| Thrice – In Exile Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This song *is* about heaven, drawing heavily upon the Bible and St. Augustine's "City of God." "I am an exile, a sojourner A citizen of some other place." In the opening chapter of "City of God", Augustine mentions the Christian as a sojourning stranger in the midst of the ungodly. "All I've seen is just a glimmer in just a shadowy mirror But I know one day we'll see face to face." This is a reference to Cor. 13:12: " For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known." "I am a nomad, a wanderer I have nowhere to lay my head down There's no point in putting roots to deep when I'm moving on Not settling for this unsettling town" This is just a reiteration of the first two lines. The last line - "Not settling for this unsettling town" - is a stroke of genius, though, referring to the fallen world. "My heart is filled with songs of forever A city that endures, where all is made new" The city of God, according to Augustine, is eternal, in contrast with the city of the world, which is temporal. "And no I don't belong here I'll never call this place my home I'm just passing through" John 18: The Christian is *in* the world, but not *of* the world. "I am a pilgrim, a voyager I won't rest until my lips touch the shore Of the land that I've been longing for as long as I've lived Where there'll be no pain or tears anymore" This is classic Christian eschatology - it ends on a note of hope and salvation. *Phew.* |
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