(click on the title to download song)
Another moment in time, like that means something to me.
You see; I’m not bound by those things.
There is no sin that’s above; from that I distance myself.
And every battle I’ve won.
Do you know me?
You say you know me.
To live as Christ, and to die? Now that’s a dangerous thought.
Would you accept if I called you to it?
Where seed is hitting the path, your life a symbol displays
that comfort doesn’t last long.
Do you know me?
You say you know me.
The time is coming; it’s set. It’s just a moment from now.
It’s not a question of how. You can’t know that yet.
I’ll just raise my hands and all problems are solved.
So are you ready for light if it’s blinding?
Drawn to shoreline again where you can see everything,
and face the space that’s been blocking your view.
Can an inch not divide? And yet you think you possess
all you need to survive?
*This song was just recently re-recorded. I wrote this in 2003 and
it was originally done faster, with a lot more intricacy in the guitar,
and with djembe. I can always post the original if anyone is interested.
The Baker
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14 comments:
Your voice super rocks. I do like it better this way, even though it hurt my feelings a little at first for you to slow it down because I thought you might loose the umph. You didn't. It's tighter.
I still do miss the punch in "Know. That. Yet." Am I remembering that correctly? Anyway, you could punch there.
Matt, I'd like to again what your thoughts were while you were writing this. Could you share with us?
I wrote this as if it is from God's point of view. It's really Him talking to me i guess. I say that i know him, but i often don't seek him, and get caught in pride because of the truth i do know, all the while struggling not to judge others.
all in all it is a wakeup call for me to appreciate Him more. I do have a lot that blocks my view. I do have a lack of understanding.
I imagine His completely revealing Himself to me to be completely blinding, a sort of disablement of my senses. I say i'm ready, but am i?
this is sort of the point.
Hey folks. Just tuned in and listened to blinding. Here's my thoughts on style - It takes me to a pub/coffee house with a festive atmosphere with lots of conversation, dishes clanging in the background. There's a guy in a dimly lit corner with a guitar and an amp playing his heart out, wishing someone would throw a two dollar bill into his empty guitar case. It's raw, it's real, and it's from the heart.
As for content: I was with you from the first line. Conversely, and I mean conversely- the lyrical concept made me think of Rolling Stones "sympathy for the devil".
Lyrics that stood out:
"face the space that's been blocking your view". I really dig these words - they are challenging.
My only suggestion is:
write another verse about freedom/victory and accepting the challenge.
Mmmm... sympathy for the devil. A good one.
"The time is coming it's set. It's just a moment from now."
The idea that we, with our limitations, often dangle fragily on a precipice not knowing that we are about to be taken as bondservants. Not knowing that that thing we wixh to avoid will be the very thing that saves us. And we don't know that we are about to run headlong into it all. That we are about to be pushed into it all. And if we did know, what would we do? That's mystery to me. A mystery for which I was not ready, but which blinded me nonetheless. And I like it.
I must confess, I almost chopped my finger off with a chef's knife tonight and Dr. Fedosky sewed me up. I am writing under a bit of a haze, but the above seems to make sense to me.
I like the concept of this song, and it's easy to listen to. Plus, your voice rocks.
Something for me doesn't flow with the line "It's not a question of how. You can't know that yet." I don't know, my ear just wants to hear something different there.
The line "I'll just raise my hands and all problems are solved" takes me to a different place than I think you probably intend there. Sounds like it's from man's perspective, and God is there at our beck and call to solve all our problems. If the song is about the timing of His return, then can that be made a little more intuitive? His return will be blinding, and all problems will be solved, and can we really come face to face with what it means to be ready for that... If that's not what it's about, then the "timing is set" line makes less sense to me.
Very good start, could be great.
mbrayster:
thanks for the suggestion and the opinion. i will think on how to compose such a verse. i want to be careful though, about ending songs with a positive or redemptive note. Not that this is bad inherently, but it can become a well-cut cookie if done too much. this is on me not to let that happen.
for the record, next to actual functional changes that need to be made, my next interest is what sorts of other instruments and/or background stuff, ie- underlying guitar riffs, fills, etc.. would sound good for my songs.
i could do other stuff, not just for this song, i mean in general.
let me know.
Butcher:
i am with you my friend. the good news, i believe, is that even though we do our part, try to be ready, nobody will ever really be ready for all He has to show. The good news, then, is that He will do His part to not kill us with His might, but to steadily and tenderly assist us to unwrap His sleugh of Jack-in-the-boxes.
as for comfort, it is minimal. if it is not minimal, then in general i would argue that you are a little to attached to what our world offers.
As Christ is in our spirit, so our deepest being has an understanding of death and even what it means to overcome. If we do have comfort in small bursts, may it come from this.
do i get a high-pitched amen from the second row?
Carli,
Not to stir up a theological hotbed, but what if the song is not about God's return? What if it is about God's turn? The moment before the moment he steps into your life? That crazy precursor to clarity?
Does that change your view at all?
Just interested.
Butcher:
I like that view as well (in fact better). I just think it's not as clear as it could be, and if it were made more clear in either direction it could be more powerful.
I think the song at its core is about the moment of coming face to face with Christ, what that could look like in our lives, and the fact that it is seldom as we would think we want it to be (but always produces more in our lives than if we could have Him reveal Himself the way we would prefer).
After listening again and reading through the lyrics, I really love the second verse, but the last line doesn't hang to me. Comfort is not His intent, and if it were, it would be unending. Just a thought...
Of course the song could mean any number of things to whoever is hearing it at whatever point in their life, and may very well change as each person's life inevitably does.
this song, as i intended it, was coming from God to man, not the other way. The point about "the time is set.." line was another point that God was making about how He knows already when He will return, He knows how and when and nobody else does. When he does, all problems will be solved, this point was intended to show again the great expanse between our great effort to solve the problems of the world, and that in once sentence, God can assert knowingly that He can and will do it as easily as it was to make the assertion.
We must not burden ourselves with how or when He will do it because that is pointless and we are not intended to know.
All we know is that He is coming, and the only remaining question is can we handle Him coming (either in the revelatory sense, or personal awakening sense) if the experience takes us to and beyond what we had ever known or experienced.
Some can and will, some will not.
should i go there?
ok,
could it be said that some cannot?
lookout.
the baker:
perhaps the cello would fit with this song. I know that you said that you orginally did this song faster, but I'm wondering what slowing it down a bit would do with more strings- cello, stand up base, mando... and also the djembe. The lyrics provide plenty to think about while listening, so all I'm saying is maybe slowing it down and drawing out the instrumentals would provide more reflection/introspection/processing time for the listener. If not slowing down the tempo of the whole song, then make a run at the end with instrumental then bring it back to the vocals. Take it or leave it. Peace.
good stuff.
i'll work on that.
i can play mandolin, but i feel you on the cello. I cannot play, but stinkin love that stuff on acoustic songs.
any cello players out there?
I like the energy. I hear some unique harmonies with Rachel Billingsly singing (do you know her? Old BSU/Maplestreet stuff). She lives in town.
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