| All That Remains – Hold On Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. B.V.M.H. There is a conflict between the speaker and woman who was close to him. It starts out as a physical conflict, with the speaker not wanting to become intimate with the woman anymore because it is only causing spiritual pain and it does not look like it will stop anytime soon (i.e. "this is not a passing trend"). Or the physical aspect of it could be referring to abuse, but I don't think so. Overall, no agreement can be made between the two, so the speaker's ultimatum is given in the chorus. I believe that the speaker in this song is a man who is upright and moral, while the woman is not. He knows the truth and he sees through the lies that she is telling him. He then says that despite the many struggles that they have endured, alone or collectively, and having what seemed to be a strong relationship, he cannot stay with her any more- he cannot hold on. It could just be one thing about her- one belief, one action- or it could be several, that cross the line and push the speaker over the edge in regards to the things that his faith will let him allow. I like to think that when she asks him if he believed "it," which would be referring to her belief that caused this division between them, he told her his beliefs, and in doing so that made him stronger. Perhaps it was his faith, and in defending it, he came to embrace it more. Another classic from ATR, despite its gentleness and softer sound; I am stoked for the upcoming album- I think it will be their best yet. This song is very catchy and it carries a deep meaning we all need to listen to: if anything is contrary to the truth, to the objective norms that all humans are subjected to, not just Christians, then is must be done away with, with no exceptions. We just can't hold on the to the sinful elements of the world in any more. A.M.D.G. B.V.M.H. |
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| All That Remains – For We Are Many Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. Another sick song by ATR. They still have it; this is better than all of Overcome, which wasn't too bad itself. This song is about my favorite topic! -fighting the good fight, as St. Paul would put it. The message is really straight forward: defy evil, defy fear, defy hatred, defy tyrants, defy the oppression of sin, defy Satan. We are many, that is, we Christians are strong in number, but most importantly in spirit. With the power of God on our side, and with His Holy Spirit, we have the strength to eradicate the strongholds of evil. Now the tide is turning: As Gen 3:15 said, although evil won the battle on Good Friday, good won the war on Easter Sunday. Satan is a defeated foe, and his eternal banishment is quickly approaching. Let evil beware! We who stand on the firm rock of Jesus Christ are coming, and we will bring your doom. A.M.D.G. |
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| War of Ages – Eternal Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. The song begins with Sonny (from POD) talking about the spiritual battle all humans live in. It is the battle of our spiritual nature against the physical world and sin it entails. We are all spiritual beings who just happen to have bodies, not bodies that happen to have souls. This is what War of Ages stands for, the battle against good and evil, right and wrong, truth and fallacy, God and the devil. (This, however, does not lead to the conclusion that the devil is the counterpart of God/ the complete opposite: Satan is an angel, a fallen one at that, and he was created by God; the true counterpart of Satan is St. Michael the Archangel). So, the speaker is saying that he has been "fighting the good fight," as St. Paul would say, until something happens, something that causes him to fall..? To me this fall could have been induced by pride, suggested by the phrase, "I felt that nothing could touch me." He had what is known as "hubris," or believing that you are something that you are not, and this caused him to fall, similarly to the fall of Adam and Eve, also a sin of pride. Nevertheless, the speaker figuratively falls and then God watches that fall, though not in a spiteful manner, but in a concerned and loving way. He then reaches deep inside to his inner spiritual "warrior" and does what Jesus told his disciples to do- to set their faces like flint and not be shaken by the enemy, because the enemy can only harm our physical bodies that will inevitably perish and not our immortal souls, so long as we have God on our side and Jesus in our hearts. A common theme of the album "Eternal" is overcoming obstacles in life and bouncing back from defeat. The speaker goes on to say in the first verse that although we are all human and make mistakes, he did his best not to let those mistakes cause any more damage to himself in the future, but to limit them to a one time occurrence and keep them in the past- over and done with. But, it seems that he is saying that he has now given in some and his failures are seeping into his psyche and effecting more than just his past. This is causing the things that matter in his life to go awry. It is not how many failures we have that determine how successful we are, but it is the way we better ourselves from those mistakes. The speaker is frustrated because of his inability to avoid falling into sin and he wonders if he will ever be the person he is being called to be, or if he will remain in the vicious cycle of obedience and failure. I think he is then saying in the phrase, "My very own existence may cost me everything" that his being alive as a flawed human in a sinful world might be too much for him to bear, and he is despairing that he is not good enough to merit the place God has prepared for him. The very fact that he is alive on this earth makes him susceptible to evil and failure, and he thinks that by the time his life is over he will have squandered everything that God could give to him. Despite this anxiety, the man is simply thinking things over in his head in a humble, though somewhat excessive, way. He feels his earthly life is in control over his spiritual life. He still has hope, though, and he is praying to God to have true freedom from this world so that he can experience life to the fullest and not merely have physical life. I think that his "undying mistakes" are the ones that he keeps repeating. I have to be honest now that I'm not positive, but I want to say that the whole "the undying mistakes that I've made have set my life apart and now I'm free" means that his repeated mistakes have caused his "flesh'/ his "existence" on this earth to be separated from spiritual life, so now his soul is free from the shackles of his flesh. Probably not, but that's the best I've got right now. "Live for something" might mean to not go through life without a purpose and to use your God-given talents for His glory. The hope for nothing has me pretty stumped because the band is completely for having hope, so my conclusion is that the proud speaker is the one saying these things, and he is saying them so that people don't just sit around and hope without actually living with a purpose. Like the Bible says, faith without good works is useless. His pride still lingers though because he doesn't see the necessity of hope, but maybe I'm just thinking a little too much into it. Finally, he knows in his heart that greater things are yet to come (thus he has hope) but they will not just be handed over to him, but he must fight to earn them. N.B. God is Eternal; the Alpha and the Omega. He was, is, and always shall be. We humans, however, along with the angels that God also created, are immortal: we have a starting point, but no end, just like a "ray" in Math. God is like a "line" in Math with two arrows, no beginning or end. God alone is eternal. A.M.D.G. |
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| Red – Pieces Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. Just like a lot of other Christian bands, Red writes songs that are applicable to all people, although they have special meanings for Christians. It's good to view this song and others like it in different contexts- which ever one that is to help you with the situation your currently in. But I ask all those who feel so compelled, to use these songs as a divine dialogue: to listen to God's message of love for you through them. This song in particular has a very deep meaning and it never ceases to comfort me and bring me peace. |
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| Red – Fight Inside Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. I really like what you have to say about this song, and I don't have any criticisms. I'm just writing this because when you discuss the line, "It's nothing, it's everything," you said that the "flesh" responds "it's everything," when what I know you meant to say was the "spirit" instead. Not trying to be nit-picking, just trying to help others avoid confusion. Keep up the good work. ;) |
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| Red – Fight Inside Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. Ok, most people have it right, that the fight inside is referring to a spiritual, internal battle between good and evil, or the desires of the spirit and those of the flesh. I hope to expound on a few of the above ideas and add a few of my own to help clarify the true underlying meaning of this song (although it may not be 100% congruent with the songwriters), as well as to dispel any erroneous interpretations, not to put any one down, but rather to give the meaning that Red would be in accordance with. I'm sure that they, however, would likewise encourage others to apply the lyrics to their own lives in more specific ways. First off, Red is a Christian band: they themselves are Christians along with the lyrical content of their songs. This song in particular, The Fight Inside, is off of their album "Innocence and Instinct." This fact must be noted while deciphering the meaning of the song. Innocence and Instinct is a concept album, and this track just so happens to be the focal point of that concept. This concept, according to Red, is based off of the struggle between "the good and the bad" inside a person, with some of their ideas coming from Dante's Divine Comedy: The Inferno and Charles Baudelaire. The fight inside that is being referred to is the direct result of original sin, or rather it's left-over remains after baptism, concupiscence, which is the inclination toward evil. According to C.S. Lewis we are like "the bent ones," who are weighted down by this sinful nature; we are like a cracked windshield: we function properly and are inherently good, yet our vision is obscured. Concupiscence distorts are reason and blinds us from the truth. Think of life as a journey to the top of a mountain, with the summit being heaven. There are many things that catch your attention off to the side of the path that distract you and keep you from proceeding up the mountain: that's what concupiscence does. St. Paul explains this "fight inside" in depth in his New Testament letters. For example, he says that he does the things which he does not wish to do, in comparison to the song which says, "All the pain, I want it to end, but I want it again." If you and I know something is wrong and we know there will be consequences attached, why do we do it anyways? Why do we make the same mistakes over and over again, even when we resolve avoid them? Because, like the song says, there is a fight going on inside of us every day, a spiritual battle that is raging inside of us. And I hate to say it, but every person has that battle, and not one of them can win it alone. Only by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior will you ultimately win the battle within yourself. You must claim the victory that Jesus won for you on the cross. Alright, in regards to specific lyrics, he says, "enemy, familiar friend" because the temptation (the name I'll give to the "fight inside')has a double personality: at one moment it seems so appealing and friendly, and the other it is his bitter enemy that he resents and tries to get rid of. "My beginning and my end" refers to the temptation also, saying that it is always there, that it is the catalyst of his superficial joy and the pain that follows. It gets him going, and then it brings him down, coinciding in meaning with the lyrics in "Death of Me," a song whose lyrics are linked inextricably to "The Fight Inside," for they both refer to the malicious nature of worldly passions. Just listen to the song! Take what the band stands for and believes in, add it to what they personally have to say about their music, and then you will know what they are going for, and in this case, it is rather profound- so profound that t our salvation hinges on this concept! The speaker says in this song that the fight inside him is hurting him, and without God it is breaking him, again, meaning that this is a repeating occurrence. (And yes, I am sure that the "You" referred to in the hook is God). If you blow all this off, take it for granted, and just forget about it, you're risking the chance of living for eternity with God in heaven. And if not, then so what. What do you have to lose? if you don't believe in the fight inside, or if you just ignore it and wish it away, then you have already lost the battle. You must arm yourself with the knowledge of truth, for the battle rages on and it will not end until we die and ultimately when Jesus comes again in glory at the Parousia. "It's nothing, it's everything" sums up this paradox. The fight inside may seem insignificant and unimportant, but ultimately the outcome of that spiritual battle determines where you will spend the rest of eternity. The voice in your head whispers to you,"That's nothing, who cares. Just do it," when in reality, committing that sinful action will cost you everything. Do not lose hope, for just as the song implicitly suggests, if we have God on our side then we have already won the battle within us. And God bless anyone who actually read this whole thing, because it will truly pay off in the end. A.M.D.G. |
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| War of Ages – False Prophet Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. In this song, Leroy is speaking out against "false prophets," those people who give the pretense of being messengers of truth and links between God and man. "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Mat 7:15). He suggests toward the beginning of this song that a false prophet took his life off course and put doubt in his soul. It gave him false hope, thus contradicting the purpose of a true prophet, whose goals are to bring people back to God through repentance and to give the hope that God will forgive them. The Bible has much to say about false prophets, in both the New and Old Testaments. Please read your Bible, for it is the very Word of God. If you're trying to live the best life you can to make it to heaven, how do you plan on doing that without reading the instruction manual on living the life God wants you to live, inspired straight from Him? The most important "test" you will ever take is ahead of you, and the consequence for failing is eternal separation from God- so you had better study. I digress, though I would highly suggest you check out some of the teachings on "false prophets" in the Bible at I implore you to arm yourself with knowledge of the false prophets and their ways because they are all too real and they will bring you down, just as they did to speaker in this song. These false prophets are still very much in existence today, and they will be until the Parousia (the second coming of Christ), even more so during the "end times." The Bible says that the false prophets will be extremely good at deceiving God's people and turning them away form Him and the Truth. They will sound convincing and you will see many adamantly following them, and you may even feel tempted to do so yourself. Tangible examples of this are the various religions worldwide that deny the truth, teach and promote pagan and hedonistic ideals, and most importantly reject Jesus Christ as the Son of God, true God and true man. For Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."(John 14:6). Other examples of modern false prophets are high-ranking officials in today's society who believe in and endorse actions and beliefs that are against God's will (e.g., the worldwide onslaught against the most innocent and attacked group in history- the unborn- through the barbarous practice of abortion). These people will appear convincing, they will be very many in number, and many will be led astray by them. But thoProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 who persevere to the end, carry their crosses, and declare Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be on the winning side of the war and will be united with Him in glory for all eternity. There is hope for you, and for all humanity. Death has already been defeated! We have won! Let us claim what is ours, and not join the enemy whose days are numbered. Keep your mind and your heart open to God and submit yourself totally to His will, and then you will see clearly through the fog of sin. The false prophets will then cease to affect you because "wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Mat 7:20). Although the speaker in this song was wounded by the false prophet, his stout faith allowed him to climb out of the shadows of despair and fallacy, and into the perpetual and glorious light of truth. He surrenders himself to God, not worrying of what anyone thinks of him, only the One that matters, and he acknowledges that without God he is literally nothing. He then tells the world that the prophet was false and that he only caused the speaker pain. In regards to the false prophet, the Bible says, "Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire." (Mat 7:19). I love WOA's music, and you probably do also if you're reading this, but please don't take these lyrics lightly. I have to occasionally remind myself that these are truly special songs by a truly blessed band and they hold grave, yet ultimately joyful meanings. Don't ever forget the true meaning behind each and every one of their songs, "That God so loved the world..." % |
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| War of Ages – Through The Flames Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. Just listen to the passion that this band plays with. Then, meaningfully read over the lyrics as well, and you will see that this is the direct result of God's work. What possesses them and inspires them to create such astounding music with lyrics that explicitly describe their faith? I have concluded that God is using War of Ages to send His message of love to us and to warn us that we must repent. Do not be blind! If you do not give your life over to Jesus Christ, then you will be the very ones that God's Christian army, the army that WOA is a part of and refers to in practically every song, will be fighting. Don't take these songs lightly. If you are not on God's side, then you are against Him. If you do not live for Him, then you are not in His favor. But God always loves you more than you can imagine no matter what, for that is why He sent His only begotten Son to die for you and me. Go ahead now, and listen to "Through the Flames" again, and all the others for that matter. I don't know about you, but I do not want to be fighting in the "battle" for the side that has already lost (i.e., Satan's side) as a result of Jesus' death on the cross, and I sure don't want to fight against an army that has soldiers in it like this band! War of Ages would agree with me. Why? Just listen to the lyrics... A.M.D.G. |
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| War of Ages – Guide for the Helpless Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| straight up, everything about this band is b.a.- this is one amazing song | |
| War of Ages – Desire Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A.M.D.G. Definitely one of my favorite songs by WOA (the fact that Tim Lambesis is in it helps, too). I think that the "desire" that is overtaking the speaker is not a not a good desire, but rather a malevolent, sinful one. This desire refers to a longing for vice and the things of this material world and not the things of the spiritual world. The first couple of lines clearly show that this desire is hurting those that have it, and that they are not the ones in control when this happens- the sinful desire is. That person then could be in denial of the fact that his desire is hurting him or he believes that his desire cannot be stopped. I'm not positive about the third line, but I don't want to pass it up, so I'll say that when the person in denial is proven wrong by God and the truth, which is in itself God, he will be forced to swallow his words of doubt and the sinful words he said during his lifetime. As the truth continues to be unfolded for the person and as he detaches himself from this world and his sinful desires, those vices that once had a death-grip on him melt in the fire of God's limitless love. Jesus said that, "The truth will set you free" (which I find rather ironic because the Truth, Jesus, was the One who set all of mankind free with his death on the cross). We live in an objective world, where there are universal norms that are unchanging- they are eternal, just like God (and the album title). When we accept the truth, like the man in the song, our vision is cleared as "the blinding of false light," as As I Lay Dying would say, is eradicated. However, the battle is not over until we die and we can hold on to desires and let them linger, only to have them come back even stronger. Despite the somber fact that the battle is not over as soon as we accept reason and truth, the song goes on to state that "we are not alone," and that the Person who is always with us is God's Holy Spirit- and "with God, all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). In the second verse, the sinful desire and the acceptance of lies is devouring not only the person's physical body, but more importantly his soul. The pressure created by this desire is so strong that it can destroy the walls of possibly history's strongest civilization. The song then calls us all to use our God-given intellect to decide what is truth and what is fallacy, and then to embrace the truth and show no mercy to the lies, which only corrupt. Then the most hopeful line of the entire song resolutely states that God is always with us, and that we are not in the battle alone and that the battle has already been won! The second and third lines from the end mean to me that oncProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 the desires fade away and die, the person can then fulfill his once dying dream of living a life in the footsteps of Jesus and ultimately reaching heaven. He realizes that he was not made for this world and that he is a spiritual being who happens to have a body, not a body that happens to have a soul. Thus his reason for living (i.e., attaining the beatific vision)overcomes any trepidation whatsoever. He does, however, give all praise, honor, and glory to God, and he must still atone for his sins. %0 |
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| War of Ages – Yet Another Fallen Eve Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Sorry, but ignore everything in the last sentence above from "tProxy" to "max-age=0," and the very last word is "them," not "the." |
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| War of Ages – Yet Another Fallen Eve Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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The lyrics for this song are phenomenal. They highlight the fact that every person has inalienable and incalculable dignity and worth. The mentioning of "worth" in the song suggests to me that the woman may be a prostitute, who is looked down upon by herself and others as simply an object to satisfy the lusts of others, and not as a precious child of God with the same dignity as every one else. Or, I also think of her as being a woman that abused the gift of her sexuality in an immoral way, without necessarily being a prostitute. Nevertheless, the woman sinned sexually, and not only her, of course, but also the man involved, although the song's focus is the woman, thus explaining the title. In the refrain, I believe that the first "you" is God and that the second "you" is most likely God as well, but it could also be the woman because the man that also sinned sexually (i.e., the speaker, who switches from third person in the verses to first person in the refrain) "wounded" the woman in a spiritual sense. This song attests to the fact that "the wages of sin is death," because although this woman tried to find happiness and belonging by following her physical desires, she ultimately hurt her self esteem and her soul because her actions were not in accordance with God will. Therefore, the key to everlasting happiness is to "focus on things above, on things that are unseen, rather than seen," as St. Paul also said, and to "put to death the desires of the flesh" by living a life in Christ's example. The song concludes beautifully with the speaker (or the woman) surrendering himself to God and resting in His boundless love and peace. In a fallen world that is blinded by sin and concupiscence, where most of the mainstream music, particularly that which is most popular, is immoral and averse to God's will and plan for humanity, there is a desperate need for true believers to stand up and live the way Jesus called us to live, a life filled with acts of love that brings people closer to God. St. Ignatius said that, "Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God," and so if anything at all, especially the music we listen to music that profoundly shapes our minds and our characters (even unconsciously), does not live up to this standard, then it must be anathema. "Sin is a demon lurking at the door" according to Gen. 4:7, so avoid it at all costs, because if we try to face the lion of sin alone we will be devoured. This is the reason why War of Ages provides such an inspiration for me, because they allow God to work through their music in ways that only He could. WOA has not changed my life, but rather God has through them, and I praise Him for tProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 t and thank WOA for allowing God to use the |
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