I Bet My Life

I know Dan Reynolds specifically says the song is about his at times strained relationship with his parents, but to me this song can be applied much more broadly than that. I see the Parable of the Prodigal Son is this song pretty clearly (which I suppose parallels Reynolds's own relationship with his parents to a degree).

"I know I took the path that you would never want for me I know I let you down, didn't I So many sleepless nights where you were waiting up on me But I'm just a slave unto the night

Now remember when I told you that's the last you'll see of me Remember when I broke you down to tears I know I took the path that you would never want for me I gave you hell through all the years"

This verse parallels the Prodigal Son asking his father for his share of the inheritance before the father has passed (a big cultural no-no at the time) and then going off into a faraway land to squander it on riotous living.

"I've been around the world and never in my wildest dreams Would I come running home to you I've told a million lies but now I tell a single truth There's you in everything I do"

This verse captures the conflict that the Prodigal Son must feel on some level before returning to the father. It's humiliating, but yet his situation has become desperate enough that he has no choice. And in that difficult return, he comes to the realization that the father is always in him.

The chorus is sung in a very different voice, and to me that means that it's a response from the father. The father loves the son so much that he will bet his very life on him. He's all in. Lines up perfectly with the overall Biblical narrative.

I didn't care for the song the first time I heard it but it's growing on me. Not as good as the best few songs from Night Visions but still a good song.