This jam comes from Thrice’s latest album  Beggars

It’s about a man who is nearing/at the end of his life, and is looking back on all that he has done. He sees that he’s never really done anything too bad (murder/steal), and that he seems to have always looked out for his own best interests. He’s a pretty good guy. But then realizes that when he’s gone, none of it really mattered, that it was all in vain. Dustin Kensrue wrote this song in response to a sermon from Charles Haddon Spurgeon, titled “Last Things”. Here’s an excerpt:

Let me take you upstairs to your own death chamber, for there perhaps the lamp will burn best for you. Look at actions which you have thought to be great, and upon which you have prided yourself – how will they look at the last? You made money, you made money fast, you did things very cleverly, you praised yourself for it, just as others have praised themselves for conquering nations or forcing their way to fame, or lifting themselves into eminence. Now you are dying, and what do you think of all that? Is it so great as it seemed to be? Oh, how you leaped up to it, how you strained yourself to reach it, and you have got it, and you are dying, what do you think of it now? The greatest of human actions will appear to be of insignificance when we come to die, and especially those upon which men most pride themselves – these will yield them the bitterest humiliation. We shall then say what madmen we must have been to have wasted so much time and energy upon such paltry things. When we shall discover that they were not real, that they were but mere bubbles, mere pretenses, we shall then look upon ourselves as demented to have spent the whole of our life and our energy upon them.”

It’s a shame that some must go without
But I was no fool to think it might be my problem
Needy hands were reaching out
I kept my spare change and my pride in a tight fist

And now at the last, everything is changed in this pale light
That death has cast on all I’ve done – on all I’ve done

I’m a good man on the whole
Who could blame me for looking out for number one?
I never killed, I never stole
A small indulgence now and then, so what of it?

I’m a good man
I’m a good man
Am I a good man?
I thought I was,
But the rewards of this life now count for naught
My body soon buried and left to rot
The time’s gone, how quickly it all has passed
My God, now I see how I’ve squandered each and every breath

Now at the last, everything is changed in this pale light
That death has cast on all I’ve done

Now at the last, everything is changed in this pale light
And looking back I am undone – I am undone

This song is off of one of my favorite albums of all time, Vheissu (2005).

This song stood out to me more than any song on the record with it’s amazing intrumentals, incredible vocals, and very rich and stunningly visual lyrics. The song is based off the story of Peter and takes place through his eyes, going through the end of his time with Jesus. For example: bitter herbs(passover), bread and wine(last supper), etc. What makes it such a great story is how the song picks up at the end and feels like such a rush, and you can almost literally feel what Peter was feeling, what things were racing through his mind, and the pain and anguish in his heart.

Here is “Like Moths To Flame”…

Once again these bitter herbs
The perfect compliment to all your cryptic words
I nod but don’t know what to say, but I know you
And I believe you’re who you say you are so I..

I will follow you, lay down my life
I would die for you, this very night

Once again the bread and wine
But it seems the meanings may be deeper still this time
And you surprised me when you said I’d fall away, don’t you know me
I could never be ashamed of you, no I…

I will follow you, lay down my life
I would die for you, this very night

I’ve never been this cold, the fire’s gravity compels
Like planets cling to sol, I feel my orbit start to fail
Like moths to flame I come, too close And all my oaths are burned
As stars begin to run, all my accusers take their turn
And calling curses down, from my lips lies like poison spill
And then that awful sound, the sound of prophesy fulfilled
And then I met your eyes, and I remember everything
And something in me dies, the night that I betrayed my king

I am an exile, a sojourner
A citizen of some other place
All I’ve seen is just a glimmer in a shadowy mirror
But I know one day we’ll see face to face

I am a nomad, a wanderer
I have nowhere to lay my head down
There’s no point in putting roots to deep when I’m moving on
Not settling for this unsettling town

My heart is filled with songs of forever
A city that endures, where all is made new
I know I don’t belong here
I’ll never call this place my home
I’m just passing through

I am a pilgrim, a voyager
I won’t rest until my lips touch the shore
Of the land that I’ve been longing for as long as I’ve lived
Where there’ll be no pain or tears anymore

My heart is filled with songs of forever
A city that endures, where all is made new
I know I don’t belong here
I’ll never call this place my home
I’m just passing through

Music is a large part of my life. I love to create music and I love to listen to music. As of right now, my iTunes library has about 55 gigabytes of music, and it’s always growing. I listen to music when I’m doing menial tasks, driving in my car, or just relaxing and listening to music. But just a warning, I’m not a very mainstream music kind of guy. I am very picky when it comes to music because I’m tired of hearing songs with the same song structures or the same meaningless lyrics. I like songs that are musically excellent and lyrically rich and poetic.

I want to take a look at my favorite band, Thrice. I’m doing this because I’m going to post more songs from them than anybody else. BUT, Thrice is not a Christian band. However, frontman Dustin Kensrue, is a Christian. A reformed Christian. His lyrics are not straightforwardly Christian, but if you take a look at them, it’s very obvious. Take a look at this blog post he wrote on the band’s website:

“Dead. What does this word convey to us? Have you seen a dead person in a casket, or come upon a dead animal in the woods? It is obvious that they are not about to take another breath, or reach out to us, or get up and walk away. The man in the casket is cold and lifeless and most definitely not present. The animals eyes are glazed and empty and flies buzz greedily around them. This is what dead means. Yet when we read certain verses in Scripture, somehow we feel differently about the word. In Ephesians 2 Paul says in verse 1 “…you were dead in your trespasses and sins…” and in verse 5 that “…even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ…” And from this point we somehow come to the metaphor that God throws us a life preserver and we grab a hold of it. But this does grievous harm to Paul’s metaphor. A dead thing can grab hold of nothing. A dead thing cannot tread water. A dead thing can do absolutely nothing…unless it is quickened.”

I’m going to post bands from different ends of the spectrum, from post-hardcore to indie folk. Regardless of the genre, the gospel will be at the heart of it all.

Check out my first post for Reformed Tunes Tuesday here…