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The Preacher Lyrics

Up in the north where the cold winds blow
Over the prairie gold
There's a church bell screaming
On the steeple high
Gather ye children of men

With one hand on the trigger, one hand on the cross
Jesus and his family are two things he's lost

March him to the scaffold and string him up on high
The call came out from the crowd
Theres blood in their eyes and blood in their hearts
For, the blood turning dry on his hands

With one hand on the trigger, one hand on the cross
Jesus and his family are two things he's lost

Christ oh Lord what have you done
You wont never see heaven or kingdom come
Christ oh Lord what have you done
You wont never see heaven or kingdom come

Listen to me my wayward flock
He cried with a noose round his neck

I spoke to the lord on the mountain top
His bidding was all I could do
I spoke to the lord on the mountain top
His bidding was all I could do

Christ oh Lord your works been done
Now show me heaven or kingdom come
Christ oh Lord your works been done
Now show me heaven or kingdom come

One hand on the trigger, one hand on the cross
Jesus and his family are two things he's lost.
4 Meanings

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Great song, hopefully people start sharing thoughts on this site again

I think it's about the crucifixion of Jesus from Jesus' perspective. One thing that throws me off is the line "Jesus and his family are two things he's lost" But speaking on the mountain top would be his prayer asking God to remove the burden of suffering (the crucifixion) for the sins of people. "His bidding was all I could do" Then after the work has been done he he cry's out, Now show me heaven or kingdom come.

My Interpretation

@sound of emotion is music No, it is NOT about Jesus. Get over yourself.

Cover art for The Preacher lyrics by Jamie N Commons

I think it's about a family. I'm guessing the main guy had a wife and a kid and they were involved in some kind of accident and he was the only survivor, for some reason the accident wasn't much of an accident and he was responsible for it. Going for cliché I'd say a car accident. He wasn't paying attention, maybe he was drunk or the wife and the husband were arguing, be it what it was, it caused the accident. He didn't mean for anything of that to happen and now they're blaming him. Maybe he can't with the pressure and he wants to kill himself. And it's not something that happens immeandiately, he goes to the wake he talks and he feel like all the people there are judging him, that God is telling him he's gonna be trapped where he is, not a way in, not a way out. Needless to say it's all in his head. That's how he gets bad. With bad thoughts and guilt and he decides that instead of living with all the guilt and the judgmental stares he rather takes his life to be reunited with his family.

My Interpretation

@maddesea No. You are way off track. Don't pull shit out of your ass. Listen to the song for what it says.

yikes, man... relax. its just a song, besides, I added this thing like literal years ago and that was how I thought of it I mean I didn't even remember doing it. thanks for the reply tho, it was very kind of you. nice language btw.

Cover art for The Preacher lyrics by Jamie N Commons

Why do people automatically assume that songs are metaphors? This song is literally about a preacher from Alabama who killed his wife and hid her body in a freezer.

“I saw a news article about a preacher who killed his wife and had hidden it and was still preaching to a large congregation,” Commons said of the inspiration for “The Preacher.”

Here's the news article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/31/preacher.freezer/index.html?_s=PM:CRIM.

Song Fact

@matthewg0w Hah, thank you. It always bugs me when people start reading tea leaves when there's a perfectly good literal interpretation right there.

I will say though, there I think there is an allusion to the story of Abraham and Isaac from the old testament. You know, the dude who god told to sacrifice his son on a mountaintop, was totally going to go through with it, then at the last minute an angel from god stopped him (earning him praise from god but probably a Worst Father of the Year mug next Fathers Day from his son). The...

@matthewg0w Thank you.

@matthewg0w I had the western dark romantic notion was it was a preacher who took vengeance upon the killing of his family - and lost jesus and his family - when he killed the murderers. And now he's hanging for their murders. (shrug) I liked my interpretation because when I was at a low point in my life, I drowned in the song, and was engulfed in the imagery of this dark tragic cowboy preacher.

 
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