Hey! Luciani

(1)

I said hey, Luciani
The future's here today
I said hey, Luciani
Pope of three three days

They made out you were are an ultra nut
And had no time for your Christianity
You paid with your life for their treachery
The future's here today
The future's here to stay
Luciani

Said hey, Luciani
Jesus has gone away
I said hey, Luciani
Meet the Church, Bank, S.A. (2)

They said you were of peasant stock (3)
And one day the curia murdered you (4)
Your hermetics are through (5)
And on that fruited plain (6)
The corporate bishops graze
Exit church of poverty
Exit the church of pain
The future's here today
The future's here to stay

Luciani,
I said hey!

I said Hey, Luciani
A pop star in your cell
I said hey, Luciani
A Polish son of Hell (7)

You were the first John Paul I (8)
How is it your Christianity's gone?
Can you see from your grave
The TV snow-storm on top,
The brass Holy Grail
Imitation for sale?
The future's here today,
Luciani

Luciani

And all the cowls are black (9)
On an inquisition rack
The future's here today
The future's here to stay
Hey! Luciani 
Luciani
(Hey! Hey!)
Luciani
(Hey! Hey!)
Luciani
The future's here to stay
Hey, Luciani
I said hey, Luciani
I said hey, Luciani!

1. This deals with the life and death of Alberto Luciani, also known as Pope John Paul I, who only held the office for 33 days before his death in 1978. MES also wrote and starred in a play called Hey! Luciani: The Life and Codex of John Paul I, which ran for two weeks in London to mixed, but mostly negative, reviews; the consensus was that the plot wasn't exactly coherent, which shouldn't come as a surprise to devotees of the band. John Paul I apparently died of a heart attack, but MES read a book called In God's Name by David Yallop that suggests he was murdered as the result of a conspiracy by the Vatican bank (which was embroiled in a corruption scandal at the time), for the usual reasons. According to Smith, "People say he was going to plan a revolution that would have changed everybody...he was planning to get rid of the financial elements of it, of church and religion..." Smith makes clear, however, that he views the story as a loose pretext for the play and the song, and he doesn't insist on the veracity of the conspiracy theory. 

Zack points out that the play seems to have included a song called "Luciani" which shares some lyrics with "Hey, Luciani!"

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2. The Lyrics Parade  succinctly explains: " [S.A. is the ] Italian version of an American Corporation or a British Limited Liability Company." S.A. stands for Società Anonima, "anonymous society/company."  

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3. John Paul I, who came from a rural background, was sometimes called "The Peasant Pope."  

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4. The Roman Curia is the chief governing body of the Roman Catholic Church.  

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5. We initially had "hermeneutics," likely inherited from the Lyrics Parade. Bazhdaddy hears "herm antics"-- perhaps  "hermantics" would be a more quietistic transcription, but splitting it to get "antics" out leaves "herm," which is not a word either, so it's a wash in that respect, and there isn't really a pause for  breath--but "hermetics" seems to be slightly more likely, and it is a word. If it is indeed "hermantics" then that could suggest a portmanteau of "hermetics," "antics," and "hermeneutics." 

"Hermeneutics" means interpretation, and it is a word commonly used for Biblical textual studies.  Bazhdaddy suggests that "herm antics" is short for "hermetic antics." Hermetics or hermeticism is a name for the Western occult tradition, which is rather romantically (and since ancient times) linked to Hermes Trismegistus, a name which may or may not refer to someone who actually existed who is credited with writing the Hermetic Corpus, which are pseudepigraphic texts from the 2nd Century AD. It's the kind of stuff likely to appeal to someone leaning toward  the occult side of Christian mysticism. Much more importantly, however, it is an interest likely to be attributed to someone thought to be involved in Christian or masonic conspiracies, secret rituals, and all the other flummery one might expect in such a context. 

Hermeneutics, by contrast, would be a totally mainstream pursuit for a scholarly or theologically-inclined Catholic; and while this is not necessarily the case, in a certain context the word could also give off a whiff of casuistry.

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6. The phrase "fruited plain" comes from the patriotic song "American the Beautiful."  

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7. John Paul I was from Italy. His successor, John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla), was the first Polish Pope.  

Dan:

" Polish son of Hell" clearly refers to John Paul II, as everyone knows. But so does "A pop star in your cell," because John Paul II was and is sometimes referred to as "the pop star pope". For example, on 25 May 1982, the BBC aired a documentary entitled "John Paul II: The people's pope". In it, presenter Norman St John Stevas (look him up) referred to the Pope as "the first pop star Pope" [source: The Times, 26 May 1982]. Perhaps it has something to do with having the first names of Lennon and McCartney. For a much later reference see the Daily Mail. Thus, the election of John Paul II means that there is a pop star in John Paul I's cell.

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8. And the only one, of course. Luciani was the first Pope to have a "I" after his name during his time in the papacy, however (ordinarily the numbers start with "II," just as nobody is named "Joe Schmo, Sr." at birth).  

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9. It is probable that this is a pun. In his Preface to The Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel famously criticized the (presumably Schelling's) notion of an Absolute in which all distinctions are obliterated as a "night in which all cows are black." To a reader of philosophy, it is impossible to hear this line without thinking of Hegel's quip. As far as its place in the song, j. fills the rest in nicely:

"The Dominican friars, who were responsible for the Inquisition, wore black cowls and were known as black friars in Britain. Blackfriars in London is the site of a former Dominican priory, right next to the river. Blackfriars Bridge is the spot where Roberto Calvi's corpse was found in 1982, if I remember correctly [he does]. The death was held to be a suicide, although there seemed to be evidence to the contrary.
Calvi was an Italian banker known as God's banker due to his close links to the Vatican. When he died, Calvi was involved in a massive scandal following his bank's bankruptcy and he was accused of embezzling enormous amounts of money.
Supporters of the theory that Luciani was murdered believe that so was Calvi, as part of the same operation, in which the Mafia is also thought to be involved in some capacity.
All of this seems to me to be alluded to in these lyrics, albeit in typically oblique manner."

I think j. is right on the money, and these notes probably don't do the lyrics justice, but I trust  that anyone more familiar than I with the characters and their  history will be able to fill in some of the blanks for themselves.

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Hey! Luciani: Fall Tracks A-Z

The Story of the Fall: 1986