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On Distant Shores Lyrics
I have been scarred so deep by life and cold despair,
and brittle bones were broken far beyond repair.
I have leveled lies so deep
the truth may never find.
And inside my faithless heart I stole things never mine.
If mercy falls upon the broken and the poor,
Dear Father, I will see you, there on distant shores.
I have toiled for countless years and ever felt the cost,
and I've been burned by this world's cold, like leaves beneath the frost.
On my knees I've crawled to You,
bleeding myself dry.
But the price of life is more, than I could ever buy.
And off of the blocks,
I was headstrong and proud,
at the front of the line
for the card-carrying, highbrowed.
With both eyes fastened tight,
yet unscarred from the fight.
Running at full tilt,
my sword pulled from its hilt.
It's funny how these things can slip away,
our frail deeds,
the last will wave good-bye.
It's funny how the hope will bleed away,
the citadels we build and fortify.
Good-Bye.
Night came and I broke my stride,
I swallowed hard, but never cried.
When grace was easy to forget,
I'd denounce the hypocrites,
casting first stones,
killing my own.
You would unscale my blind eyes,
and I stood battered, but more wise,
fighting to accelerate,
shaking free from crippling weight.
With resilience unsurpassed,
I clawed my way to You at last.
And on my knees,
I wept at Your feet,
I finally believed, that You still loved me.
Healing hands of God,
have mercy on our unclean souls
once again.
Jesus Christ,
Light of the World, burning bright
within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition,
without beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Yours,
only You can make every new day seem so new.
and brittle bones were broken far beyond repair.
the truth may never find.
And inside my faithless heart I stole things never mine.
Dear Father, I will see you, there on distant shores.
and I've been burned by this world's cold, like leaves beneath the frost.
bleeding myself dry.
But the price of life is more, than I could ever buy.
I was headstrong and proud,
at the front of the line
for the card-carrying, highbrowed.
With both eyes fastened tight,
yet unscarred from the fight.
Running at full tilt,
my sword pulled from its hilt.
It's funny how these things can slip away,
our frail deeds,
the last will wave good-bye.
It's funny how the hope will bleed away,
the citadels we build and fortify.
Good-Bye.
I swallowed hard, but never cried.
When grace was easy to forget,
I'd denounce the hypocrites,
casting first stones,
killing my own.
You would unscale my blind eyes,
and I stood battered, but more wise,
fighting to accelerate,
shaking free from crippling weight.
With resilience unsurpassed,
I clawed my way to You at last.
And on my knees,
I wept at Your feet,
I finally believed, that You still loved me.
have mercy on our unclean souls
once again.
Jesus Christ,
Light of the World, burning bright
within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition,
without beginning or an end.
Here's my heart, let it be forever Yours,
only You can make every new day seem so new.
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This song is absolutely amazing ...
You don't believe in religions? Interesting ... I believe in relationships, personally. I'm not interested in philosophical notions or distant, abstract deities, so thank God for Yeshua--for his love! But believe what you like, friend!
My guitar teacher, who used to be in this band, told me that the end of this song was written for a completely different song they never finished ... they just slapped in on 'cause it worked ... I laughed, because, well, IS THIS NOT AMAZING?!
The ending is also used in "Every New Day" from "Our Newest Album Ever".
The ending is also used in "Every New Day" from "Our Newest Album Ever".
yet NONE of you speak of what the song could be about....
What does the song mean?
Reading the lyrics and knowing the story of the band, this song seems to be about the exhaustive behavior of trying to meet performance expectations of Christianity rather than engaging the Christian faith as a process. The performance will only last so long and self-righteousness will only carry one so far, but mindfulness of the process of faith is what results in meeting God on the distant shore.
It's only when we surrender the performance and stop trying to be a Christian and allow Christ to transform our lives that true freedom is found.
An incredibly insightful song which demonstrates that it is not who we are, but what we are and the source of meaning in our lives.
@CaptainClaudius Good stuff! The last part of your comment reminds me of what my friend's grandma used to say! She'd say you're not a human-doing you're a human-being' & put her hands on our face & ask who do you belong to?, in which everyone would reply "I am a child of the King". It's not about who we are but who we belong to, not about all the stuff we do but just being (abiding) in Christ!
@CaptainClaudius Good stuff! The last part of your comment reminds me of what my friend's grandma used to say! She'd say you're not a human-doing you're a human-being' & put her hands on our face & ask who do you belong to?, in which everyone would reply "I am a child of the King". It's not about who we are but who we belong to, not about all the stuff we do but just being (abiding) in Christ!
Good stuff...
This song is amazing. The whole thing is really powerful and then it wraps up with the end of Every New Day. Its one of my favorite FIF songs.
Greatest song ever.
This is a sum of alotof FIF songs... Man... It Rocks... Great way to go
Man, when i hear this song i cant help towards the end to just lift my hands and sing it out hehe, it's so good. It's all about cleaning up your life and all the mess that you let get in the way of you and God, he'll talk about how he felt without accepting Jesus love. and then getting back to mercy and love mmm mmm :)
Great why to end a great band.
FIF is awesome.
This is pretty much a culmination of what Five Iron Frenzy is all about. As the band grew older it was less about the economy, big business, sellouts, and indians (btw I still love all those songs) and back to their roots and to why they first became a band. Reese Roper is a master at putting into words society's and our own arrogance and ungratefulness as Christians. Then by the end of the song its nothing but a humble yet very intense offering of praise. Can you fit anything more powerful into one song?