Flight Metaphor

Song Explanation: The Fight

I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
– Romans 7:21-25a

This song could easily be called Story of My Life, but we already went down that road with Let It Go, didn’t we? (I actually called this one “Old Man” for a while before renaming it. I’m bad at song titles…)

The Fight is a reference to the inner struggle every Christian faces with sin. We’ve all prayed that infamous prayer – that we’ll never do it again. Whatever the “it” is this week or this year, we occasionally have moments of clarity when we say to ourselves, “I’m a Christian! Jesus has given me victory over sin! So why on earth do I keep messing up?!”

If I’m honest, it’s kind of embarrassing how much I can relate to Paul in Romans 7:15 when he says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Deep down, I truly love God and want to do what is right, but the smallest thing can set me off or distract me for long enough to lure me away. In the words of Robert Robinson, I am prone to wander.

And then I get confused. I try to will myself into becoming a better person, like I can be faithful to God by my own strength. But it’s only by surrendering to Jesus – acknowledging that I’ll never be strong enough on my own – that I have any hope of conquering my sin. That’s not to say that I’m giving up on fighting temptation or trying to do good! Rather, I’m giving in to God, asking him for intervention and regeneration.

In the midst of it all, God is patient with me. No matter how many times I fail, the Lord welcomes me back with his unconditional, unending love. As I grow closer to Jesus he redirects my heart, conforming my will to his. So I fix my eyes on him and persevere. Even if it takes my whole life (ok, it will take longer than a lifetime), he deserves everything I have to offer. After all, he gave me himself first.

Sooooooooo yeah. I love Jesus. And this song is about that.

Lyrics:
Don’t look now, I missed the mark again
How could I let this happen?
I told myself never again

But this old man, he’s creeping up
And I’m not sure I’m strong enough
To ward him off, he’s powerful

And I know I said that I would change
But the more I try, the more I stay the same

I fought it off for as long as I could
And all this time I told myself I’d be good
But I’m so tired of fighting alone
I’ll never be strong enough on my own

But then you came along and you changed it all
You got me outside myself
And it’s wonderful surrendering

You change my outlook, redirect my heart
You give me a brand new start
You always do, and it’s beautiful

And this time, I know that I have changed
In my bones I know I’ll never be the same

So I’m giving in, but I’m not giving up
I’m laying it down for the one I love
Because I’ve found a reason to live
And you deserve everything that my heart can give

You can stream and purchase Flight Metaphor via Bandcamp, iTunes, and Spotify.

Song Explanation: Hold Fast

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
– Hebrews 12:1-3

Hold Fast is a song that I sat on for a couple years before I did anything with it. Even then, I thought that it had an old school Remedy / Remedy Drive vibe, so I was elated when David Zach agreed to contribute his vocal talents on the recording. David is a good friend, and Flight Metaphor has shared the stage with Remedy Drive several times over the years. It was awesome to finally work together on something!

This song is a special one for me because I wrote it with one of my students, Connor Anderson, in mind. As a youth pastor, I’ve had the privilege of seeing many young men and women mature from snot-nosed 6th graders (God love ’em) into thoughtful, upstanding adults. When I started working on the lyrics to Hold Fast, I decided I wanted to encourage my students to stand firm in their faith as they transition from high school into adulthood. However, as I wrote, I found myself thinking specifically about Connor. I’ve known Connor since he was in pre-school, and over the years I’ve come to view him not only as a student but as a dear friend. Hold Fast was penned in the months leading up to his high school graduation, so I decided to dedicate the song to him.

It’s a fun pop rock tune – so much so that we were calling it “The Woah Song” leading up to the album’s release. Hold Fast is a fine title, but I’m still somewhat partial to just writing “Woah Song” on our set lists.

As for Connor, I’m happy to report that two years later his head is still screwed on straight, and he continues to pursue a deeper faith in Jesus 🙂

Lyrics:
Hold fast, you’ve got to keep your feet planted
Dig in those heels
Sometimes it gets so hard to endure
But you’re not alone

Come on and face the light, give it another try
Give words to what your heart must sing
You never were alone, your life is not your own
Lean in to what the future brings

Focus, I think you’re getting distracted
Don’t lose your mind
Purpose is found in every moment
You’ll see in time
Open your eyes

Don’t walk away
Your story still remains unfinished
There’s more to say
Don’t cut it short, don’t rob yourself
There’s so much potential

You can stream and purchase Flight Metaphor via Bandcamp, iTunes, and Spotify.

Song Explanation: Let It Go

Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
– Matthew 18:21-22

There are a few things you need to know about this song:

  1. Let It Go is the oldest song on the Flight Metaphor record (excluding Heaven Is My Home)
  2. Its original title was Off the Hook, which is just as bad as Let It Go
  3. We were calling it Let It Go as early as 2012, a full year before Frozen was released

Ok. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about the meaning of the song.

I’ve always said (with my tongue firmly in my cheek) that it’s easy to obey Jesus’ commands until we don’t want to. Forgiving others is an excellent example. Let It Go is a song about forgiveness, or perhaps more accurately, my inclination not to forgive.

At the time this song was written, I was recognizing unhealthy patterns in a few of my closest relationships. This song is an honest acknowledgement of my sin. When I first sang this song, I was confessing that I was the one who needed to change.

As a whole, the song is an allusion to Ephesians 4:22-27:

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

The line, “If I’m to save my soul, I’ve gotta let it go; before this monster eat me alive,” has nothing to do with one’s eternal destiny, but the fact that when we are unwilling to forgive others, it eats away at us. Until I actually forgive my brother or sister – holding nothing against them – it weighs heavily on my soul. In this situation, only I have the power to save myself from that kind of grief. No one else can do it for me.

Lyrics:
Oh, bitterness is in my bloodstream
It’s like I’ve got a disease
I’ll never let you off the hook
For what you did to me

If I’m to save my soul, I’ve gotta let it go
Before this monster eats me alive
If I’m to save my soul, I’ve gotta let it go

In anger I cry out for justice
Without regard for amends
I can’t show the grace which I require
To put this thing to bed

Before the setting sun, let’s get it over done
I need to make amends to survive
If I’m to save my soul, I’ve gotta let it go

You can stream and purchase Flight Metaphor via Bandcamp.

Song Explanation: Tunnel Vision

This is the first in a series of posts explaining the songs from Flight Metaphor’s self-titled album. While music fans are always free to glean their own meaning from the songs they listen to, I’ve always been curious about the intent behind my favorite songwriters’ words. The songs on this album have a special meaning for me, so I thought I’d share them with anyone who cares to listen.

Tunnel Vision
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.
– 1 John 2:9

The thing I love about this song is that when I shared an early version of it with my friends, they called it a swing and a miss. The fact that it’s now the lead track on our album is pretty satisfying – it’s a testament to my band’s patience whenever I present them with a new idea, and it shows how much better my songs become when they’re involved.

Tunnel Vision is a song about being right about all the wrong things. Someone can know the Bible backwards and forwards, but if they can’t love people the way Jesus does, their theology is worthless. I’ve seen too many Christians (including myself) focus so much on the smallest things that we lose sight of the bigger picture. We trade in the stuff of God’s Kingdom – grace, mercy, forgiveness, healing, redemption – for judgment and infighting. We care so much about being right that we don’t care if we’re turning people away from Jesus!

All the while, we’re caught up in our own insecurities. We spend so much of our time and energy keeping tabs on everyone else that we start to think that our salvation is earned. Of course, no good Christian would ever say that, but our behavior betrays how we truly feel. We’re scared that we don’t measure up, and it cripples us.

Ultimately, this song is an attempt to paraphrase Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1-5:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Note that Jesus refers to “your brother.” Oftentimes this passage is used to call off judgment leveled on the rest of the world, but it’s just as applicable for two Christians quibbling over theological minutia. Tunnel Vision is my polite way of telling myself and every other Christian tempted by this line of thinking to knock it off.

The bridge also introduces a theme that’s fairly prevalent Flight Metaphor: light. (I originally wanted to call the album Light Songs for Heavy Souls.) In Tunnel Vision, the light represents Christ giving us a new way of looking at things. It’s also a thinly veiled reference to Paul’s conversion experience…I think I was listening to a lot of Thrice when I wrote it.

Lyrics:
Focus in on whatever you want
It’s gone, it’s gone
Doesn’t matter what motive you’ve got
It’s gone, long gone

Oh, my eyes are stuck with tunnel vision
So short sighted, all of my decisions
So afraid unnecessarily
And I’m frozen to the bone

Dress it up however you want
You’re wrong, you’re wrong
Doesn’t matter what motive you’ve got
You’ll still be wrong, dead wrong

Just let your insides out
And step into the light
And burn away your eyes
And you’ll be given sight

You can stream and purchase Flight Metaphor via Bandcamp.

Mike’s Top 5: Rock | #2: Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American

It was 2001, and I was cleaning out my car (a gold 1987 Mercury Cougar, if you must ask) in the driveway. To make the chore go a little faster, I had my radio tuned in to 89.7 The River. That’s when I first heard Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World:

This might sound overly nostalgic, but the discovery of Jimmy Eat World marked a turning point in the development of my musical tastes. I was “coming into my own” as a music fan, and their songs struck such a chord with me that I’ve pretty much spent the last 10 years trying to re-write Clarity. I haven’t come close.

Their last couple of albums haven’t interested me as much. Futures was an amazing powerpop album, but since then the hooks and memorable melodies have been few and far between. Even so, I still consider myself a diehard fan. I’ll buy their new album when it comes out next year, but I’m hoping for a return to form.

All that said, Salt Sweat Sugar Bleed American is modern rock at its finest. Don’t be surprised if Flight Metaphor covers this one someday.

Bonus: Check out this solo set from Jim Adkins back in March.