Murderer

For those suggesting that this song only has religious "undertones," that's incorrect. Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, the two primary members of Low, are married and practicing Mormons. The song doesn't relate specifically to Mormon/LDS theology, however, but more a general Judeo-Christian one. If you watch the documentary that's titled after this song about Low, they both are asked about this song and give some thoughts. Alan Sparhawk basically said that the song is a meditation on a sort of Abarhamic (or, if you're Catholic, you might argue Marian, as well) submission to God's will, but from the perspective of more deeply flawed individual than Abraham. In other words, Abraham submitted totally to the will of God when asked to kill his son - the narrator of this song is expressing a similar desire to do God's "dirty work," if only God asks him to. I suppose it's more of an Old Testament way of viewing God, one might say - the vengeful, wrathful image that tends to lie more in that half of the Christian Bible than the New Testament, and a recognition that part of God's infinite/perfect plan may be to kill. The narrator doesn't question why this would be so, he just entertains the idea that God may desire as such, and bends to God's will, not his own.

I believe the last line line in the second bit is "I'm cruel" rather than "I'm cool".

How are they "undertones" if he's blatantly calling out to the Lord?

I'm pretty sure it's 'One more thing I'll ask you Lord, You may need a murderer'

and small details, 'You must have more..' 'So if you need...'

seems to me like he's bitter at God

I see it more as a depressed cynic who is condemning God whilst at the same time hating himself. The narrator is asking to be God's murderer because 1) God is a violent and cruel deity (this resulting from loss no doubt) and 2) The narrator is no better, hating himself and therefore willing to go along with murder and cruelty in God's name. All of this is done with a very sneering, accusing tone. The narrator, probably once religious, has since turned from the divine while also turning on himself. I see this as a reaction to the cruelty of events and coldness of humans. Existence is bleak.

Totally agree with "cruel". Songmeanings? These are bitter last words in an argument, surely. Perhaps i'm taking the words too much at face-value, but has the recipient of these harsh words written a murder book? And has the narrator seen hirself in this book, and been angry on these grounds?

It definitely has religious undertones

i heard the band has avoided calling this a "political" album

I would say it's religious all the way through. "Don't act so innocent I've seen you pound your fist into the earth And I've read your book It seems that you could use another fool Well I'm cruel And I look right through

You must have more important things to do So if you need a murderer Someone to do your dirty work"

God does pretty awful things in the old testament, "Don't act so innocent." "I've read your book," the Bible. "You have more important things to do," self explanatory. This looks almost like someone is so bad God even would want to kill them, and the singer is wishing he could, and wants to justify it.

If you've never met a Christian that has some ambivalence towards God, then you should get out more. Like Sufjan Stevens in Seven Swans or Abraham there's no doubt about the distaste being hinted and/or expressed for some of the things God's supposedly done. Destroying whole civilizations? Telling a man to sacrifice his son?

Great artists are just like you and me, with the exception that they don't let their own beliefs get in the way of artistic expression. And that's what this Christian is doing, not letting his belief in God get in the way of his artistic need to take God to task.