The Fleecing

exactly how i feel.

i love this song. its my favorite song on the album of achilles heel.

but i can't say it like i sing it and i can't sing it like i think it and i can't think it like i feel it and i don't feel a thing o, no, i don't feel it

i love that

another sadisitc, morbid like song, speaking about a regular guys hard times in life and trying to figure himself out.

I feel like that the past few comments completely miss the importance of the words "and why i still believe it / and why i need it / and what the pharisees don't see." Pharisees were a ancient sect of jews which was reestablished after the destruction of the Second Temple whose beliefs have been the foundation of the several forms of modern Judaism. (see wikipedia for more)

Knowning that David Bazan is a fervent Christian, and that christianity segments away from judaism on the matter of the appearance of the messiah, IMO the song is about David attempting to a convince non-Christian why he holds true to his religion and Jesus. "Every stupid struggle" seems refer to the strife between religions of opposing view, probably applying to less-modern times.

Then again, I'm basing my argument on only one, albeit strong, line that might just be a turn of phrase David throws out there from time to time.

awesome though, i really love how he sings this one so effortlessly, yet with so much yearning and sadness. pedro the lion rocks!

I'm mostly with weezeology, but I also think that "every stupid struggle" refers more to the pain he experiences within himself, concerning the doubts he has about his faith, and how he (sometimes reluctantly) ignores or looks past these doubts. That's how I feel a lot, because there's a lot of generic brand Christianity flowing around the evangelical mainstream. It sometimes makes a person with a more unique faith feel lonely, to the point that they'd go to a bar and talk about it with a complete stranger who might not even care. I could also just be projecting. Pedro does rock.

The first stanza is an image alluding to Gideon (Christian Bible, Book of Judges). Gideon tested God multiple times through leaving a fleece on the grass and asking God to make the grass wet and the fleece dry in the morning, or the opposite, etc. This was all an excercise in building Gideon's faith to do great things for God. Bazan has a faith where he has doubted and tested God and each time he has ended up more sure of God's existence, "makes a fool of me". The song goes on to point out the futility of explaining his faith. It is a very personal and very strong belief even with doubt, but others are unable to understand personal faith through any explaination. He takes it one step further "I can't think it like I feel it and I don't feel a thing," indicating that he can't even fully explain his faith fully to himself, yet he still believes. Bob Dylan: "Faith doesn't have a name. It doesn't have a category. It's oblique. So it's unspeakable. We degrade faith by talking about religion."

This song has always been my favorite song. I'm listening to it right now and i put a connection togehter that i'd never heard before. But i believe that this song is about an ordinary guy live a christ like life, which is what the bible ultimately calls us to do.

If you ever get a chance to see David Bazan play, take it. It's everything you'd expect from him live.

Keep in mind, at least in the Christian circles I used to travel in, that modern day Christians who worry more about the letter of the law than the grace of God are sometimes derogatorily referred to as Pharisees and in all reality, that makes sense with a guy struggling with his faith considering they'd get this guy on swearing and declare him a heathen for such stupid things as that... and I speak from personal experience, that tends to weigh down on a guy.

I've always really liked this song and felt like I could relate to it. To me, it's basically about having doubts but still maintaining a belief in God. It also touches on how difficult it is to explain to someone, because it is more of a "feeling" than a logical decision... I saw David Bazan perform with a backing band last night, and they played this song. I found it a little depressing, but he changed some words to reflect his changed perspective: "I could buy you a drink I could tell you all about it I could tell you why I doubt it And why I don't believe it And why I grieve it And what for years I did not see..."