The church went down
And it didn't go gently
The burning steeple fell right down on Main Street
The old stained glass
Exploded
Pieces of Jesus at my feet
Molten broken Jesus at my feet

What kind of god would let this be?
What kind of spirit or trinity
What kind of god
What kind of friend
Did God let Jesus die again?
God let Jesus die again

In the name of faith and religion
How much trouble must we witness?
All the wars
Hate and sickness
Can't somebody's god fix this?
Can't anybody's god fix this?

What kind of god would stand by?
What kind of spirit or lord on high
What kind of god
What kind of friend
Did God let Jesus die again?
God let Jesus die again

And it makes you wonder
Why bother to conceive of anything greater
Than just what you can see
When all that you can see is

The church went down
And it didn't go gently
The beloved steeple burned upon the tar
And so goes faith
Falling
Breaking me open in my heart
Breaking me open to my heart

What kind of god would let this go?
What kind of spirit or holy ghost
What kind of god
What kind of friend

Maybe God let Jesus die
'Cause we wouldn't get it any otherwise
In canyons and in purple skies
That's how you get the big reprise
Not like He's some guy
Sitting up there thinking this is why
But maybe everything lets everything die
To make us all the more alive
To love one another
And be really present
Right here, right now
Maybe God lets me and you
Moses and Muhammad too
Maybe God let Jesus die again
And again


Lyrics submitted by LizardGirl

The Big Reprise song meanings
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1 Comment

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    General Comment

    Beautiful song. "Molten broken Jesus at my feet" - wow, what an image.

    I'm pretty sure this is about the church burnings that afflicted black congregations in the south during the late 90's.

    corichon December 05, 2008   Link

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