Indian Saying

[bobC]

Does anyone have a thought on the significance of the Indian (Native American) saying/poem tacked on the bulletin board in Tony's room?

http://members.cox.net/buzmeg/Ojibwe.jpg

--
BobbyBuz</p>

[John Sacrimoni]

In other words: "Poor you."

</p>

[SofiaGiovanna]

Or the anti-Poor you.

Did anyone catch a glimpse of the kind of scary woman turning around in the door of the mansion that Steve Buscemi was trying to get Tony to enter? I thought of Livia.

Actually, never mind my stupid musings, that blurb is part of a longer poem:

(from a longer poem, I can't remember all of it...maybe it's online)


I Sing, I sing

You cannot harm me
You cannot harm
One who has dreamed
A dream like mine.

Sometimes I go about
in pity for myself
And all the while
a great wind carries me
across the sky.

It is not true, it is not true
we come to live here
we come here only to sleep,
we come here only to dream.

-Ojibwa

What that means, well, have fun tossing it around

</p>

[billymac]

I took the poem to be a tie-in with the "great wind" that was blowing in the trees in the coma-reality, with coma-meadow's voice to Tony carrying him back across a great distance to his family.

</p>

[haironmelfistwat]

I confess, the only great wind I thought of was the one Vito broke when he was farting on that couch last week... <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/roll.gif ALT=":rollin">

</p>

[JackieJr]

The vast majority of references to this saying I have found online are worded:

Sometimes I go about
In pity for myself,
And all the while,
A great wind
Is bearing me across the sky.

- Ojibwa saying

It seems like this is another "bear" tie-in.


</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p098.ezboard.com/bthechaselounge.showUserPublicProfile?gid=jackiejr @thechaselounge>JackieJr</A> http://www40.brinkster.com/jsanch3z/images/Sopranos_T.jpg at: 3/27/06 3:53 pm

[jayneezy]

i like that saying....lol

LMAO when Christopher was reading it.......

</p>

[gnxfan]

Centering in Word and Silence
This story is taken from Walking Toward Morning, by Rev. Victoria Safford.

A few years ago a friend of the family had [lost his way home. He had] a great gravity of need. His partner in life was leaving, and his four teenage children, whom he’d held as babies and loved and raised all this time, had all but stopped speaking to him. He’s a baker and an artist, and his business was in tatters…One night…he called to tell us about an anonymous note someone had mailed to his bakery. We weren’t at home, so he read it into our answering machine.

“Hey guys. Listen to this note that someone sent today: ‘Sir. You have saved my life with bread. Thank you. An old friend.’”

Our friend was silent for a long while…Then came his voice again, asking, as if we could answer through the tape, “What do you think of that?” He was quiet, then said, “It makes me think of an old Ojibwe song, the ‘Song of the Bird’: ‘Sometimes I go about in pity for myself, and all the while the wind is bearing me across the sky.’”

That was his whole message, and not long after that, it seemed…by grace and his own will…our friend was healed.” And found his way back home.

www.uucb.org/sermons/2003092101 (http://www.uucb.org/sermons/2003092101)

</p>

[ObservingEgo]

The Ojibwe saying, I felt, paid homage to mystery of a higher power and a leap of faith into spirituality...that there just may be something bigger than ourselves. We do not know who tacked it on the board, but we are getting glimpses of Tony's reconstructing value system, existential choices and near death. In a rather highly metaphysical season, this is just but one more glimpse of the possibility for an emergently more contemplative Tony.

</p>

[Soda drink]

lol whoa I'm way off compared to what you guys are saying.

I thought that the man pitying himself was christopher and tony soprano was the wind that has carried him ALL HIS LIFE.

and its absolutely true in that context.

</p>

[Hrurusch]

i think it perfectly describes Tonys condition:
first part is momenatry body condition, hes done..a wreck.
second part describe his coma dreams that carried him around.
not much to analyze here.http://www.dvd-palace-forum.de/forum/images/smilies/schulterzuck.gif

</p>

[Kev Infinity]

I think this refers to the possibility that Tony has a guardian angel (possibly Meadow). Tony does, quite often, pity himself about the burden he carries of looking after his family and the life he leads because of this. However I think its fair to say that he has been extremely lucky over the years since he became boss having a seemingly miraculous ability to escape trouble at the last possible moment as though someone or something is guiding him.

There are two pivotal moments in the series (arguably the two most pivotal moments) when a 'great wind' has been present. One is in Mayham, as Tony hears the wind and then Meadow's voice in the trees, prompting him to 'choose life' as it were. This is clearly important as up until then he had seemingly accepted his fate with very little reluctance.

The other time when ther was a 'great wind' was during the season 1 episode Isabella. I think its fair to say that it was during this episode that Tony was expreincing the worst of his depression. However, Tony is shocked out of his depression due to the attempted hit instigated by Junior. Prior to this the episode goes to great lengths to show how windy it is.

I don't know of any deeper significance to this but it seems clear that the presence of the wind always foreshadows a 'shock' to Tony; be it coming out of severe depression or coming out of a coma.

</p>

[SilvioMancini]

I think Melfi put the saying there..........

[KrusteH]

I think this refers to the possibility that Tony has a guardian angel (possibly Meadow). Tony does, quite often, pity himself about the burden he carries of looking after his family and the life he leads because of this. However I think its fair to say that he has been extremely lucky over the years since he became boss having a seemingly miraculous ability to escape trouble at the last possible moment as though someone or something is guiding him.

There are two pivotal moments in the series (arguably the two most pivotal moments) when a 'great wind' has been present. One is in Mayham, as Tony hears the wind and then Meadow's voice in the trees, prompting him to 'choose life' as it were. This is clearly important as up until then he had seemingly accepted his fate with very little reluctance.

The other time when ther was a 'great wind' was during the season 1 episode Isabella. I think its fair to say that it was during this episode that Tony was expreincing the worst of his depression. However, Tony is shocked out of his depression due to the attempted hit instigated by Junior. Prior to this the episode goes to great lengths to show how windy it is.

I don't know of any deeper significance to this but it seems clear that the presence of the wind always foreshadows a 'shock' to Tony; be it coming out of severe depression or coming out of a coma.

</p>

I'm probably stating the obvious by saying that the Ojibwa poem basically means that when a person finds himself/herself in a tight spot it is usually just another road to the solution. Another quote by Pres. Andrew Jackson - used in Ocean's Twelve comes into mind: "Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.".

In Tony's case though, the poem takes a more direct albeit metaphysical turn. The winds appearing several times throughout the series, as you correctly state Kev, is the rope (combined with Meadows repeated cries) to the physical world pulling Tony back. In the dream Tony does take pity on himself. He's confused and frustrated, because of the lucidness of his dream. He's fully aware that something is awfully wrong, as he "lives" another man's "life". A hint given to him that his physical life still awaits him.

When Tony reads the poem on the wall later, it becomes the catalyst for his recollection of his coma indused dreams.

The light beacon Tony repeatedly sees in the horizon is another interesting notion. This twilight world between life and death is far greater than the physical world (the reason for which he later decides to try Peyote.. I know its a bit fetched, but during Tony's hallucination the sun pulses like the beacon)

[dsweeney]

Kev Infinity mentions something that struck a chord with me.He points out that Tony is shocked out of his depression after surviving the hit on him in the first series.This is exactly like AJ after his car explodes in the leaves.It snaps him out of his depression as well,he's almost euphoric.I am of the opinion that Tony is killed in the finale,without any doubt whatsoever.But I am slowly coming to think that it's possible Carmela and AJ get it as well.Tony himself says it,"three strikes and you're out right?" He survived the hit in series one,the shooting by Junior and gets shot a third time I believe in Holsten's.AJ similarly survives his own suicide attempt,narrowly escapes his exploding car but then is killed in Hostlen's.IMHO.I take it you all know of the anagram?
Paolo Coleandrea Man in members only jacket (the credit at the end of the series) rearranges to read;
A man kills Tony,Carmela,AJ Don become prone.