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A Whisper and a Clamor Lyrics
Growing tired of bedside resolve
(Public display of depression)
Something's got to give now
Something's going to break down
I grow tired of writing songs
While people listen but never hear
What's really going on now
Tell me what's so wrong now
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
For most who live and breathe
Hell is never knowing who they are now
Tell me who you are now
Finally saved from the outside
Trapped in what you know
Are you safe from yourself?
Can you escape all by yourself?
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clam your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
(Public display of depression)
Something's got to give now
Something's going to break down
I grow tired of writing songs
While people listen but never hear
What's really going on now
Tell me what's so wrong now
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
Hell is never knowing who they are now
Tell me who you are now
Finally saved from the outside
Trapped in what you know
Are you safe from yourself?
Can you escape all by yourself?
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clam your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
It's not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream
There's a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams
Clap your hands
Clap your hands now, all ye children
Clap your hands, all ye children
There's a clamor in your whispering tonight
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I think this song is about ending the silence and actually doing something about whats going on around us. I also think its about seeking out who we truly are, and not becoming what others say we are.
"Growing tired of bedside resolve"
This part makes it seem that somebody is getting tired of praying to solve their problems. (People often kneel and pray by their bedsides)
"(Public display of depression)"
They're frustrated with whats going on and they're becoming depressed.
"Something's got to give now Something's going to break down"
The person might compromise who they are because of their depression.
"I grow tired of writing songs While people listen but never hear What's really going on now"
To me it seems that Christian is saying that if the people really heard what he was saying in his songs they wouldn't be giving in to depression and they would want to be working to change the world around them.
"Tell me what's so wrong now"
He wants to know whats so wrong and what made them depressed when there's so much hope to be had.
"Clap your hands, all ye children There's a clamor in your whispering Clap your hands tonight Hear what the silence screams"
My interpretation of this part is that he wants all the children (fellow Christians) to rejoice in the hope that they have and to give that hope to others. To clap your hands shows the rejoicing, it also could represent action, because clapping makes noise in the middle of silence (silence meaning doing nothing). Whispering seems to mean praying. The clamor is your prayers breaking through the silence because they bring about change in the world. "Hear what the silence screams" means understand that the consequences of doing nothing are too great.
"For most who live and breathe Hell is never knowing who they are now Tell me who you are now"
Christian seems to be suggesting that to truly know yourself you have to know your Creator. According to the Bible not knowing yourself would then mean hell, because you chose to reject God. "Tell me who you are now" seems to be a challenge for people to seek and find out who they truly are in God.
"Finally saved from the outside Trapped in what you know Are you safe from yourself? Can you escape all by yourself?"
Here he seems to point out that there's people who know that truth comes from God and the ways of the world are lies, yet they feel trapped because they know better but keep following the lies. Christian points out that to be safe from ourselves we need to abandon ourselves (our pride, our egos, our selfishness) and put faith in Christ so we can die to ourselves and follow Him.
"It's not the lies that you sing But what the silence will scream"
I think the "lies that you sing" represents the ignorance people have about who they are and what's going on in the world around them. "But what the silence will scream" means once again that because of the ignorance and the inaction the consequences will be great.
Great song.
This song is about abortion. A few years back a friend of mine interviewed them for a journalism class he had in college, and that is what their answer was to the meaning of this song.
This song is about abortion. A few years back a friend of mine interviewed them for a journalism class he had in college, and that is what their answer was to the meaning of this song.
Man, this sounds like it could be directly off a Juliana Theory album...great song, but they sound SO similar here.
Psalm 47:1..."O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph."
I dunno, just a guess.
Even though these lyrics are wrong, when I listen to this song I think of how much hate mail Stephen Christian gets from his Christian fans. (People listen but never really get what's going on now) (Act of public depression) and just wants people to step back, enjoy the music and get the bigger picture, that he is a man who makes mistakes but tries.
The OTHER thing I can come up with is the continuing theme of stephen feeling heartbroken for the orphans and widows (see: modestywritersguild.blogspot.com) and this song is directed at the people who think he's a prick, but he really cares about the children who have no voice (there's a clamor in your whispering). This CD is REALLY hard lyrically but anyone else have ideas?
PS: THIS SONG IS REALLY GOOD LOL is not worth putting on here
correction:
"its not the lies that you sing, but what the silence screams" (3x)
makes alot more sense and its the correct lyrics anyways.
May I point out that the lyrics written are correct? It is: "it's not the lies that you sing, but what the silence will scream"- you can tell it is exactly what he sings when you listen to it.
May I point out that the lyrics written are correct? It is: "it's not the lies that you sing, but what the silence will scream"- you can tell it is exactly what he sings when you listen to it.
I personally love that Anberlin, which is a Christian band, isn't shoving religion into their lyrics. It's refreshing, 'cause as much as I love Christian music, it gets to be a lot after awhile. I love how you can connect Anberlin lyrics to Christ and Christianity if you take the time and think about it, but it's not straight up and apparent.
I think this song definately relates to Psalm 47:1 and it also means that actions speak louder than words when it comes to showing Christ to the world.
i think all those other comments are dumb!!! the song obviously means clap your hands all ye children. duh!!!! hello what dont you people get about that?
The comments about this song being sung directly towards Anberlin's christian fans is correct, that is why it is awesome that Anberlin chose this song for christian radio. It is the most obvious when he says, "It's not the lives that you save, but what the silence will scream" meaning that God does not matter how many people you "save" if the silence of sins are screaming within your head. That is the "hell" he is talking about in the song. He is asking everyone to step back and listen to his lyrics, lyrics of retribution rather than preaching. Anberlin's lyrics are absolutely amazing when dissected in proper context.
it's actually "it's not the lies that you sing, but what the silence will scream" .. there goes your interpretion :P
it's actually "it's not the lies that you sing, but what the silence will scream" .. there goes your interpretion :P
I beg to differ MierinEronaile. Thanks cquzek, I was hoping someone would mention that.
I beg to differ MierinEronaile. Thanks cquzek, I was hoping someone would mention that.
Here what the song means and also what inspired Stephen to even write it:
Stephen says he is determined to make Anberlin devotees think. But the fact that they don't always connect to the deeper meaning in his songs can be frustrating.
That notion gave birth to the lyric, "I'm so tired of writing songs, where people listen but never really hear what's going on," on the winning anthem "A Whisper and A Clamor."
"That line isn't an insult," he says. "It's more of a challenge to fans to study the words. I think a lot of times, it's kind of draining on me that people only have one kind of interpretation. I put a lot of thought into what I do.
With our last album, I'd get emails from fans about the song "Symphony of Blasé" and people would say, 'I just broke up with my girlfriend and that song helped me through it.'
And I'd be like, 'It wasn't a break up song at all. It was about alcoholism.' I mean, these songs aren't about the basic pop, 'Ooh girl. I love you.' They're much deeper than that."
*& it's all an excerpt from: http://www.toothandnail.com/artist_bio.php?id=19
I understand what stephan is trying to do, but he doesn't really give you a clue to the underlying message sometimes. In A whisper and a Clamor, the only words that even give a slight hint to alcoholism is "thirst for substance." but even then it only hints to drugs, and liquid form.
I understand what stephan is trying to do, but he doesn't really give you a clue to the underlying message sometimes. In A whisper and a Clamor, the only words that even give a slight hint to alcoholism is "thirst for substance." but even then it only hints to drugs, and liquid form.
More lines of the song point toward a break up. "you can hear me out alright, Please take these feelings for her inside, My chest hurts when I breathe tonight" "this is our last goodnight" "this is where love ends,"...
More lines of the song point toward a break up. "you can hear me out alright, Please take these feelings for her inside, My chest hurts when I breathe tonight" "this is our last goodnight" "this is where love ends,"
It makes me laugh that stephan says that we don't understand his song and have to look deeper, because sometimes he only gives us a tiny clue to the actual meaning, i'm sorry but i can't read his mind.
You'd understand if you looked at every possibility and really analyzed the lyrics. He took the time to come up with them, so why should we just overlook it? You could interpret it many ways, but that's the fun part! :)
You'd understand if you looked at every possibility and really analyzed the lyrics. He took the time to come up with them, so why should we just overlook it? You could interpret it many ways, but that's the fun part! :)