In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
You're so creative with your reviews
Of what other people do
How satisfying that must be for you
Am I a Christian?
Are you a Jew?
Did you kill my Lord?
Must I forgive you?
I know it's hard to be original
In fact, nothing scares me more
Because Jesus only lets me do
What has been done before
The path of least resistance
Ancient holy wars
The same old easy targets
Yeah, we've all been there before
So if it starts to get you down
Just pretend
That you don't make your living
From selling advertising
Tracking trends
Coraling demographics
And maximizing traffic
Then if you get tired
Of making tapes for free
You can always start a band
With me or anybody
Of what other people do
How satisfying that must be for you
Am I a Christian?
Are you a Jew?
Did you kill my Lord?
Must I forgive you?
I know it's hard to be original
In fact, nothing scares me more
Because Jesus only lets me do
What has been done before
The path of least resistance
Ancient holy wars
The same old easy targets
Yeah, we've all been there before
So if it starts to get you down
Just pretend
That you don't make your living
From selling advertising
Tracking trends
Coraling demographics
And maximizing traffic
Then if you get tired
Of making tapes for free
You can always start a band
With me or anybody
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I saw this man in concert, he is insanely good at what he does. As far as this song goes, it's mocking Christianity. Don't question me, he said it. He is a Christian, and he believes in Jesus and everything, but he thinks that everything about Christianity, especially heaven, is either bullshit or played up. The "Jew" line I find hilarious, being a Jewish 14 year old, and I always wonder, is the guy he's talking to a Jew? I mean, according to the first verse, he could be, and there happen to be more than a handful of Jews in the advertising business...
the last time i saw dave play (dec. '05?) he called this song, "Track Review This, Motherfucker." on the setlist, it was called "Bitchfork." at the most basic level, it's an attack on the online music magazine Pitchfork Media, but like most of bazan's music, there's more than one layer to uncover.
David Bazan is definitely talking directly to Pitchfork and I believe Ryan Schrieber( a reviewer) specifically. Another shot at the pervasive corporate world that seems to control the entertainment world. Saw him last June in Toronto and he was simply amazing. Just him alone with his acoustic guitar.
I'll believe it. Those Pitchfork guys are a bunch of pretentious music snobs. I tried to become a writer for them, but I guess I didn't use enough hoity-toity post-modernist babble for their liking.
David Cross (the comedian) was asked to give Pitchfork a list of his favourite albums, and instead he gave them "Albums to Listen to While Reading Overwrought Pitchfork Reviews." Funny.
"Don't question me."
Um, ok- no. Do you care to explain to us why this song in particular is mocking Christianity other than the fact that it mentions Jesus and the word "Christianity?"
This song is written in rebuttal to the Pitchfork review of himself. In my opinion, the reason he references Jesus and Christianity is because there's a preception (and rightfully so) that music inspired by Christian faith is often times unoriginal. I assume Pitchfork accused him of this in their review, so to me it's almost like he's mocking their accusation.
This song refers to David's rightful contempt towards this review: "pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/20789/Pedro_the_Lion_Winners_Never_Quit"
If you read the review, you'll see that most of David's lyrics come in direct rebuttal against what was said about him. It's quite clever, and that's why I love this song!
David Bazan explains in an interview the "Are you a Christian..." lyrics refer to not pigeonholing people based off of surface level assumptions. For example, one could assume that "Schreiber" is a Jewish last name so would he then make a bunch of stereotypical assumptions and write reviews about Ryan Schreiber's Jewishness?
here's the link I got that from: staythirstymedia.com/0307m/html/0307davidbazan.html
What great lyrics. About "selling out" in general.