1. This song talked about resisting authority and the authority’s abuse of power on the ones without power. For example, the lyrics said that “… I won’t do what you tell me” toward the end, demonstrating the narrator’s certainty about resisting against the authority that did not treat him well. Similarly, Satan in Paradise Lost was also trying to rebel against the authority that he thought was abusing its power, namely God. Satan also was certain in resisting God and did not do what God wanted him and all other angels to do: he raised a war in heaven instead of praising God as other angels were. Thus, this song might be able to resonate with Satan since the narrator and himself both resisted authority and performed similar action when doing so.
2. This song talked about persistent trying to overcome difficulties and reaching goals. For example, its lyrics said that “I’ll be there someday, I can go the distance”, showing that the narrator really believed that he could reach his goal. Similarly, Satan also had a goal that he really wanted to reach and a “difficulty” that prevented him from reaching it, namely God. In addition, like the narrator in this song, Satan also believed that he could reach his goal, as he said that neither God’s “Thunder” nor “the Potent Victor in his rage” can change his “mind” of reaching for his goal. Thus, this song might serve to reinforce Satan’s idea to reach his goal and overcome the difficulties.
3. This song talked about overcoming difficulties but emphasized on recovering from a failure. For example, its lyrics repeated “It’s not over yet” for many times throughout the song, emphasizing that recovery from a failure is possible. At the beginning of Paradise Lost, Satan was defeated by God and saw God’s power. He also recovered from this failure quickly and decided to use another approach to reach his goal. Therefore, this song might also resonate with Satan’s own experience and further encourage him.
4. This song talked about overcoming difficulties, maintaining curiosity, and persisting in trying to reach the goal one set for themselves throughout their lives. For example, the lyrics said that “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder” and “When you come close to sellin’ out reconsider”, encouraging the audience to not give up and maintain the motivation to reach their goals. In Paradise Lost, Satan had the motivation to reach for his goal at the beginning, but then became miserable after entering Eden, losing his motivation to some extent. Therefore, listening to this song might be able to encourage him again. By doing so, at least himself would think of it as a good thing, causing him to have a significant chance to listen to this song.
5. This song talked about facing reality and performing actions accordingly. For example, its lyrics talked about “No escape from reality”, encouraging people to face what actually happened since only so could one make the best decision accordingly. In Paradise Lost, when Satan first got out of the lake in hell, he thought he came out of the chains by himself, but, according to the narrator, God let him out in reality. This shows that the plans he made afterward to reach his goal were not based entirely on what actually happened. Therefore, listening to this song might encourage him to perform different actions.
6. This song talked about raising to challenge and surviving. For example, its lyrics talked about “Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet”, showing that when reaching their goals, people should also think about their own survival. In Paradise Lost, Satan also experienced difficulties and failures, but his plans toward reaching his goal rarely includes concepts about his own survival, both when succeeded or failed. This concept may resonate with his failure experiences and provide a new thought process with the survival encouragement. Thus, it is likely that he will be willing to listen to this song.
7. This song talked about feeling miserable and fell away from light. For example, the lyrics repeated “I’m so far down, away from the sun again” for many times, demonstrating the narrator’s miserable feelings and idea that he could not live in light anymore. As mentioned previously, when he entered Eden for the first time, Satan also felt miserable and not able to see beauty since he brought hell with him. This shows that, similar to the narrator in the song, Satan also felt like that he could not see the light anymore, since he brought the hell within him to wherever he went. Thus, this song might resonant with Satan in this sort of miserable emotion.