the tiger
You know this is a specially painted bike! Kinda yellowish-orangish with STRIPES and the thing is CLEAN.
...shiny diamonds.
Reflections in the murky oil.
...something is coming for you.
wife/girlfriend/significant other is tired of your piddlin around with the bike and wants some seafood, dammit!
Race for the morning.
Gotta get the bike back together before work tomorrow.
You can hide in the sun 'till you see the light
What? This didnt translate well from the original Italian
Oh we will pray it's all right
After working on an older vehicle, you know about this prayer.
Between the velvet lies, there's a truth that's hard as steel. The vision never dies
This is some variation on the Harley brochure-sales pitch...and I think a nod to Ben Stiller's short film 'Heat Vision and Jack', where Owen Wilson played a motorcycle. Though the film came after the song....Dio is a magical prophet!
Lifes a never-ending wheel
wheels = motorcycle
You're the star of the masquerade. No need to look so afraid
Talking to your vehicle as you work on it. Trying to butter it up so the friggin thing will START on the first try.
Naaaah. Ronnie is a genius but sometimes a banana is just a banana. The dude likes putting 'eye/rainbow/life wheel/wishing well' imagery in as many songs as he can. Sometimes it works and sometimes its a mishmash of cool phrases in a jumble. The video of him in a deserted church with his leathers and a sword doesnt help explaining the song. But I bet Ive seen that video a couple dozen times and would still watch it all the way through.
You cant take my word for it though, I used Dio as my 'Use an artists songtitles to describe yourself' thread somewhere on these forums.
Back when Dio wrote those songs, he said in a Hit Parader interview that he was highly inspired by the Olympics. So... Diver... being the Last in Line... he said the seed of the ideas was inspired by sports. Not a sexy explanation, but horse's mouth anyway.
Nomad, great deconstruction!
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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Killswitch's cover does indeed kick ass.
I had always thought (and heard) alternatively that it was either about heroin addiction or nothing at all - just a jumble of lyrics to underscore a hair metal hit.
Although, I've come across references that the song is deeper than that, and deals with man's struggle to reach enlightenment. There's a book called "Ride the Tiger" which came out in 1961 that Dio is rumored to have read before he wrote Holy Diver, which deals with the same existential theme.
Check out a summary of the book here.
Really, I guess it depends on your view of Dio - drugged out hair-metal god, or riff-pounding philosopher?
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Cool.
Got me thinking about this:
There's a song called "Possum Kingdom" by the Toadies. I heard it when I lived in Florida, and though liking the song, had to wonder to myself, "Possum Kingdom? What does that s$&& mean? Damn rock stars and their random drug-induced babblings."
Then I moved to Texas, where there's a Possum Kingdom Lake, and said, "okay....interesting."
So that got me thinking about stuff I'd dismissed as drug-induced babble.
Dio was neither hair metal nor druggie.
Taime Down from Faster Pussycat was a hair metal druggie.
Dio cant be hair metal. He gots no hair.
Big 'YES' to Taime being hairmetal druggie. You seen footage of his meltdown at Rocklahoma? I think its on youtube. Im at work and cant do linkages. That dude is messed up!!
Dio cant be hair metal. He gots no hair.
Big 'YES' to Taime being hairmetal druggie. You seen footage of his meltdown at Rocklahoma? I think its on youtube. Im at work and cant do linkages. That dude is messed up!!
Looked for it... couldn't find it.
There's a song called "Possum Kingdom" by the Toadies. I heard it when I lived in Florida, and though liking the song, had to wonder to myself, "Possum Kingdom? What does that s*~@ mean?
I've always wondered about "Jihad" by D.A.D. I could never figure out if those lyrics were a work of genius or the work of a drooling idiot.
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In rock & roll lyrics don't matter if the song's got a good hook and Holy Diver was nothing but hook.
Just instert the lryics below if you want the song to make sense.
Oh Macgyver!
How I used to watch you on my TV
You were my favorite geek
Made hang glider
From a satellite and a plastic shield (1)
Survival skills were unreal
Always got away
Oh MacGyvaaaaahhhhh, yeah
Stolen diamonds (2)
Made a grapple with garden rake and hose
Well that might work, I suppose
No doubt!
Without a warning
He will rescue the girl in an ultra light (3)
That he just finished last night
He will get away, get away
Contraptions are devised
From whatever he can steal
To trick all the bad guys
Ruining their weapons deal
Go MacGyver
There is nothing that you can’t fix
But you never get the chicks
Run, run
Run now MacGyver
Just 10 seconds left on that big time bomb
How can you remain so calm?
-- rather uninteresting guitar solo --
Oh MacGyver
With a paper clip you hot-wired a car
You were our first nerdy star
Oh! No!
Where’s MacGyver?
There’s no network left that shows his re-runs
I guess I’ll watch SG-1(4)
Watched him everyday, everyday
Now he’s a cliché, a cliché
Oh MacGyver, old Jeep driver
You’re so peachy keen
Go MacGyver!
Go MacGyver!
Monday Night Football came on after you, Oh MacGyver
Oh MacGyvaaaahhhhhhhhh
He could make a grenade in a day
From spare tires and bailing wire
You go MacGyver!
by McKludge
Sorry; didn't mean to diss nobody. There I go assuming stuff again.Dio was neither hair metal nor druggie.
Taime Down from Faster Pussycat was a hair metal druggie.
Actually I was referring to Eyebite's post. How painful for him to have me single him out like that. He'll forgive me.
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According to this Holy Diver by Dio Songfacts.com the song is about Satan's fall from Heaven and his fall into Hell.
I seem to recall that Dio said more or less the same thing in an interview that I read years ago in which he was discussing Pat Boone covering Holy Diver.
Oddly enough, I was listening to the radio yesterday and Ronnie James Dio called in and was interviewed. I have had Holy Diver stuck in my head ever since.
Holy Diver is about having a hard time changing the oil on your Harley Davidson motorcycle!
NO. Morphing this to redneck motorcycles is mentally painful.
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RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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Actually I was referring to Eyebite's post. How painful for him to have me single him out like that. He'll forgive me.
That's what you think!
How dare you call me out on the Paizo boards Jade!
This blood feud between us cannot be settled until one of us is dead!
DIO IS HAIR METAL - SO SAYETH I!
Ronnie James Dio aka the rainbow in the dark, is in no way hair metal.