This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
There is a marker
No one sees it 'cause the sand
Has covered over all the messages it kept
Misunderstanding, what original truth was
And out expanding, in a faith, but not in love
What went wrong?
Walking tightrope high over moral ground
Seeing visions of falling up somehow
Do come down
With the living let what is living love
So unforgiving, yet needing forgiveness first
God, what do you say?
Those undecided needn't have faith to be free
And those misguided, there was a plan for them to be
Now you got both sides claiming killing in god's name
But god is nowhere to be found, conveniently
What goes on?
Walking tightrope high over moral ground
Walk the bridges before you burn them down
Do come round
With the living let what is living love
Unforgiving, yet needing forgiveness first
God, what do you say? What do you say?
I feel a sickness. A sickness coming over me
Like watching freedom being sucked straight out to sea
And the solution? Well, from me far would it be
But the delusion is feeling dangerous to me
What goes wrong?
Walking tightrope high over moral ground
Seeing visions of falling up somehow
Do come down
With the living, let what is living love
Are forgiving, yet needing forgiveness first
What do you say? God, what do you say?
What do you say?
Calling out, calling out
Calling out, calling out
No one sees it 'cause the sand
Has covered over all the messages it kept
Misunderstanding, what original truth was
And out expanding, in a faith, but not in love
What went wrong?
Walking tightrope high over moral ground
Seeing visions of falling up somehow
Do come down
With the living let what is living love
So unforgiving, yet needing forgiveness first
God, what do you say?
Those undecided needn't have faith to be free
And those misguided, there was a plan for them to be
Now you got both sides claiming killing in god's name
But god is nowhere to be found, conveniently
What goes on?
Walking tightrope high over moral ground
Walk the bridges before you burn them down
Do come round
With the living let what is living love
Unforgiving, yet needing forgiveness first
God, what do you say? What do you say?
I feel a sickness. A sickness coming over me
Like watching freedom being sucked straight out to sea
And the solution? Well, from me far would it be
But the delusion is feeling dangerous to me
What goes wrong?
Walking tightrope high over moral ground
Seeing visions of falling up somehow
Do come down
With the living, let what is living love
Are forgiving, yet needing forgiveness first
What do you say? God, what do you say?
What do you say?
Calling out, calling out
Calling out, calling out
Lyrics submitted by N0 C0DE 79
Marker in the Sand Lyrics as written by Mike Mccready Eddie Vedder
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I Love this song. It's everything I feel inside.
I've been a jammer for years now, and as i learn / study their music more, I feel that I grow better as a person. I've often wondered if Eddie and the boys are Christian. From what I gather, eddie is an open-mind, pondering all facets of religion, be it Eastern or Western. As the band has matured, however, I think a tremendous has developed for Jesus. That may seem like a bold statement, but read the lyrics to Given to Fly "First he was stripped, then he was stabbed by Faceless men well f*ckers, HE STILL STANDS".
To me, this song is a lamentation--and almost an extension--of ideations / feeling generated in Given to Fly. From the first time i heard this song, the "marker in the sand" was from the Gospel (i believe John 8:6). Here, a bunch of people wanted to stone a woman (in accordance with Moses' law) for being caught as an adulterer. They told Jesus what she had done. Jesus reacted FIRST by bending and writing something the sand. To this day, NO one knows what he had wrote. He then makes the PROFOUND statement of "He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her".
No one knows the message of this marker cuz its been covered over. But again, like the profound statement made, Jesus had orginal, plain and SIMPLE truth. It made sense. Right from wrong. Easy.
But its not like that now. Us humans and our free will / sinful nature has made everything more complicated than it needs to be. The real truth has become distorted / lost by many.
What went wrong? ---a great rhetorical.
We ALL are sinners and ALL need to get our feet back on MORAL ground (although i think this song is more political in its references to who's walking the tightrope). No more killing, no more poverty, no more hatred. We are SO advanced as people yet STILL so immature. Let LOVE conquer all, dammit, is how this song makes me feel---impossible as it seems.
And then the Question "God what do you say" and statement "Im calling you out" is almost like that made by an overly frustrated person that just wants truth and love already. God can fix this, the narrator knows this and he/she doesn't want to have to wait for it any longer. And rightly so.
...And He WILL do this someday, in the second coming. Till then, we all have to learn how to love one another will a corrupt government and in an all too often injust society.
Love will find a way.