| Josh Ritter – Thin Blue Flame Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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When it all comes down to it, I think this song is about finding hope in life amidst daily hardships. To me, it's also about overcoming the crappy parts of life; growing, and becoming stronger as a result. I think Josh understands that "hope", one of the most precious things in life, is fragile but incredibly important. Those who think it is an outcry against religion I fear have missed the point entirely. Has organized religion been a catalyst suffering, war, and prejudice throughout history? Oh sure, yes! But going along with the point of the song, there's hope within the blackness. A diamond amist the *hit. God is there, despite the imperfections of the humans witnessing to him. "But you need faith for the same reasons that it's so hard to find". Faith, like hope, is extremely precious, but at times very hard to find. If you get caught up in the imperfections of religion, then you're in the middle of the story, where Josh once was, but not at the end. The final verse is when you focus on the diamond in the rough. "Heaven is so big there aint no need to look up." God is with us all the time. The truth, the beauty, the preciousness, the thin, fragile, flame of hope, is in God, and in us. Not in some big far off city in the sky (or some big church building down the street). |
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| Anberlin – All We Have Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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"Piece by piece I tried to put you back together But I'm the one who broke you down I broke you down" Love it. This song is better than Impossible, and reflects the theme of the album really nicely- of how love is difficult, and we're all guilty of harming each other a little bit in relationships- it happens. But when we love each other, and realize how important we are to each other, than reconciliation is possible and honesty is important. I don't understand why some of Anberlin's greatest songs don't make their regular CD releases- "The Haunting", "Heavier Things Remain", and now this. Is it the producers trying to stretch things out to get more money or what? Its a shame more people wont hear this song... |
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| Anberlin – Down Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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One of my favorite songs from "Dark is the Way". The guitar work is understated and pleasing; i especially love the intro which gives off a bit of a "western" vibe. The songwriting evokes a lot of what Stephen does best- he shows brutal and genuine honesty about tough parts of life in a beautiful and poetic way. My favorite line is "I'm so sorry that I can't apologize". He's not apologizing for not apologizing, he's apologizing because he CAN'T apologize for what hes done. I also like how he refers to himself as a "boy"- very vulnerable and heart-on-you-sleeve. The only part I don't like about this song is "Honey, honey" which doesn't really seem to fit with the song and really throws things off when its meaning is about him and God. |
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| Anberlin – The Unwinding Cable Car Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This is such a beautiful song...to me its a love letter from God to each of us. It certainly uses very "spiritual" language such as "the correlation between salvation and love" and "grace marks your heart". I think the song's verses are about the daily struggles of life- feeling unstable and struggling with loneliness, not knowing who you are, not knowing what to do next to move forward (Even seasons have changed, just burn those new leaves over), not having perspective beyond your own problems and realizing that you are blessed (you seem to ignore the prayers that have already come about). The second verse is about denial, hiding away and feeling a weird, but trapping safety in the loneliness and problems. The correlation of salvation and love = Christ. Don't drop your arms= dont give up With quiet words I'll lead you in (and out of the dark)= I'll always be with you. Grace marked your heart= God has "marked" you as one of his own, his beloved children. "You're so brilliant" is a pretty significant compliment. It's encouraging to think that he finds joys in us and sees so much potential in who we can be. |
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| Anberlin – Impossible Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think this song reflects the overall theme of the album very well. As Stephen said, "Love is a chemistry, a friction. We need to fight it out in a good way, not with threats of leaving, but to, in love, find an understanding." -Wikipedia This song is very honest in how it shows how challenging relationships can be. Having an honest, close relationship with someone can be one of the most encouraging, rewarding things you ever do. But it can also be one of the most difficult and frustrating. There's a duality here, a ying and yang, a high and a low. "You're impossible to love or leave" means it's hard to love you, but it'd be impossible to leave you too because he does love (her). "Not so easy to forgive, harder to forget" means that its hard to patch things up and work it out, but it would be even harder to break up and forget (her). People are hard to understand to, and that's frustrating "You're impossible to figure out". What's honest about this song, is that he flips it and then admits that he too, is "Impossible". "I'm impossible to figure out", "I make your lips red and your bones quake". He's causing her some pain and frustration too. "You're wearing me out, but I'm wearing you down." could mean a couple things. Perhaps he is losing patience with her, but he is wearing her down with his love and patience. Or perhaps she is equally being worn down by his qualities which can be hard to deal with. |
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