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"
1945, the year I was born
My mother died, but left behind a son
You stayed with me Jesus
Yes, you showed the way
You flew down from Heaven, to steal me away
In 1959 two cars collide
Nine in the crash and 1 survived
You stayed with me Jesus
Yes, I testify
You flew down from Heaven, to keep me alive
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
1985 I missed a plane
Which then disappeared, never seen again
You came to me Jesus, stood right in my way
You flew down from Heaven to save me again
Everywhere I go they run in fear
This mortal coil, the end is near
You stayed with me Jesus, bow my head and pray
You've come down from Heaven to keep me safe
You've come down from Heaven to keep me safe
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
My mother died, but left behind a son
You stayed with me Jesus
Yes, you showed the way
You flew down from Heaven, to steal me away
In 1959 two cars collide
Nine in the crash and 1 survived
You stayed with me Jesus
Yes, I testify
You flew down from Heaven, to keep me alive
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
1985 I missed a plane
Which then disappeared, never seen again
You came to me Jesus, stood right in my way
You flew down from Heaven to save me again
Everywhere I go they run in fear
This mortal coil, the end is near
You stayed with me Jesus, bow my head and pray
You've come down from Heaven to keep me safe
You've come down from Heaven to keep me safe
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Lyrics submitted by Browns0286
Stay With Me Jesus Lyrics as written by Brian A Rosenworcel Adam S Gardner
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Great version of a great song,
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At a concert in Pittsburgh lead vocalist Ryan Miller introduced this song saying, "you know when you watch a football game and your team scores and you think, 'it's Jesus' and then the other team scores and their fans think 'it's Jesus'? Well that makes me laugh, and that's what this song is about."
[?????] = mortal coil
mortal coil= old school way of saying your body or in more general terms the physical world. as in "when i die my spirit will leave this mortal coil"
My interpretation is based on the assumption that Guster is not a Christian band, which if taking this song out of context, would seem completely ridiculous.
This song comes off as a sort of sympathetic satire on how people use religion and the concept of God/Jesus to form life narratives.
At the same time, it may be a much more critical satirization, in displaying how the seeming ignorance of religious folk leads them to interpret real-life events in such a fantastic way, and which, as a consequence, further reinforces their devout religious conviction.
please be careful to categorize all "religious folk" as "ignorant" friend. no matter your experience, there are many people out there that simply don't ascribe to your 'boxed' understanding of religious folk that you describe in your post. <br /> <br /> for the record, i agree with the song interpretation and appreciate the creative nature Guster uses to push the envelope.
I think the song is a satire...obviously because they are NOT a christian rock band. The song is really happy and the lyrics are the same way. But the narrator of the song is forgetting about alll the people who died even though he was saved. He sings hallelujah but in reality...should we really be thanks jesus/god for keeping us alive but killing others?
I agree with gumby. This song is beautiful and soulful, and without looking closely it can seem like a praise song. But as you say, if Jesus can save one, why would he let all the others die? This is so obvious in the second verse "9 in the crash and only one survived." It sort of reflects the sad mentality of some Christians - blinders on, seeing themselves - the Christians - as the only ones deserving of Grace and who cares about the ones that God let go?
This is a pretty cool song, I've heard that the lead singer of the band is Jewish? Honestly I don't care what his religion is, but it doesn't look like he's Jewish to me.
Ryan Miller is Jewish. The band had actually released a statement saying they all had bar mitzvahs, and if you go to their website, you can buy their Hanukkah Album
This song is clearly a satire. The narrator is an imbecile--he doesn't understand that he is bringing death everywhere he goes, and everyone is afraid of him. The line "Everywhere I go they run in fear" clearly shows this. This is not a Christian song. It is making fun of a guy who carries death around with him and then thanks Jesus for saving him (and not the others).