This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Here I am Lord and I'm drowning
In your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where you found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight
I know you've cast my sin as far
As the east is from the west
And I stand before you now
As though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way
Jesus, can you show me just how far the east is from the west?
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
And time and time again
Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way
Jesus, can you show me just how far the east is from the west?
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
I know you've washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel
But by the truth your word reveals
And I'm not holding onto you
But you're holding onto me
You're holding onto me
Jesus, you know just how far the east is from the west?
I don't have to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
Just how far, the east is from the west, just how far
From one scarred hand to the other
You know just how far, the east is from the west, just how far
From one scarred hand to the other
In your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where you found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight
I know you've cast my sin as far
As the east is from the west
And I stand before you now
As though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way
Jesus, can you show me just how far the east is from the west?
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
And time and time again
Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way
Jesus, can you show me just how far the east is from the west?
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
I know you've washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel
But by the truth your word reveals
And I'm not holding onto you
But you're holding onto me
You're holding onto me
Jesus, you know just how far the east is from the west?
I don't have to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
Just how far, the east is from the west, just how far
From one scarred hand to the other
You know just how far, the east is from the west, just how far
From one scarred hand to the other
Lyrics submitted by wildcatcorner38, edited by gabe102506
East To West Lyrics as written by Bernie Herms John Mark Hall
Lyrics © ESSENTIAL MUSIC PUBLISHING, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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This truly is a beautiful song! I can't get enough of it! I think we can all agree in this; We have all felt like our sins are endless and that there's no hope for us. But that's the beauty of God's love and forgiveness. The minute we repent and ask God to forgive us, He'll throw away our sins and bury them in the sea of forgetfulness.
The song is about how even when we feel so far away from God cause of what we've done in the past, He's still gonna love us and forget our past sins even though it might haunt us. God's still gonna hold unto us and forgive us.
beautiful song, def in my top 10
truely wonderful song.
I LOVE CASTING CROWNS
I love this song...
Favorite lines ====
I don't want to end up where You found me
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way
I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me
really love this song
This song I can relate to in many ways. I remember times in my life (and I think most of us have) where I felt like I had more sins than God could forgive me for. I guess we just need to remember that God is alot bigger than us. We can never sin more than God can handle. And we have to remember that when we ask his forgivness that He does cast our sins as far as the east is from the west. My favorite line is probably this one: "I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me You're holding on to me" This line reminds me that I'm not the one clinging to Christ, Hes holding me, and that brings me great comfort that Im not in my own hands, I'm in the hands of my Savior.
"i know You've cast my sins as far as the east is from the west, and i stand before You now, as though ive never sinned"
what awesome truth!!!!!
@em345 can you explain to me how east any far from each other than the south from the north. Because if I head east and you west, we will meet on the other side of the earth but meet will do. So I don't get it.
i absolutely love this song, my favorite line is 'from one scarred hand to the other'
There's one important issue with song. I'm sure about this line: "'cause You know just how far the east is from the west From one scarred hand to the other"
I don't know if they're talking about the difference between praying and not praying(putting your hands toghether, your hands are as far away from each other as east from west) OR if they're talking about the distance between jesus hands on the cross(boths his hands are obviously scarred).
when they say "how far the east is from the West" they go by if you travel from the east and go west you really will never get to an end, that is what it mean Jesus cast our sins away in and indefinite distance from us so that it will never be able to come at us again
I'm thankful that when I accepted Gods gift of salvation, that is his son Jesus,I was released of my sin, once and for all.I no longer ask his forgiveness because I already have it.I just thank him even when I screw up.now that's grace.
pergatory if only we could perge our souls...
ha. talk about screw up. listen to slow fade. now that one will bring anyone to their knees. specially the end.
The man in the story has been in bad places before. He is close to becoming what he used to be and one last ditch effort before that happens he wants to be reminded what Jesus went through for us, and for our sins..."'cause You know just how far the east is from the west from one scarred hand to the other" the "how far" is symbolic to the pain that only Jesus knows himself he went through. This is a beautiful song and this is what it means to me :)