The River

I fought the Spirit with a sword in my side Cheat...What a way out. Crack my rib, wait to die, I think I know you the best when I sleep I think I know everything Me and my brothers, we have tongues sharp as knives I found a way out, make a noise, close your eyes I think I talk to you best when I sing I sing about almost everything

Oh God I need it So let me sing agian. Take me to the river And let me see again Oh my God Let me see again Oh my God

Let me see again Let me see again

Grace taught a debtor Daily I'm starined to be God how I feel it Fetter pride to Your feet

I'm going to leave You the first chance I get I'm going to leave You the first chance I get I'm going to leave You the first chance I get I'm going to leave You the first chance I get

Oh God I need it Well I was wrong again Take me to the river And make me clean again

Oh my God Make me clean again Oh my God Let me see again.

This is directly from the booklet.

This is talking about the struggles someone is facing and all they want is grace. They doubt that God can save them because they keep repeating it ("I'm going to leave you the first chance I get"). Yet they still desperately want Him to save them.

This song makes me cry. It's beautiful and true.

Galaxynamedafterme and Mundanely summed this one up very well, but for funsies I want to elaborate.

What I love about lyrics and poetry, especially the lyrics of Andy Hull and Aaron Weiss is the layers. There are so many layers to Andy's words, many I would venture to say not entirely intentional. Such is the mystery of language, such is the mystery of G-d. Here's what I get:

The Holy Spirit, or perhaps spirit of repentance, submission to G-d is weighing heavily on the speaker here (presumably Andy, given recent press releases and comments from the M.O. website concerning the album). He is like a wounded fighter though. He can't put up much of a fight at all. "Sword' could also represent the Word of G-d (whatever you take that to mean) as such an analogy is made in the Bible. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." from the book of Hebrews.

I am uncertain about the line beginning "Cheat. . ." Perhaps the seemingly unjust system of grace and mercy? That it is cheating to not have to pay for sins. The image of a cracked rib, as though something burst or was ripped literally out of one's heart through the rib cage is phenomenal. Of course, literally this action would lead to a very painful and physical death, but spiritually speaking, it is the speaker's pride that is to be ripped through his rib cage, and it is the death of self of which he speaks here more so than any physical death.

"I think I know you best when I sleep." My first inclination is to say this line couples with the following line to say simply "I am lazy and arrogant." Also, it could refer to revelation through dreams, or my mystically, the loss of consciousness and self in sleep is the closest the speaker can feel to G-d because during his waking hours he is prideful and therefore distant from G-d. I like coupling the lines together best, though.

Brothers refers to either brothers in faith (the way Christians in the Bible refer to one another as brother and sister) or brothers in deed, anyone who is in the same boat, so to speak, as the singer. Tongues sharp as knives testifies to the power of words, possibly narrowing down "brothers" to mean others who communicate through song or poetry, wordsmiths of sorts, that have the passion and skill to pierce hearts, as Andy certainly does. The singer then declares to his brothers that he has found a way out. Out of what? Presumably the laziness and arrogance, the preoccupation with self. To simply call out to G-d, as he does throughout pretty much the rest of this song. To close your eyes and disappear into G-d.

The final lines of this verse again testify to Andy's profession. He is a songwriter, and it is through his songs that he best communicates with G-d. Not to say anything about how well or with what confidence he does this, just that it is the best he can do.

The chorus is clear. He calls out to G-d to give him perspective, to "see" to understand the ways of selflessness and love. "Take me to the river" is reference to baptism in a body of water like a river, which many Christians still practice, and indeed even Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. It is a call, no doubt, to repentance. Which is the clear intention of the singer.

The verse beginning "Grace taught" is without a doubt from the hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. It's a tactful rephrasing of a small section of it retaining the same meaning. Fetter of course is a shackle of some sort used to bind arms or feet.

The honest in the repetition of "I'm going to leave You the first chance I get" is beautiful. What I love so much about Andy's lyrics is the honesty. He does not preach about religious views, he merely expresses them. He does not portray a spiritual life that is comfortable and confident (whose ever is?) nor does he condemn G-d or faith simply because he fails to understand it all the time. His lack of faith is not a testimony to the absence of G-d. He cries out in his songs because he has to, and for no other reason. So we have in the same song desperate cries of repentance and honest declarations of betrayal. He knows that he lacks understanding, and will turn from G-d again as soon as something else in life, big or small, appears to distract him. It is a confession of the dismal state of his heart.

The song's not that mysterious, and for most probably doesn't require this much explanation, but I just love it so much. This is a good album.

This song just gives me the goosebumps. Andy Hull has a way of writing lyrics that are both shocking and inspiring at the same time.

I think this song is basically about his guilt for becoming the person he is and he wants a clean slate.

Idk what these lyrics you guys are talking about are. The version on the album is different

God knows you're on my mind you can't try to tell him otherwise God knows it's only time before I break the chain in my eyes fear keeps you hiding at night when the creatures play ball outside the chances are slim we are right but I'd never think it any otherwise

so we'll find the answers in time when the bodies pile up sky high and I'll sail the ship towards the sky but I'll end alone on the other side if you could pull that rope just a little higher we would dangle alone like a firefly

so Jimmy I heard the voice of God and he whisperes fear is logical and he said it's magical wonderful and he swears to him it's wonderful and the lake you speak of is magical so I skip stones on it practical and I make sure we're both wonderful

you're a brother and that's alright we're brothers and it makes it right cause this blood is so red in spite of the way that are sharp tooth bites in each other during the night we're the creatures that play outside

cause Jimmy I've heard the voice of God and he whispered fear is logical and the words that we heard aren't repeatable with a thought that could kill comprehendible we're brothers and that's alright yeah we're brothers until we die.

I'm pretty sure the words in the middle come from an old hymn/song called "Come Thou Fount". The words being "oh to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be, let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee."

So I'm pretty sure it's...

"Grace taught a debtor Daily I'm strained to be God how I feel it, fetter pride to your feet."

here's what i hear:

I fought the spirit With a sword in my side And gee, what a way out Crack my rib Wait to die I think I know you the best when I sleep I think I know everything Me and my brothers We have tongues sharp as knives And I found a way out Make a noise, close your eyes I think I talk to you best when I sing I sing about almost everything Oh God I need it So let me sing again Take me to the river And let me see again Oh my God Let me see again Oh my God Let me see again Let me see again Grace taught a debtor Daily I'm strained to be God how I feel it Fetter pride to your feet I'm gonna leave you the first chance I get I'm gonna leave you the first chance I get I'm gonna leave you the first chance I get I'm gonna leave you the first chance I get Oh God I need it I was wrong again Take me to the river And make me clean again Oh my God Make me clean again And oh my God Let me see again

I like what SinginSilence has to say. Also, when I first heard this song I immediately thought of the end of "Now that You're Home" from "I'm Like a Virgin..." when Andy sings:

Well now that you're home I can see again, I can see again Now that you're home I can see again, God, I can see!

The confidence he seems to sing with in Now That You're Home seems to be lost in The River. I think it's interesting and goes back to what SinginSilence had to say about Andy's honesty. Andy is still discovering and learning about his faith, and sometimes he loses his once found sight.

Yeah not sure if that was coincidence or not, but that's what I thought about.

I also think the song is from the hyme "Come Thou Fount" by Andy put a spin on it that applied to himself. I also think at the beginning (I fought the Spirit, with a sword in my side, Gee what a way out, crack my rib, way to die), that he is referring to God making him do His work and it took a "sword" in his side to motivate him much like Paul in the NT and he is saying that it nearly killed him ("[what a]way to die"). Throughout the song he is telling God to let him see the way, then turning his back, then asking again, showing his spiritual struggle with God. 2Corinthians 12:7b- there was given me a THORN IN MY FLESH, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

The song relates to all of us..let me see again..the fear that your losing your way through all the shit that happens in life. Great Song.