Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Empty & Beautiful: Leave a Light On

I have to admit that this is actually my least favorite song on this album. I think it's a great idea and I like the tensions that Matt is trying to explore but... I don't know. Call me hypercritical but the opening line just feels...sort of lame. Maybe it's because it asks these questions without any context so immediately someone like me rolls their eyes and starts the sarcastic-hypothetical-answer reel. My other annoyance with the lyrics (I actually quite like the music) is the give me oil in my lamp bridge. I get what you're saying, Matt, and it's a good sentiment but I just know I will never be able to sing those words to this melody without being thrown out of prayerfulness and into the land of am I really singing this.... I even like the other lines in the bridge! Just something about that image is not creative enough. Plus I know the song grew out of this "Leave a Light On" line and idea but it just seems cheesy to me to apply a cliched American expression to this parable.

So now that I have expressed those dissatisfactions I will say that I LOVE the line we worship and we doubt. Now we're dealing with contradictions and paradox and I appreciate putting those two sentiments together- we CAN worship and doubt, and sometimes it happens at the same time. I also really like the proclamation of FINDING Christ in the breaking of the bread and behind the poor man's eyes.

I think this song would have benefitted from a stronger narrative, a few different word choices, and just further editing. On an album that I think is pretty tight, (not in the slang sense, but in the tetris sense) this song just sticks out to me as needing a little more refining.

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