Into the Sea

I have to agree that the closest interpretation to this song can definitely involve the verse Matthew 21:21 which states, "Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done." I believe the whole song is centered on the basis of one's faith. Here is my reasoning for each part of the song:

"And it's alright, it's alright And it's alright, it's alright Everybody is a failure in this light And it's okay, it's okay And it's okay, it's okay Underneath it nobody's back is straight"

Interpretation: Cody is talking about God's holiness and is simply stating that EVERYONE falls short of God's glory. "Underneath it all nobody's back is straight" is referring to our "deformities" because of the wages of all our sins.

"And I'll try to stop it when I saw your posture start to bend But honey it was not mine to lift"

Interpretation: Cody is then recollecting how most people try to help others who have their own problems and sins to deal with, but ultimately he realizes that it is not his job to fix other people's problems; this is God's responsibility.

" And it's alright, it's alright And it's alright I can't make it right Somebody put a bad lens in your eye And you try to shed your skin when you saw yourself in it so thin But you only shed your blood When you climb out, you can't climb back in"

Interpretation: He then realizes that he must deal with his own problems and leave it up to God to help him. Then Cody addresses (the person he's been talking to in the whole song) that someone has placed a "bad lens" in their eye, meaning the someone has given that person a bad perspective on who they are really seeking help from (a person who has blurry vision will mistake the identity of another person). In other words, they shouldn't be seeking help from Cody, but from Jesus Himself. Then Cody begins talking about the people who cover up their bad side by doing good works. Showing the nice looking skin and removing the bad skin; "And you try to shed your skin when you saw yourself in it so thin." When they are doing this, they are only "shedding their blood," meaning that they are doing something that is not necessary and not a healthy habit. It is not about doing good because you "need" to but because you "want" to do it for God. After that Cody mentions, "When you climb out, you can't climb back in." I believe that Cody is hinting out that being in a bad situation is healthy because it humbles us in our walk with God. Once we get out it becomes difficult to become humble because we become so prideful of our good works and lose sight that we will always need God, even if we are all ok.

Chorus: "Go throw yourself into the sea Go throw yourself into Throw yourself into the sea"

"Go throw yourself into the sea Go you throw yourself into the sea Though we don't need a mountain moved We just want to move ourselves Take us somewhere, take us somewhere Anywhere else"

Interpretation: This is where the Bible verse and the main message of the song come into play. The verse teaches that faith is important to have in order to do the impossible. When it is applied to the song, the meaning remains the same but applies it to ourselves rather then a mountain. In essence, Cody is saying that if we have an amazing, enduring faith to move huge mountains then we can put our faith in ourselves to become better in humility and love through our walk with Christ. "Go throw yourself into the ocean" is just another way of saying "Have faith to let Christ lead you and change you from the inside" Christ Himself is the sea in this song! That's what's mind blowing. Let Christ embrace the hurt you feel and throw yourself and all the burdens you carry onto Him. Let Christ "take you somewhere, anywhere else."

"Go throw yourself into the sea Go throw yourself into the sea Though we don’t ever see you move, slowly the wind turns you to sand in the hands of children on the shore"

Interpretation: The next section mentions that even if your faith is little and you still go in (follow Christ). God will slowly change you and you will inspire others (the "children on the shore") to eventually follow in your own footsteps because of that faith. Then it comes back around all over again.

This is an amazing song and an awesome band! God Bless! I hope my interpretation helped. :)

I'm thinking that the song is about a burden in the life of one of Cody's friends.

"And I tried to stop it when, I saw your posture start to bend, But honey, it was not mine to lift."

He tried to help her carry the buren when he saw the effect it was having on her, but he realises that it's not his burden to carry.

"Though we don’t ever see you move, Slowly the wind turns you to sand, In the hands of children on the shore."

I think the fact that he refers to the burden as "you" instead of "it" could mean that the burden is another person.

"Go throw yourself into the sea. And go throw yourself into... Throw yourself into the sea."

He's telling this burden to "throw [itself] into the sea". I think that rather than being a reference to Matthew 21:21-22, this is a reference to Luke 17:2, which says "It would be best for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to lose his faith." This person who is a burden is causing Cody's friend to lose her faith or to stuble in her walk with God, and Cody is saying that this person should have this stone hung around his neck and throw himself into the sea instead of continuing to be a burden to his friend.

Artist: As Cities Burn

Song: Into the Sea

[youtube=youtube.com/watch]

I interpret this song a bit deeper than the usual copy/pasted Matthew 21:21 verse I see online on message boards....I see it rather as a total (sarcastic/poetic) rebuke of a person's complete moral ambiguity or weakness, of "letting things be" and then of letting them stay that way.

A person without a sense virtue/principles, with no convictions to stand for this or that in particular is one to be tossed about with the winds of change as they come, like a rag doll, buffeted by the winds of nature and circumstance, all of which are given equal footing in the hearts of such a person, and so they are motivated by the singer to get it over with and to throw them self into the sea...

Such a person has the tendency to blame others for their faults or the things they witness that they choose to not address. "Somebody put a bad lens in your eye" it's merely an excuse, a dismissal of choosing to avoid things which should not be seen in the first place, or to ignore virtuous actions that are needed when something morally degenerate is witnessed, but they are just ignored.

The line about shedding your skin is one of my favorites in the song, this whole section reminds me of trying to avoid what you are (or what you could become if you did stand up) and so you try to "change yourself" - conform, but what happens is you lose more than the surface "skin", it's your very blood being shed. Your unwillingness to rise about the squalor of immorality and wicked precepts (or an out-right evil) is irreversible in the sense that a true loss of innocence occurs. "When you climb out, you can't climb back in"

Now we don't need faith, hope, etc to live without principles, virtues and standards...we live according to our own devices, so "we don't need a mountain moved" -"we just want to move ourselves"

"it's alright, it's alright", and it is, IF everything is the same, there is nothing holy, nothing evil, and so nothing good is really sensible in standing up for. If it's all relative, it's all ambiguous, and when it is revealed ultimately, it's never good enough, so it's always going to be a "failure in this light".

Such a person never really moves, because a person who is so dead in virtue/principles, so brainwashed that everything is equal, are rendered completely ineffectual, they are little more than a corpse animated to life. You can't really change the world like that, for the better, for the next generation, the young that waits on the shore looking into the great expanse before them for some sign, some instruction. Instead of being an example, an inspiration towards them; the world and it's pressures simply reduce you into sand, nothing more influential to the children waiting on the shore, then sands in their hands, falling through fingers. Certainly not a boat to take them somewhere good... "Though we don’t ever see you move, slowly the wind turns you to sand in the hands of children on the shore".

GREAT SONG.

brettstrobridge.wordpress.com

I think it's "slowly the wind turns you to sand"

This CD is going to be absolutely AMAZING. I anticipate it as being their best CD ever.

Definitely. Should be fun. I hate being a perfectionist but it's what I do...I have some corrections. ha

"..try to shed your skin when you saw yourself in it so thin."

"when you climb out, you can't climb back in"

"Though we don't need a mountain moved"

"Though we don’t ever see you move, slowly the wind turns you to sand in the hands of children on the shore."

crap. hit enter too soon.

also it never says "you throw yourself into the sea" it's always "go throw yourself"

great song, i've had my album pre-ordered forever :D

Matthew 21: 21-22 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Does anyone think it's a reasonable assumption that it's about someone dealing with something that he can't do anything about, so he desperately wants the faith to move their "mountain".. or he's straight out speaking it out of their life.

eh?

Just a guess.

I'm just not sure what the last line means...

The last line might literally be talking about a mountain. Possibly the wind moves the waves into the land/mtn. So the waves create the sand on the shore from the mountains due to erosion and whatnot.

heh that's actually quite apparent when you I look at it now cool beans