Secret of the Easy Yoke
September 24, 2018 20 Comments
The title of this blog post mirrors the title of its subject, namely a song by David Bazan, as performed by his ‘band’ Pedro The Lion. The lyrics are below, and you can hear it here:
I could hear the church bells ringing
They pealed aloud Your praise
The member’s faces were smiling
With their hands outstretched to shake
It’s true they did not move me
My heart was hard and tired
Their perfect fire annoyed me
I could not find You anywhereCould someone please tell me the story
Of sinners ransomed from the fall
I still have never seen You
And some days I don’t love You at allThe devoted were wearing bracelets
To remind them why they came
Some concrete motivation
When the abstract could not do the same
But if all that’s left is duty
I’m falling on my sword
At least then I would not serve
An unseen, distant LordCould someone please tell me the story
Of sinners ransomed from the fall
I still have never seen You
And some days I don’t love You at allIf this is only a test
I hope that I’m passing
‘Cause I’m losing steam
But I still want to trust YouPeace, be still
Peace, be still
Peace, be still
CrossWise 
Hi Craig. I do hope these lyrics aren’t what you are going through right now. I think a lot of Christians are being pressured and are suffering…. anyway, I pray you are okay. Drop me a line if you want to chat.
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Thanks for the thought. I think most Christians go through this at times. But, the lyrics do resolve in a sense (“But, I still want to trust You; Peace, be still…”).
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David Bazan renounced his faith not too soon after this and some of his other early works were released. (Yes, I was aware of that fact before releasing this blog post.). Here’s a live rendition from 2007 in which he states his disbelief–though a bit tentatively–before he begins (“…I don’t even believe this dude exists, mostly, now, but…”):
I appreciate his struggle and his honesty both when it was first written/recorded and in his performance here. I’ve witnessed so much hypocrisy in the “church” (which he alludes to in this song). But, of course, we’re all hypocrites to some extent. Those who claim they aren’t are liars as well.
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This has been speaking to me recently:
“Dig Down”
When hope and love has been lost and you fall to the ground
You must find a way
When the darkness descends and you’re told it’s the end
You must find a way
When God decides to look the other way
and a clown takes the throne
We must find a way
Face the firing squad,
against the odds
You will find a way
Dig Down Dig Down Dig Down
and find faith
When you’re close to the edge
With a gun to your head
You must find a way
When friends are thin on the ground
and they try to divide us
We must find a way
We have entered the fray
and we will not obey
We must find a way, yeah
Dig Down Dig Down Dig Down
and find faith
When they’ve left you for dead
and you can only see red
You must find a way
Dig Down Dig Down Dig Down,
find faith
We won’t let them divide,
We will never abide
We will find a way
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And this
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I fixed the link. There was extra code tacked onto the end (look for ampersands “&”, as these usually redirect).
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I also have Joy Division – Dead Souls and Led Zep’s When the Levee Breaks on repeat at the moment. A bit gloomy and dark at times but so rich in their depth of connecting with humanity at its most earthy.
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“Dead Souls” has been one of my favorites, but the lyrics are actually occult. Do you know that the lead singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide on the eve before the band’s first US tour?
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Look at the lyrics to “Disorder”, their first track from their first album Unknown Pleasures. What “spirit” does he have?
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Ian Curtis was certainly a very depressed and mentally tortured man. His singing and lyrics are clear indicators of what would ultimately happen. He also seemed very anti-religion but as with these themes in secular music, I think that they more often rail against the spirit of religiosity, or the often seen Pharisaical heart of religion, than God himself.
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Where figures from the past stand tall,
And mocking voices ring the halls.
Imperialistic house of prayer,
Conquistadors who took their share.
This verse from Dead Souls could easily be an anti-Catholic rant.
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Jim,
I hadn’t thought of those verses that way. To be fair, though, the Crusades were a reaction to Islamic encroachment.
Though I think he goes much further than he ought, I can appreciate John Lydon’s (formerly “Johnny Rotten”) lyrics in the virulently anti-Catholic “Religion” (I’m a free speech absolutest):
Stained glass windows keep the cold outside
While the hypocrites hide inside
With the lies of statues in their minds
Where the Christian religion made them blind
Where they hide
And prey to the God of a bitch spelled backwards is dog
Not for one race, one creed, one world
But for money
Effective
Absurd
Do you pray to the Holy Ghost when you suck your host
Do you read who’s dead in the Irish Post
Do you give away the cash you can’t afford
On bended knees and pray to the lord
Fat pig priest
Sanctimonious smiles
He takes the money
You take the lies
This is religion and Jesus Christ
This is religion cheaply priced
This is bibles full of libel
This is sin in eternal hymn
This is what they’ve done
This is your religion
The apostles were eleven
Now there’s a sod in Heaven
This is religion
There’s a liar on the altar
The sermon never falter
This is religion
Your religion
and it’s all falling to bits
gloriously
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And this one, from probably my all-time favorite Rock record (though not my fav from the record) is the anti-Catholic New Nails:
New Nails
Roger Miller
There was once a special book
It got changed by fascist crooks
(Save me please for I am weak)
There were once some great ideas
Now they’re watered down too thin
(Save me please for I am weak)
(Save me please for I’m a sheep)
Well I suppose it’s human nature
But when He said
“Don’t make an idol of me…” x3
The Roman Empire never died
(Save me I am not a goat)
Just changed in to the Catholic Church
(Dionysius has cloven hooves)
The Roman Empire never died
(Nevermore – trod not on me)
(Save me I am not a goat)
(laughing)
But when He said
“Don’t make an idol of Me” x3
Plastic idols of Me
Plaster idols of Me
“Don’t make an idol of Me”
Well when I walk the shores of Galilee
Where only the Spirit can talk to Me
Well I walk the shores of Galilee
…..[unintelligible] desert sand, no one can touch Me
Don’t touch Me!
No!
Oh no! x4
Oh no!
What’s this?
All these crimes, committed in My name.
Oh well…
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I was thinking the conquistadors were more the Catholic invasion of central and south America.
Mr Lydon makes the case well that perceived hypocrisy in religious circles will always be pilloried by whoever has the wit, anger and means to express it.
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You have a very catholic taste in music, Craig! 🙂
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I like all different kinds of music, from the most loud and abrasive, to the softest (think some of Arvo Part’s output).
I think RCC-ism is rotten to the core–though there are probably millions of well-meaning Christians under her sway.
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Jim,
I’m wholly unfamiliar with the band Muse. Are the lyrics an implicit attack on President Trump? I hope not. Trump might be a jerk at times, and he sure does say things that make me cringe and wince, however, the media has been unfairly maligning him by misquoting him, and taking things out of context. This whole bogus notion of ‘white nationalism has increased since Trump’s election and it’s all Trump’s fault’ is sickening. The fiery and well-spoken (and black) Candace Owens straightens this out in front of the House Judiciary Committee meeting yesterday. She even timed her opening perfectly (she’s a former Democrat, she misspoke at the beginning):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1H7CL5K4Go
A Republican gives her the chance to speak some more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoWzQLO_UuY
And Democrat Lieu tried to malign her by taking her out of context and without giving her a chance to respond. Thankfully a Republican gives her that opportunity, which provided the opportunity to implicitly show up the jerk Nadler as a bonus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC6ZkM79Vao
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Craig, I’m unsure whether Dig Down is a ‘dig’ at Trump. I just recognise that God uses all things to get a message through and, in my case, so it was with the lyrics here.
I first thought that the line ‘When God decides to look the other way’ was an unfair portrayal but then was reading Ps 42, 43 and 142 and saw David asking God not to abandon him, as if he too was feeling that line.
The clown on the throne could be most presidents or Prime Ministers these days, although I tend to agree with you regarding the way Trump is tactically quoted or misquoted to make him appear like a buffoon.
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Muse tend to come across as anti-establishment and anti-deep state.
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I like to watch this guy’s (Scotty Kilmer’s) videos on car repair, not least for entertainment value via the memes. “A little maintenance goes a long way”:
And he doesn’t like Mercedes Benz or Fiat cars. I don’t think Scotty will be able to talk with his hands bound.
As an added bonus here, you can see the code I added to the end of the video to make the time stamp: &t=6m57s (Hover over this: Doing This Will Make Your Car’s Suspension Last Forever). This indicates ‘time equals 6 minutes, 57 seconds’.
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