The Fatal Wound

Jon Foreman: "I wrote this song so that we would have a tune to play during the set with a harmonica. I'm deadly serious here. The harmonica will drive a man to do many things, (especially, in conjunction with a few bob dylan disks). This song was one of those tunes that you just spit out and try to figure out what it means after you're through- a rather dangerous way to go but very honest, almost free association type of thing. Well, it means a few things to me but overall it's a song of hope. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Hope for the hopeless in the form of the king of failures. The bed of e-bow guitars at the beginning really set the tone for this track for me. I whispered some Bokowski-ish lines over top and viola! -a vibey track appears from the mist of the harmonica flatlands."

I looove this song. Jon says this song is about hope, and about how "the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" which is a phrase about Jesus from the bible.. so I think its safe to say this song's about Christ's crucifixion.

"I am the crisis", Jesus took the our sins upon himself, so he became the crisis that we are. "I am divided" means that though he was perfect and holy, yet he was looked upon as if he sinned, because he took our sins upon himself. "I am the razor edge" is probably referring to Jesus' words saying that he came to divide, he came to save his people, as john the baptist describes him: "His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn". So the first stanza is basically Jesus' thoughts as he's preparing to die.. "there is no easy now".

The chorus gives me the image of the Son of sorrow, Jesus, on the cross.. "staring down forever". But I think its more like God/Jesus staring down forever from heaven at mankind, "with an aching view" because we're like the prodigal son and he's waiting for us to come back to him. He's "disenchanted". So he decides, "lets go down together", as in, he decides to go down with us, he decides to take upon himself our sinfulness and bring himself down to our dirty level, and then offer himself as a sacrifice in place of us (we deserved to pay the price for our sins, but he paid it). The God of the universe decided to come down and live amongst us, and to go down with us in our fallenness.

just before he goes down with the fatal wound (dies), he tells himself, "this is the real thing, no rubber bullets now, this is the final bow". in the old testament, they offered goats and pigeons as sacrifices for sins, but now this is the REAL thing, the real ultimate complete sacrifice, the final bow...after this no more sacrifices will be needed, its final. it even pays for the sins we'll commit in the future. "my breath avoids me" reminds me of how even God the Father looked away from jesus and forsook him for a few moments when he was on the cross...his own breath avoided him. thats the pain we deserved, but he went through it so we wouldn't have to suffer for our wrongdoings. "my stomach's upside down" reminds me of how jesus' side was poked with a spear when he was on the cross, and water and blood came gushing out... leaving his stomach upside down, as in, mangled.

the song is poetic brilliance, and its sad its meaning is lost on so many people. its NOT a suicide song. the harmonica is heart-wrenching.

No idea. Great song though.

No idea. Great song though.

agreed

It's not "I'm gonna gun this town," it's "I'm gonna gun this down." Definitely changes a lot about this song. =P

The actual lyrics for this song go "I'm gonna gun this DOWN"

This song sounds almost like he's going to commit suicide and he's asking someone to do it with him-"No rubber bullets now... Lets go down together with the fatal wound"

This is the only Switchfoot song that I honestly can't stand. There have been songs where I don't like them, and a few months later I go back and like them, but I just can't get into this one. It doesn't grow on me at all.

"my chest is in my head" gives me the image of his head hanging down and touching his chest (on the cross).

"lets go down together" also gives me the image of him telling the thieves on both sides of him (who symbolize humankind - the ones who reject him, like the one thief, and the ones who accept him, like the other)... he tells them, "lets go down together", which could be seen as, "i go down with you in your fallenness, i'll pay for it", or "i feel your pain, son".