For My Sunday Song #110, we are going to explore the world of Live and their song “Lakini’s Juice”.  The song is off their 1997 album ‘Secret Samadhi’ and was the first single off the record.  It did pretty well as it went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock Track chart and when it came out it caught my attention.

But what is Lakini’s Juice?  For that, you have to delve into the world of Hindu.  Lakini is goddess and is described below…

She has a black or dark-blue vermilion color; three faces, each with three eyes; is four-armed; holds a thunderbolt, the arrow shot from the bow of Kama, fire and makes the gesture of granting boons and dispelling fear. She is seated upon a red lotus. (wikipedia).

Lakini is the goddess of the Manipuraka Chakra and Lakini’s Juice comes from this…

In Hinduism, Lakini is the goddess of the Manipuraka (city of jewels), which is the third of the seven Chakras. This Chakra represents the solar plexis of the human body, just above the navel, and is responsible for the pancreas and gall bladder as well as intuition (gut feelings). Lakini’s “juice” is the bile, pancreatic fluid, and other chemicals produced by this region of the body that aid in digestion and excretion. (popdose.com)

Now that we know all this important information, what does that mean about the song.  There are so many interpretations that I couldn’t keep up.  One I heard was that it was about obsession.  You can kind garner that from the lyrics as he is so obsessed with her that he washes her feet and blesses her name.

I have also read one that was really interesting.  On Songmeanings.com, one reader explained the following…

The entire song represents a transition from the illusion of Christianity to the enlightenment of Hinduism. There are really two layers to this song: one is the “old” layer, based in ancient and Christian references; the other is the “new” layer based in Hindu references.

This person goes on to explain verse by verse the connection between Hinduism & Christianity and it is really interesting.  Go check it out.  This one I can believe as Live was always exploring the many aspects of Christianity in their music.

Now, the song itself is what really drove me to the song. That opening guitar riff was so freaking dirty and harsh that it pulled me in.  The album has moments of pleasantness with the orchestration and than moments that are abrasive and angry.  The two together I found fascinating and made this song standout and it made it memorable.  Ed Kowalczyk’s vocals followed that same pattern.  More calm at the beginning and angry towards the end.

Check out the video and see what you think.  The video to me is nothing about Hindu & Christianity, but more about overindulgence.  Whatever the song represents, I have always enjoyed it and knowing a little more about it’s possible meanings makes that song even more intriguing.  Let me know what you think and have a Happy Sunday!

“Lakini’s Juice”