Music for Thought: Part 3 of 4

Our reflective journey via musical case studies continues with a Johnny Cash classic.

Johnny Cash performs "Hurt" a cover of the song by Nine Inch Nails.



I'm afraid that the more I say about this song, the less meaningful my comments will become. Let me just point out the two most powerful moments in the music video.

I will Make you Hurt (2:35-2:40)

When June (Cash's wife) looks down at him from the stairs, it's a look that says a thousand words. When I see that expression on her face, it's like I can feel it too. It's like she lets out a big sigh that says, "It pains me so much to hear you say all this - but I love you. I love you too much to reach out and make you stop. I'm going to let you journey down this path of healing and redemption. And as you do, I'll be here for you. Waiting. Ready to love you, no matter what."

My Empire of Dirt (2:53-3:09)

If you didn't react in some way physically (sit up in your chair, grunt in surprise, raise your eyebrows, put your hand over your mouth, ANYTHING) when Cash started pouring out that wine - you better call an ambulance because you're a dead man walking. Notice the priceless stare down from Cash as his shaky hand pours out the contents of his glass. That wine spills all over the place and we can see the utter disgust of a man determined to abandon everything he once held as valuable.

What Have I Become?

That question, "What have I become?" is the most applicable. To me, performing an internal inventory can be purging and damning at the same time. As we look back at where we've gone wrong, we can confess it before God, and ask for forgiveness - and this purges us of our sins. However, when we take an honest look, not at our gross sins, but at our subtle ones; not at our actions, but at our motives - it is damning.

But God's grace is greater than all our sin. When we approach Him through Jesus Christ, we unlock the floodgates of God's infinite mercy with the key of faith.

Music for Thought - Part 2 of 4

Have you ever met someone that doesn't like music?

I've met some people who don't like football, ice-cream, or the Denver Broncos (shocker) - but it seems that everybody likes at least one genre of music.

In a Philippians 4:8ish style of critical thinking, I am presenting four songs for your musement. This week's song is "Winter White Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes. Click to watch on full screen, and watch closely!




The Relentless Nature of Time and Hair:

What is so intriguing to me about this video, and where we can learn the most, is the subject of time (I'll just assume you watched the video closely enough to catch what happened). When I watch this music video, I see a highly contemplative, not to mention long-bearded, man who decides to take a trip through time with all of his other contemplative buddies via the Magic Steering Wheel - and hey, it works!

Time begins to move backwards through the four seasons, and we see our characters gradually shed the classic signs of aging (no, it's not a Maybelline ad). And, is it just me, or do they seem a little bit happier as they traverse back in time? People are smelling flowers, clapping their hands, bobbing their heads, tapping a beat - meanwhile, back at the Wheel of Fortune - our determined no-longer-gray-bearded man keeps turning and turning and turning.

Things seem to be going good when, from 1:40 - 1:55, all the characters glance to the side as if saying, "Oh no, here it comes." (one guy even covers the eyes of a wrong-place-wrong-time bunny) Suddenly, the faithful turner lets go of the time machine, and in a matter of seconds, everything goes "back" to present day, and it's the same as when it started.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time:

Have you ever done something, and tried to "go back in time" to undo the mess you made? Me too. It, like the video, works for a while (though I've never had anyone start clapping), but soon the cold fact of the permanence of time comes back with a vengeance. Sadly, there isn't a wheel in the world magical enough to erase our stupid mistakes.

We get to the end of a chapter in our life, and echoing the lyrics, think to ourselves "I was following the pack." I was just going with the flow, and now, it's over. I will never get that time back. I'll never get to live yesterday over again. Ever.

Social Security, Golf, Taco Bell and Other Retirement Perks:

I love this song because it's such a sober reminder about the nature of time, the things we try to undo, and the things that will always stay with us.

It reminds me of those things we strain after our whole life, only to realize in the end that it really wasn't all that important.

It reminds me of how painful regret is, and how permanent consequences are.

It reminds me of the story Christ told in Luke 12 about a guy who was really good at life. In fact, he got to the point where he stopped one day and said to himself,

"Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."

Things were going pretty well for this dude. His social security hadn't been used to bail out the banks, his golf clubs were primed and ready to hit the links, and he was within fifteen minutes of the nearest Taco Bell. He had done what he thought was important his whole life - he was a success.

Then he died.

Right before he died, God had a few words for him,

"Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"

But it was too late, time had written his story in stone.

~Jason

Music for Thought - Part 1 of 4

Good music you can just turn on and let play. We set a trap for ourselves however, when we stop listening to songs critically. When we allow a "feel-good" song to go in one ear and out the other, it loses it's constructive value. Even the most talented, terribly catchy, most requested song of all time isn't exempt from the Pauline command,

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

In the weeks to come, and in this spirit of critical thinking, I would like to present four songs for your pondering pleasure. This week's song is "The Scientist" by Coldplay.

Check it out below, and then scroll down for discussion. The video won't make sense unless you watch it all the way to the end.

Right click HERE and select 'open link in new window' to view. (sorry folks, embedding was disabled)

Synopsis of Video:

The video starts with an up-close and creepy shot of a guy laying on what appears to be a blue mattress. After the seizure like way in which he stands up, it becomes obvious the video is actually a reverse narrative. Soon, we find our long-sleeved Under Armour friend walking backwards through the city, behind a random pickup game of basketball, and of course through the ever somber switch yard.

Suddenly, our guy is in the woods, and begins piecing together his best man-in-black outfit. After he gets in the car and shudders awake/asleep - it becomes obvious something is wrong. Your suspicions are confirmed when a woman begins floating above the hood of the car and goes right through a re-composing windshield. The car begins rolling up the hill, and eventually gets back onto a winding country road. We see the final moments of the happy couple just cruising along with the wind. Then, of course, we see the tragic moment when the girl, before putting on her jacket, unhooks her seat-belt.

Meaning of Lyrics:

There seems to be some unresolved tension between the boy and girl because he needs to tell her "I'm sorry" and makes a plea to "go back to the start". Also, later on in the song he begs her to "tell me you love me".

Presumably, these tensions were unable to be resolved due to the untimely death of the girl. Struggling to deal with the grief, the man mourns, "nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard" and "it's such a shame for us to part".

Then he makes the fascinating statement, "Questions of science, science and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart". In other words, the problems that plague our scientific inquiries, and societal progress - are nothing compare to the questions that plague our hearts in times of deep loss.

As for the title of the song, I'll simply quote one YouTube commenter who observed,

" 'The scientist' is referring to him trying to reason things out about a failed relationship and going in circles because logic can't really be applied to love and emotions."


My Thoughts:

So what, if anything, can we learn from this emotional ballad of boy-loses-girl? The most obvious nugget of truth is that no science textbook, or technological advance of man can comfort us in times of sorrow. Certainly, various situations have arisen in my life when I've echoed the sentiment "nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard".

Can't we all empathize with finding ourselves "running in circles", wanting to go "back to the start", wishing our life had turned out different? So is that it? We throw up our hands and conclude, "Yep, life stinks sometimes."

Can we not recognize the validity of our sorrow, and yet find some solace?

Psalm 13 starts our pretty bleak,

"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I...have sorrow in my heart all the day?"

The Psalm doesn't end there, and I find that telling.

It goes on,

"But, I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me."

Notice this Psalm recognizes evil AND hope. The danger is when we only recognize one and not the other. If we only recognize evil, much like in "The Scientist", we lose sight of what God has done for us. If we only recognize the hope, we deny the severity of evil and it's consequences in the world.

God's love and salvation mean that we can have hope in the midst of evil. But without the hope of salvation, of God saving us from the evil in and around us - we mourn as those who have no hope.

~Jason

Do we need a Savior?

I've heard Ravi Zacharias quote this song, but never actually heard it performed until now. Very thought provoking song, well worth the listen (if you can get past the odd performance style). My favorite line is in the chorus, "If the soul is darkened by a fear it cannot name..."

~~~



Hallelujah! Hallelujah!, Hallelujah!

From the canyons of the mind,
We wander on and stumble blindly
Through the often-tangled maze
Of starless nights and sunless days,
While asking for some kind of clue
Or road to lead us to the truth,
But who will answer?

Side by side two people stand,
Together vowing, hand-in-hand
That love's imbedded in their hearts,
But soon an empty feeling starts
To overwhelm their hollow lives,
And when they seek the hows and whys,
Who will answer?

On a strange and distant hill,
A young man's lying very still.
His arms will never hold his child,
Because a bullet running wild
Has struck him down. And now we cry,
"Dear God, Oh, why, oh, why?"
But who will answer?

High upon a lonely ledge,
a figure teeters near the edge,
And jeering crowds collect below
To egg him on with, "Go, man, go!"
But who will ask what led him
To his private day of doom,
And who will answer?

(Chorus)

If the soul is darkened
By a fear it cannot name,
If the mind is baffled
When the rules don't fit the game,
Who will answer? Who will answer? Who will answer?
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!, Hallelujah!

In the rooms of dark and shades,
The scent of sandalwood pervades.
The colored thoughts in muddled heads
Reclining in the rumpled beds
Of unmade dreams that can't come true,
And when we ask what we should do,
Who... Who will answer?

'Neath the spreading mushroom tree,
The world revolves in apathy
As overhead, a row of specks
Roars on, drowned out by discotheques,
And if a secret button's pressed
Because one man has been outguessed,
Who will answer?

Is our hope in walnut shells
Worn 'round the neck with temple bells,
Or deep within some cloistered walls
Where hooded figures pray in halls?
Or crumbled books on dusty shelves,
Or in our stars, or in ourselves,
Who will answer?

If the soul is darkened
By a fear it cannot name,
If the mind is baffled
When the rules don't fit the game,
Who will answer? Who will answer? Who will answer?
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!, Hallelujah!

~~~
Lyrics taken from lyricsmode.com

When Life Kills the Dream

I have unashamedly lost count of the number of times I've watched Susan Boyle perform I Dreamed a Dream for 'Britain's Got Talent'. Apparently, I'm not the only one, last I checked her song has been collectively viewed over 90 million times on YouTube. For me, it's not because of her beautiful voice, though it is beautiful. Nor is it because of the contagious reaction of the crowd, though it is contagious. And nope, it's not even because I have nothing better to do with my time...OK that was a lie.

I think the reason I sense a magnetic pull between myself and her performance is because I strongly identify with the emotions expressed in the song. The message of the song (yes, heavy metal fans, music actually has words - they're called "lyrics"), coupled with her thoroughly brilliant performance resonates loudly with how we experience that thing known as, "life".

John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." That's how it feels sometimes isn't it? It's as if you take stock of your life and your thinking, what happened? It's not what you imagined. It's isn't what you had hoped it would be. You try, try again and then you get dealt a 3-7 offsuit. Or, you get what you want, but it fails to satisfy like you thought (or had been promised) it would. Day after day you pursue your dreams, only to find them forever escaping your grasp and replaced by dreams anew. You just want the chips to fall your way for a change. Is that too much to ask? You just want comfort, ease, and for all of your wildest (or even mildest) dreams to come true.

At the risk of coming across calculated and cold, may I say something as gently as possible to you (and myself)? The above mindset is utterly selfish. Really, it is. It's consumed with self. Like an obnoxious child completely focused on getting their own way, so too is the individual who exists for self, and self alone. Certainly, this song is a valid expression of legitimate emotions, which I have no problem with. However, taken to it's extreme, the mindset of self-pity due to lack of self-fulfillment will ultimately destroy you.

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? If you wish to save your life, you will lose it. But if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it."

The song is a powerful one, and we identify with it's sentiment. The question is, what do we do with that sentiment? Do we take a dose of self-help and continue the all consuming fight for do ra ME? Or do we submit our lives, and will, to the One who offers us redemption?

~~~
If you haven't already, you can check out Susan Boyle here.

Jerusalem

The ability to place yourself in someone else's shoes is an important life skill. While I'm not Jewish, and while this song is certainly not Christian, I can appreciate some of the sentiment communicated in this song. I am so grateful for the Jewish people, through whom came a Messiah for the Gentiles.

This video was first introduced to me a couple of years ago by a good friend of mine. I have seen this video over a dozen times, and I still can't watch it without it having an emotional impact on me.

This song is performed by Matisyahu, a Jewish reggae musician, and is based on Psalm 137:5-6. The pictures were juxtaposed to the music by a third party, and I'm not sure if the comments at the end are accurate.