Word. With the PB&J party only TWO WEEKS away you can imagine that I’m pretty pumped. There’s still one slot open too if you’re up for a 11 hour car ride one way for a 4 or 5 hour show (though this will be the best 4 or 5 hours of your life). I’ve been busy finishing up student teaching (wow that went by fast) but now I’ve got a moment so I’ll drop a post.
Today I bring Glue. You may remember them from my Non-Traditional Christian series (part 1 or part 2). I’ve worked out a way to include one of their gems in this blog. I try really hard to only throw up legitimate copies of songs that were promoted by the artist. You can easily find any song you want to listen to on sites like youtube or imeem but I want to keep it legit. There are a lot of dope artists breaking their backs to make music and make a living and there are also a lot of people working hard to promote that music and ensure a sustainable industry. I want HRFTM to add to the scene, not take away. This is why I believe in investing in a CD rather than downloading a free copy off rapidshare or mediafire. All this to say that this post comes close to that fine line.
One of my favorite songs by Glue is Fighting Ends. There are no live renditions that I could find, there’s no MP3 copy at the Sphere, but it is available on their myspace. Using a little net magic I was able to pull it and embed it to this post. Both myspace and glue are credited but if I get any angry letters/e-mails I’ll take it down and just put up a link. This works in Firefox on linux, not sure about anything else but it’s really not that complicated so it should. Worst case it autoplays the song or maybe the internet will collapse. (Cross-browser and cross-platform are not my areas of expertise.)
Wow this is going to be a long post. This is a pretty crucial song. Take notice though that I threw up the explicit category for this post. The worst you’ll hear in Fighting Ends is “damn”, but some of Glue’s other songs in the player are more colorful and the myspace player randomly chooses the next song. Here’s the player. Don’t click till you’re ready to hear the song.
The Player
Alt link: myspace popout player or Glue’s myspace.
Also check out the lyrics:
Kill these distractions that keep me from my loved ones,
Who tell me that I’m on the humble road to being someone,
People talk about, people reach out too,
People are my business so I’m blessed to have a mouthful
Of advice, but at what price, do I start to pay the overdue fees?
Challenged by the mortal power to set all the zombies free,
It doesn’t come easy when you lose the angel strength,
Numb to your bleeding elbows you lose a lifetime off your reach,
To catch the glimpse of your purpose, to make eye contact with death,
To finally have an answer, dealing with the pitch black left,
By the big unknown it took 66 books to describe,
Without mentioning our obsession with asking the question why?
The tortured ones walk endless with a set list in their pocket,
Because every song is a commandment rarely broken to be cautious,
Of the monsters holding a candle under sleeping eyelids,
Relighting when the flame fades, jaded from the human virus,
They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses
Chances are you’re gonna see it in their eyes,
But don’t be surprised when the volume of the voice starts rise,
I can’t believe I’ve been standing here all night,
What kind of insight, can talk theology,
Without starting a useless fight,
From the makeshift pulpit, 3 feet off the floor,
With every glass of water I drink, the liquid recycles through my pores,
So I’m ready to begin digging graves and playing records,
On a second wind provided by the search for something better,
I swear in this environment the world always spins backwards,
The jukebox pays you, to drown out rooms crowded with laughter,
But I won’t start until they are all paying full attention,
I can’t find a compromise or give myself a deadly weapon,
To end the evening with a bang, with ghosts in my words,
To make god smile just once with no favors to return,
Never mind, what kind of sacrifices we all had to be make,
Let the burden blend into the drums as your backbone breaks,
They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses
The spectrum is exhausted, costing millions piece of mind,
The bi polar angst of a world constantly wasting it’s time,
Conquering your rebellions to better the wealthy cause,
By brainwashing role models to give you drugs and bruised jaws,
We suffer now so blatant; songs start to get repetitive,
They sell you life for $20 dollars but never included medicine.
And we hardly have patience for the first scratches to heal
But we’re convinced the last 5 years haven’t been real,
We’ve experienced it all but haven’t lost the will live,
We’ve seen people take their lives but something’s got to give,
If no one told you to keep fighting, then let me be the first to say,
The promise holds weight no matter hour, second, or day,
The connection pulls us closer, we all relate to getting older,
Whether protester or soldier someday these wars are over,
Life never leaves but stays away from changes burn,
Death will answer questions but has to wait its proper turn.
The message at the core of this song is an almost jaded exhaustion from being called to rap. The feelings can be extended beyond to include any debate or any suggestion of advice but Adeem is mostly speaking as Glue’s front man MC. I love the way he displays the gospel in his message. Never does he use the word Christ, but it’s like looking into the Grand Canyon. The rocks don’t spell out “Jesus”, but to those who believe God created the universe it couldn’t be a clearer picture. The references are subtle, but they’re there (finally having an answer, setting zombies free, “66 books”, strength death refuses, etc).
The first verse sets up Adeem’s struggle with even just finding his purpose. Welcome to just about everybody I ever come in contact with. This is why Purpose Driven Life sold millions of copies. It really is a struggle to find what you’re supposed to do and simply becoming a Christian doesn’t automatically answer those questions. God doesn’t just hand out career cards to everybody. I suppose it’s an effort to produce simpler lives in us that much more often he lays out daily tasks rather than 10 year goals. However Adeem has caught a “glimpse” which was to rap. I feel I’m in a similar boat with my call to teach.
You also start to get a sense of the difficulty of the task in the first verse. Strong language like “tortured” shows some of the jaded feelings:
The tortured ones walk endless with a set list in their pocket,
Because every song is a commandment rarely broken to be cautious,
Of the monsters holding a candle under sleeping eyelids,
Relighting when the flame fades, jaded from the human virus
This goes directly into the chorus which again is not so cheery.
They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses
Never understand, Curse of giving guidance. Harsh words. Yet it’s finished with Keep the strength death refuses. Sounds hopeful to me.
The second verse goes to the stage, the makeshift pulpit. Frustration ensues, what kind of insight can talk theology without starting a useless fight? Ever felt that way? Ever read a Christian forum or seen disputes in the comments of youtube videos? I think we have done an injustice to God and to children today in letting them assume that their part in the gospel is always offensive, on the attack, rather than letting the Holy Spirit attack while we respond with meekness and fear. Wise words take insight. Despite this frustration Adeem sticks fast to his convictions:
The jukebox pays you, to drown out rooms crowded with laughter,
But I won’t start until they are all paying full attention,
While ultimately it’s out of his control:
I can’t find a compromise or give myself a deadly weapon,
To end the evening with a bang, with ghosts in my words,
To make god smile just once with no favors to return,
Never mind, what kind of sacrifices we all had to be make,
Let the burden blend into the drums as your backbone breaks,
The third verse starts with a Listener-esque tirade against some of the claims of the world. We suffer now so blatant. However, Adeem ends with more hope:
If no one told you to keep fighting, then let me be the first to say,
The promise holds weight no matter hour, second, or day,
The connection pulls us closer
I’m not sure if the connection is referencing Christianity or merely humanity in itself (which, as an extension of God’s creation, ultimately would pull us closer to him). Stay encouraged in your advice giving which you have been called! Arguments will ensue, advice will be ignored, but if you have been called what else can you do? Remember the promise.
I’ve made it this far into my analysis without referencing the beat of Fighting Ends. Phenominal. Driving and complimenting Adeem’s emotion. I especially like the interlude between the verses and hook. The play between the vocal sample cuts and piano are nothing short of beautiful. Maker’s talent is pretty much unparalleled in my book. DJ DQ tears up the cuts as well.
So word. Most epically long post on HRFTM yet. This track comes off Seconds Away, which is most definitely a CD you should invest in. I’ll leave with another lyric to stay encouraged in your struggles:
Whether protester or soldier someday these wars are over. Peace.
