How To Save A Life – Follow Up

The other day, when I was sitting in my super fun physics class, I realized that I never gave my final opinion on How To Save A Life.

If you didn’t read that post, go read it now….I’ll wait….

did you read it?

OK good. Now we can continue.

I see no major problems, so if you really like the song, don’t worry about listening to it once in a while. It does have the minor problems that I pointed out before – The girl believing that she always knows best, and her boy friend should shape up and start listening to her. Don’t misunderstand here, I believe communication is very important in relationships, but the attitude of the girl (and also the boy) in this song sounds to me like it needs some change. We have to remind ourselves that just because we think something doesn’t make it right. “Just because someone is sincere in his conviction does not mean that it is true. It is possible to be sincerely wrong.” – Alistair Begg. Yup, I put another Alistair Begg quote in, what are you gonna do?

At any rate, I’m probably being a bit harsh in my review of this song (even by my standards) since I never really liked the song to begin with. I think that maybe my biggest problem with the song is how painfully neutral it is. It presents an ambiguous problem, and fails to even suggest a mediocre way of solving said problem. Ultimately, it leaves me feeling hopeless. I suppose if I had been in a similar situation, and felt lost and confused about that problem, then I would be glad to have found a song that voices my inner turmoil.

I guess that my final thought is whether or not it is a good idea to saturate our minds with certain ideas, concepts, or situations. Should we be constantly listening to songs about hopelessness, or are we called to concentrate on greater things?

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

The problem here is not the occasional act, but rather the complete and constant saturation of our minds with things other than Christ.

Alright, I think I’ve battered this enough.

See you next week with the new issue of Songs You Should Listen To!

Teegan

How To Save A Life – The Fray

Hooray! January’s post is not late!

Today we are going to be looking at a song that is a little older, but was very popular when it first came out. I remember my friends playing and singing this song incessantly. I also remember not liking it. However, that could have been because my friends played it so much, or because it came out during my “if it’s not Christian, I don’t want to hear it” phase. Although, “phase” may not be the right word, since I still believe this to some extent. In fact, that belief is part of the reason I started this blog – to find good non-christian music.

At any rate, the song for this month is How To Save A Life by The Fray

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fray/howtosavealife.html

One of the reasons that I think I never liked this song is that it is hard to tell what it’s about. However, after listening to it, and reading and studying the lyrics, I feel that I have a moderate understanding of the story. Somehow, I’ve picked another love song. I guess it makes sense that a lot of music is about love, as it is a vast and complex topic.

This story only involves two people, a girl and the boy she likes. They seem to be in some kind of relationship, but the boy sounds like he doesn’t care about her. I have come up with two ways to interpret this song. The first way is that the girl is the only voice. i.e. Both the verses and the chorus are the word of the girl. The other way to look at this is that the girl is the verses, and the boy is the chorus. Unfortunately, the music video doesn’t give us any help here.

Verse 1
Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it’s just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came

This sets up the background and situation of our two characters. The first two lines, suggest that they are having problems in their relationship. She want’s to talk about them, he doesn’t, and even tries to walk away. Lines 3 and 4 show us that they exchange looks, but they don’t get to the heart of the problem (what ever that might be). His polite smile suggests that he want’s things to go back to the way they were before the troubles started. Her emotionless stare back tells us that they can’t go back, they need to solve this problem. The remaining lines tell us that they start moving in opposite directions – not physically – but mentally and emotionally. She begins to wonder why she ever liked him in the first place.

Verse 2
Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you’ve told him all along
And pray to God, he hears you
And pray to God, he hears you

I think of this verse as the girl-power verse. It’s all about this girl being right, and the boy being stubborn and wrong. While men do frequently fall prey to these attributes, women are not above them. And just because you don’t agree with someone, does mean they are wrong. We must use The Bible as our standard for determining right and wrong. I digress. As I said before, this verse is all about establishing the girl as being right, the first two lines and very clear on this fact. The third and fourth lines are a little confusing, and I remember trying to figure these out years ago when the song was on repeat on my friends’ iPods. One thought I had is that she’s trying to half-seduce him (innocence here being virginity) into doing what she wants. But, after thinking about it some more, I don’t believe that to be the case. I think this is about fooling him into admitting he is wrong. So what does “Without granting innocence” mean? I think it’s that she doesn’t let him know she is trying to fool him. She “innocently” tries to trap him into doing something. If she grants him her innocence, he would realize what she is doing and resist.

So what is wrong with getting him to admit he is doing something wrong? Shouldn’t she try to get him to admit is problem instead of just ignoring it? I would say, that admitting problems is not wrong (in fact, it’s probably a good thing), but deceiving someone into telling you something is definitely a dark grey area.

But she must being doing it for a good reason you say, after all, the last phrase shows us that she’s a Christian right? Wrong. I really dislike the last phrase of this verse, as it’s just a way to placate Christians into thinking this song has good values. How would that prayer go? “Dear God, I hope this stupid boyfriend of mine starts listening to me. I can’t believe what an idiot he is. Since I’m always right, and he is wrong, please make him listen to my reason. Amen” Yup, that’s definitely the way people should pray for others right?

Verse 3
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you’ve followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he’ll say he’s just not the same
And you begin to wonder why you came

At this point she has decided to push the solving of the problem off onto the boy. Granted, the boy should have shown interest in their relationship, and in working out their problem. However, the solution of ‘fine, you decide’ by the girl is a very poor one.

This whole story is very circumstantial. In some situations, the girl’s response might be justified. But problems are most frequently caused by a failing on both sides. Whether that be a failure to communicate, or a failure to take action, usually both sides are involved.

Chorus
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Finally, the chorus. This is the part of the song that could be from either perspective. It makes sense as being from the girl, since she seems to be the one trying to solve the problem. She would be stressing over what she could have done to save their relationship.

On the other hand, this might also make sense from the boy’s point of view. If you consider that this is sung after the breakup, then boy would realize what he lost. He regrets it, but doesn’t know how he could have done it differently. This would also explain why he seems uninterested in solving the problem before – he didn’t know what to do, and still doesn’t. So it’s not that he didn’t want to solve the problem, but that he didn’t know how.

Now, one thing I tried to figure out was whether or not someone dies at the end. After all, “Had I known how to save a life“ might imply that someone died. However, “life” could also refer to the way in which a person lives, versus being alive. So, saving a life, could mean that the person is save from living in depression, grief, and seclusion.

Whether the chorus is from the boy’s perspective or the girl’s, I don’t find it surprising at all that these two didn’t know how to save a life. Few people do – as there is only one way. The only way to save someone from a life of sadness, anger, depression, etc… as well as death, is faith and trust in Jesus Christ. (This is another reason I think the prayer is verse 2 is shallow. Since if she was a Christian, then should would know how to save a life.) Does that mean that if you are a Christian you will never have problems in your life? No. One of my favorite quotes on this subject comes from Alistair Begg, he said: “Christianity is not about how to escape from the difficulties of life, but it is how to face the difficulties of life. There is no come follow Jesus Christ and escape everything. It’s come follow Jesus Christ, and live!”
That’s how to save a life.

Saved by Grace,
Teegan

Songs You Should Listen To – The Invasion (Hero)

I was thinking about different songs I could do for the Month of January, and as I was thinking about it, I realized that it might be cool if I added a section to this blog – the Songs you should listen to section. I have a feeling that many of the songs I’ll be reviewing are songs that Christians generally shouldn’t listen to (although, so far, I think that Born This Way is the only song I’ve done that Christians should definitely not listen to).

This new section will be separate from my reviews. I’m pretty sure I can do one a month, so that is what I will aim for. What will this section contain? Well, as the name implies, it will be songs that are awesome, and Christ exalting, that I think Christians should be listening to. I’m not going to review/break-down the song, as the point is really just to give you things to type into Spotify.

Generally, I will be picking songs that are not as mainstream (as least in my mind). Hopefully, this will expand your music tastes and show you that there are many types of good Christian music.

The first song in this series is The Invasion (Hero) by Trip Lee. Some of you will probably not like this song (musically) because it is a rap. In general, I avoid rap music, but when it comes to Christian rap music…it’s awesome. Christian rap is a really cool genre of music because the artist can put deep theological truths into the song, something which tends to be lost in “normal church music” (see Thank You For Hearing Me by David Crowder). Not that songs where you repeat the same phrase over, and over, and over are bad, but they sometimes fail to explain much of the Gospel message.

At any rate, I hope you enjoy this song, and the new section!
I’ve included all the lyrics below since this song is all about the words.
Special thanks to Ben Shudak who introduced me to this song.

Here is the Spotify Link: Trip Lee – The Invasion (Hero) Ft. Jai

If you don’t have Spotify, here is Youtube:

Lyrics:

Verse 1:

Look, Creation’s groaning, lost their hope and feel they always closed in. Lots to cope with, on the ropes, wish they was in the open. This broken world is so dim, our souls are searching, groping. For one with hope to hold us close, and set goodness in motion. I remember growing up in Dallas, I thought me and my close kin was more than straight, our folks was great, not broke that paper flowed in. Not boasting man, just saying in my brain I didn’t know then That all went wrong, and it just can’t go right like a broke pen. My mind was blind and cloaked in, but then that foolishness departed I saw this thing’s an ocean, and we just tryna swim real far, but can’t nobody float when we ain’t got boats or no fins We need a hero to go in, cause our solutions don’t win Education can’t fix it, more dough just leads to more sin, Medicine is temporary, government seems so thin. With all these weighty problems, that ain’t shrinking they just growing Who’s adequate to save us, how about He knew no sin?

Chorus:

Like a G5 yeah you rushed to rescue me. Took a cross in exchange for a throne to save me. You began the work and I know you’ll finish and make all things right when you come back. Cause you’re my hero, you already saved the day. Cause you’re my hero, and I know you’re coming back for me

Verse 2:

Follow the steps bro, Adam sinned now we all dead so. We gotta sentence on our head like death row, everything is wrecked All creation is a mess so, In the fullness of time, in steps the hero no red cloak, He’s Jesus. No flashing lights, glitz n glam, and no cameras. He came to serve needy folks, and point them to the answer. You see Him healing, feeding folks, and telling them the standard. Our most basic need is to be ransomed by Jesus. First place, yeah we separated in the worst ways. Even physically peep how the earth quakes. Separated socially, got murder and the worst rapes. Even separated from ourselves, we in the worst state. It is so major, but that’s the reason that we need a Savior. The root of every need is separation from Creator. Jesus came humbly to restore us to our maker And later He’ll restore all that He made bruh, He’s Jesus

Chorus

Verse 3:

God is not pleased man, it’s clear that His standards missed. Cause the world is running rampant with, sin it’s an abandonment. Man is feeling stranded, feeling hopeless since his banishment. God is angry at the distortion and the mismanagement. Evil is at work, but don’t be thinking He can’t handle it. He promised He would do away with all of it, dismantle it. He’s put up with this damage in His world, but He’s promised us. That He’ll destroy all His enemies and then He’ll walk with us New Heaven, new Earth that’s where all His sheep dwell. Jesus succeeded in every part of life that we failed. Died the death we couldn’t die, paid our price with 3 nails. Began the work He promised, in the end we all will be well. Already beat our enemies and when His Kingdom’s realized All those who oppose Him will see Jesus with some real eyes. Deliverance is offered us, the hero He is urging us. Salvation is exclusive to His people who have turned to trust

Jai:

I give my gratitude(Jesus). You died to make all things new. My knight in armour when our world is fallen. Your love’s never failing. I find safety in your arms

Chorus

You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

Yet again, I’m posting this late. I’m still considering this one as the December post.

This month’s song was a request from a friend. I wasn’t asked to do this song specifically – just any Taylor Swift song. Today we are going to look at the song You Belong With Me. iTunes tells me that it is currently the 3rd most popular Taylor Swift song (the new Hunger Games song and Love Story coming in at 1st and 2nd respectively). A quick glance at my play counts also reveals that You Belong With Me is my most played Taylor Swift song.

I think that I’m going to stop copying and pasting all the lyrics for songs into my posts, as it doesn’t do much except fill the page up. So here is a link to the lyrics instead: http://www.metrolyrics.com/you-belong-with-me-lyrics-taylor-swift.html

Like the last song I did, this is another love song. So what is the story here? The main girl/singer – let’s call her Sarah – is your typical unpopular high school girl. We may also be able to attach the label of nerd to her. There are a few things that Sarah mentions to give us this image: She wears t-shirts, sneakers, and listens to music that popular kids don’t like. Sarah also likes this guy she knows – we’ll call him Tom – but she either doesn’t have the nerve to tell him, or she told him and got turned down. The former seems much more likely to be the case – if she had been turned down for another girl, she might be singing Better Than Revenge instead. At any rate, Sarah likes Tom, but Tom has a girlfriend – Samantha. Samantha is described as a stereotypical high school prom queen. She is the cheer captain, wears provocative clothing, and mostly cares about herself.

From the way things are setup, it’s obvious to the listener that Tom needs to get a clue, break up with Samantha, and get together with Sarah. So is there a problem here? Well, although they are small, I think there are a few things to think about.

The first is Tom’s behavior. He as a girlfriend, and yet he obviously spends a certain amount of ‘alone time’ with Sarah. Not always a bad thing, but it probably is most of the time. And in his situation, it almost definitely is a bad move. As a matter of fact, you could say that Tom and he bad decisions is/are to blame for the whole song. He dates the attractive, popular, Samantha, and spends time telling Sarah his dreams and inner thoughts. So in the end, the average listeners gut-feeling is probably right – He needs to leave Samantha and move onto Sarah. Why should he do this? Ultimately, because he has a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Sarah. And the popularity and looks that Samantha has will disappear as the years go by.

So Tom has problems, but what about Sarah? Well, the general feeling I get from her is that she is a bit of a recluse. This is probably where Tom has trouble, as it’s extremely hard to leave the popular group for the girl who likes to be alone. So is this Tom’s fault? I’m inclined to say no. Sarah needs to learn to stop feeling sorry for herself. She needs to get off the bleachers and do something. She can’t just expect to stay the same and have Tom wake up one day and decided to switch girlfriends. And to bring this back full-circle, if she really thinks that Tom belongs with her, she needs to tell Tom how she feels.

So what is the take away from this song? Make decisions. Embrace change. We cannot sit passively and wait for events to take their “natural course.” Because the act of doing nothing is unnatural in itself. Tom needs to make a decision, stay with Samantha or switch to Sarah – if all you do is sit on the fence you’ll find the only thing you’re left with is a sore butt. Sarah needs to take action as well. If she doesn’t like her situation, then she needs to change it.

Should we listen to this song? I say, if you like it, go for it. The only real complaint that I can come up with is that it’s a very “plain vanilla” song as far as a meaningful message goes. The song is basically just a story about the relationship between these people.

This is something that bothers me about Taylor Swift as an artist. Most, if not all, of her songs are about relationships – many of which are dysfunctional. Although the individual songs may not send a strong message, I think that many people (probably more commonly girls) will look to her as an example of how relationship should be. I think that she does not set a good example for people at all. She seems to have been in relationship after relationship, and they all end (many of them badly). What’s wrong with relationships ending you might ask? Nothing. Except when you become someone who starts and ends relationships like riding roller coasters at six flags.

One of the big problems with people today is that they treat relationships lightly, and one of the reasons we do this is because we see celebrities (people who are deemed successful by others) jump in a out of relationships just like Taylor does in her songs.
However, although the relationships of the world seem to crumble everyday, we can take comfort in the fact that this reality only makes the Gospel message that much better. Jesus is the only one who will never leave you. You might make bad decisions, or sit stagnant in indecision, but Jesus will always be calling out to you, saying: “You Belong With Me.”

Son of the Most High,
Teegan

P.S. What do you think about this song? What song should I do next? Leave a comment letting me know!