Feels like you're miles from here, in other towns with lesser names
Where the unholy ghost doesn't tell Mary or William exactly what they want to hear
You remember the house on Ridge Road told you and the Devil to both just leave me alone
If this is salvation, I can show you the trembling
You'll just have to trust me. I'm scared
I am the patron saint of lost causes
Aren't we all to you just near lost causes?
Aren't we all to you just lost Tommy, you left behind something that will mean everything right before you die.
What if you gained the whole world?
You've already lost four little souls from your life
Widows and orphans aren't hard to find
They're home missing daddy who's saving the abandoned tonight
Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you
Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth
That you are the patron saint of lost causes
All you are to them is now a lost cause
All you are to them is now, causes
Billy, don't you understand?
Timothy stood as long as he could and now you made his faith disappear
More like a magician and less like a man of the cloth
We're not questioning God.
Just those he chose to carry on His cross
We're no better, you'll see
Just all of us, the lost causes
Aren't we all to you just lost causes?
Are we all to you lost?
Lost causes
So all we are to you,
Is all we are, is all we are
All we are is all we are
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
(Lost causes, all we are is all we are)
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
(To you, lost)
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Take what you will, what you will and leave
Could you kill, could you kill me
If the world was on fire and nothing was left but hope or desire
And take all that I could bring forth, is this hell
Or am I on the floor over-desperate?
Hold hands streaming of blood again?
And then take full weight of me
Guard my dreams, figure this out, It's me on my own
Helpless, hurting, hell
Will you stay strong as you promised?
'Cause I'm stranded and bare
Meanness is washed up in all that I am is God
Take this and all
Then grace takes me to a place
Of the father you never had
Ripping and breaking and tearing apart
This is not heaven
This is my hell
Where the unholy ghost doesn't tell Mary or William exactly what they want to hear
You remember the house on Ridge Road told you and the Devil to both just leave me alone
If this is salvation, I can show you the trembling
You'll just have to trust me. I'm scared
I am the patron saint of lost causes
Aren't we all to you just near lost causes?
Aren't we all to you just lost Tommy, you left behind something that will mean everything right before you die.
What if you gained the whole world?
You've already lost four little souls from your life
Widows and orphans aren't hard to find
They're home missing daddy who's saving the abandoned tonight
Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you
Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth
That you are the patron saint of lost causes
All you are to them is now a lost cause
All you are to them is now, causes
Billy, don't you understand?
Timothy stood as long as he could and now you made his faith disappear
More like a magician and less like a man of the cloth
We're not questioning God.
Just those he chose to carry on His cross
We're no better, you'll see
Just all of us, the lost causes
Aren't we all to you just lost causes?
Are we all to you lost?
Lost causes
So all we are to you,
Is all we are, is all we are
All we are is all we are
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
(Lost causes, all we are is all we are)
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
(To you, lost)
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?
Take what you will, what you will and leave
Could you kill, could you kill me
If the world was on fire and nothing was left but hope or desire
And take all that I could bring forth, is this hell
Or am I on the floor over-desperate?
Hold hands streaming of blood again?
And then take full weight of me
Guard my dreams, figure this out, It's me on my own
Helpless, hurting, hell
Will you stay strong as you promised?
'Cause I'm stranded and bare
Meanness is washed up in all that I am is God
Take this and all
Then grace takes me to a place
Of the father you never had
Ripping and breaking and tearing apart
This is not heaven
This is my hell
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i introduced her to anberlin, and she found this on a youtube video called
"Patron Saints" (there are more than one):
Stephen: " "Fin" is a series of four stories, that all tie together in the
line 'patron saint of lost causes.' The first story is a personal memoir
about my life as a child and the pull on my soul even then. I deliberated
even at eight years old, that it would be better that God and the devil
would just both leave me alone. The second story is about a couple from my
early teen years church who cried for a miracle. It was a promised miracle,
and it never came about. That leaves an impression. The third is about a mentor
that used the guse of 'missions work' to leave his family in shambles and
eventually decay. That plays with your salvation, when one experiences it.
(The fourth story is about) Billy, a traveling 'healer' who crippled my life
and growth right in front of me. All these things and many, many others made
me lose my salvation. But later in life i realized i needed to stop looking at
Christians to see Christ. I wrestled with God, and he won."
________________
Was there an inspiration or prior experience behind what you sang at the end of (*fin), since it was improvised? And what is the song about?
Stephen: I honestly just went with it. It was a rather spiritual experience for me. I have not a clue what i was saying. The great thing is to google it and see what other people think it said. Its hilarious. (*fin) is by far the most personal song in the arsenal. It is about being raised around suffocating religion and questioning the people who say they come in the name of ‘faith’ but are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
I know I talked a lot, and I still have a lot to say but I'm out of words because this song is so insightful, intense and inspiring. Nine minutes of absolute perfection. Sorry for overtalking. I love you Stephen :)
it's absolutely beautiful.
just wow.
------------------
HJ: Word choice seems really important to the band. I've taken a stab at the 'meanings' of a bunch of your songs in [my review] but "Fin" seems so compact and full, there's just a lot going on. Shed some light on that song. It seems personal, complete with names, [is it] an actual event? Help listeners (as "Whisper and A Clamor" is certainly a wake-up call) see what's behind the words of "Fin" and maybe other songs.
Stephen: “Fin” (pronounced like the fin on a shark’s back) means ending in French. I felt like this was a conclusion (or just a start) to my epic tug-of-war with God. I have a lot of questions, a lot that I may never really understand or have the capacity to comprehend in this lifetime. “Fin” is a series of four stories, that all tie together in the line ‘patron saint of lost causes.’ The first story is a personal memoir about my life as a child and the pull on my soul even then. I deliberated even at eight years old, that it would be better that God and the devil would just both leave me alone. The second story is about a couple from my early teen years’ church who cried for a miracle. It was a promised miracle, and it never came about. That leaves an impression. The third is about a mentor that used the guise of 'missions work' to leave his family in shambles and eventually decay. That plays with your salvation, when one experiences it. [The fourth story is about] Billy, a traveling ' healer' who crippled my life and growth right in front of me. All these things and many, many others made me lose my salvation. But later in life I realized I needed to stop looking at Christians to see Christ. I wrestled with God, and he won.
----------------
The next question is though - Stephen references four stories, but there's only 3 verses. Where do each of the stories fit in? "Billy" is obvious, but the others aren't so clear. And where do the "hidden lyrics" from the end fit it?
I looked this up about twenty minutes ago randomly because Anberlin is my ex-girlfriend's favorite band. I'd never given them a listen before, and I was thinkin' 'bout her...looked up "patron saint of lost causes," after remembering something she'd said, and found this song.
I'm not sure of all of what it means, other than of course the flat-out meaning with the St. Jude thing. I'm not well-versed in the Bible, but that sounds right, I believe. I'm still trying to figure out what it means to ME, though...perhaps she's MY patron saint of lost causes...
Excellent song. He has a GREAT voice, and I love the guitar and the choir stuff goin' on in the middle. I think I may just pick up this album...
The first part of the song:
"Tommy you're left behind
Something you'll mean everything right before you die
But if you gain the world
You've already lost four little souls from your life
Widows and orphans aren't hard to find
Their home is in daddy who's saving you random tonight
Where's your drink? And would hurry and kill you
Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth"
I think this part is about an alchoholic who has lost everyone / thing in his life and just wants it to end.. therefore consuming his grief through his drink wish it would kill him because even if he was to rise above his problems his love ones are already gone.... (or something to that extent.. i also get a slight feeling that the loss of "four little souls" could be 1) from a court order. he lost his children because of his drinking addiction or 2) his drinking somehow caused the death of them. dunno, i'm kind of bad a interpretting lyrics =/)
then there is this part that really stands out:
"Billy, don't you understand?
Timothy stood as long as he could and now
You made his faith disappear
More like a magician
And less like a man of the cloth
We're not questioning God
Just those he chose to carry on his cross
We'll grow better, you'll see
Just all of us, the lost causes"
I believe this part is dealing with the ongoing struggle with homosexuality. These two men are struggling with their own personal love, faith, and trust in each other. It seems to me as if they are trying to keep their beliefs in God alive, but find that hard because the members of the church or the ones Jesus has taken in for salvation by the wording of the lyrics are all against their love.. I'm not quite sure if Anberlin is trying to make suicide a factor here, but it is obvious that the couple stopped their relationship together.
well, at least, those are my thoughts :)
The first verse is about the couple (Mary and William) who don't get the miracle they needed.
It's also about his (Stephen's) personal struggle. He feels that God is miles away. "The house on Ridge Road" could be referring to his childhood home where he tells God and the Devil to leave him alone.
I think the line "You'll just have to trust me" is spoken by God, and then the writer replies "I'm scared"
The second verse is about "a mentor that used the guise of ‘missions work’ to leave his family in shambles and eventually decay. "
the mentor (Tommy) left behind something (his family) that will mean everything right before he dies. "You've already lost four little souls from your life." isn't talking about his children literally dying, it's talking about them being lost spiritually. "That plays with your salvation, when one experiences it." Imagine having a father who goes on missions work and shares his love with other people but never loved you? you would lose your trust in him. "Widows and orphans aren't hard to find" James 1:27 says "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress..." it's a bit ironic. here's a man who goes far away to fulfill his religion when really the widow and orphans were waiting at home.
"They're home missing daddy who's saving the abandoned tonight"
I'm not sure about the drinking part. It's kind of abstract.
The Third Verse is about "Billy, a traveling ‘ healer’ who crippled my life and growth right in front of me. " I think Stephen refers to himself as "Timothy" in this verse. he stood as long as he could but then Billy crippled his life and made his faith disappear.
"We're not questioning God. Just those he chose to carry on His cross" a very powerful line. Brennan Manning once said, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." It's interesting however, that a lot of people don't question God (which I think is the main point of this song) they question the ones who carry on his cross, i.e. Christians.
Stephen Christian said "later in life I realized I needed to stop looking at Christians to see Christ. I wrestled with God, and he won"
This song has really been a wake-up call for me. funny, but I often look at Christians and how they act when I doubt God, but I get the opposite reaction. rather than seeing a lot of hypocrites I know a lot of good strong christians. without them, I might give up on God. but this song (and the interview) has showed me that I don't need to look at christians to see God.
anyway, I know this is probably really confusing. feedback is appreciated. :)
Three things remain:
A) "Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you.
Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth."
B) Who is the Patron Saint of lost causes?
..and..
C) Who is "we" and "you" in the first and third choruses?
a) Frydaddy22 had an interesting take on these two lines (7 posts after this one). He/she said that sometimes we choose to merely feel bad for someone rather than rebuking/convicting them. Perhaps the father, Tommy, is an alcoholic. On the other hand, maybe it is a spiritual drinking. Drinking of the Holy Spirit? Maybe the drinking symbolizes Tommy's hypocrisy or ignorance. Unfortunately, the "wish your drinking would hurry and kill you" part contradicts the sympathy mentioned in the next line. Hmm... What is your take on these two lines?
b) There's a few possibilities for the identity of the Patron Saint of lost causes (a saint who is the defender of lost causes). Lost causes are those who seem hopeless, yes? So who is the Patron Saint of lost causes? We know that
- The writer calls himself the Patron Saint of lost causes.
- Tommy is the Patron Saint of lost causes.
- The Patron Saint of lost causes is lost, hense "are we all lost like you?"
1) One possibility is that the lost causes are their own Patron Saints. This is supported by the idea that person is a lost cause because no one is there to defend their faith in the first place, making them lost causes. They must support themselves, making them their own defenders, their own Patron Saints.
2) Another possibility is that the Patron Saints are those who defend the lost causes *against* their faith whether intentionally or inadvertently , making the Patron Saints a bad influence. When the writer told God and the Devil to leave him alone, he was his own Patron Saint, "defending" himself against his faith. Tommy is called a Patron Saint because he "defends" the writer against his faith, as Stephen mentioned in the interview. It would also make sense that these Patron Saints are also lost causes themselves, explaining the choir's line.
3) A third possibility is that there is indeed ONE Patron Saint of lost causes which is represented through the writer, Tommy, and probably many others. This could be the Devil or the Devil's influence. The Devil defends us against a relationship with God, and wants to make us lost causes and keep us that way.
4) The last possibility is that the Patron Saint of lost causes is an idea, like hypocrisy or ignorance.
What is your take on this?
c) I was thinking that "we" refers to the lost causes themselves, and that "you" is God. The writer may be deceived to think that God has given up on them and sees them as lost causes. This seems to be the only option that makes some sense to me, though I'm still unsure. What do you think?