Lyrics for Twenty-Four as interpreted by rjbucs28

Twenty-Four Lyrics
Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And I'm not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I'm not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You're raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I wan to be one today
Centered and true

I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You're raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You're raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I'm not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

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tbs_bn
04-15-2004

Rated 0 
i like this song.

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osubuckeye420
05-03-2004

Rated +1 
When I saw Switchfoot play in Columbus the lead singer said that he wrote this song on his 24th birthday, and that it's all about taking time out of your life to look back at your past and recognize the things you need to change to be a better person. It's a great song and it was absoutly amazing live... it was the highlight of the show for me.

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moon in mourning
06-23-2004

Rated 0 
this song has such a deep meaning to me and it just happened recently. me and this girl ive been best friends with for almost 4 years were sitting on her couch and were cuddling close and this song came on and it just fit the moment perfectly. it was like a movie...i wish the song had never ended

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werdna101
11-14-2004

Rated 0 
I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You’re raising the dead in me

Shivers run down my back when I hear those words. I love it. I feel as if the dead in me is God. Maybe that's to easy of an idea but it makes sense to me. I love it though. It's like God is in all of us and slowly, He makes his appearance.

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Renholder
11-15-2004

Rated 0 
This songs means alot to me too. It's means the same thing osubuckeye420 says means to the lead singer. I was listening to it the other day, and it stirred up all thoughts of the things I have done wrong and the things I should change. It's like he is singing about me, lol, except I am 23.

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bThuMp
11-27-2004

Rated +1 
"I wrote this song near the end of my 24th year on this planet. Wherever we run, wherever the sun finds us when he rises, we remain stuck with ourselves. That can be overwhelming. Sometimes I feel like my soul is polluted with politicians, each with a different point of view. With all 24 of them in disagreement, each voice is yelling to be heard. And so I am divided against myself. I feel that I am a hypocrite until I am one, when all of the yelling inside of me dies down. I've heard that the truth will set you free. That's what I'm living for: freedom of spirit. I find unity and peace in none of the diversions that this world offers. But I've seen glimpses of truth and that's where I want to run" - Jon Foreman

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SwordofHope
12-19-2004

Rated 0 
I don't get this song, it might be good, I don't know. 24 oceans? Huh? If anyone can explain...

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nancee
01-09-2005

Rated 0 
SwordofHope I don't think it means literally 24 oceans.

This song always brings a tear to my eye. I always felt like I was in 24th place with everything...but there was this person, that made me feel like a better person. And when my friend gave me this song, I heard "Life was not what I though it was 24 hours ago". It was so true. He made me change who I am fot the better. But he changed too, and he made the good-bye harder than it really needed to be. Now I realize, that at the end of the day, it is God who changed me. "I'm not copping out" anymore. I'm gonna be a good person.

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CH2241
04-02-2005

Rated 0 
i really like this song but what does it mean when it says "i am the secound man" ?

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touchthestarsforme
04-02-2005

Rated 0 
Very deep and powerful song. It is about all of the things one struggles with and how many times you fall down.. since he was 24 when he wrote this, he talks about how he's fallen down every year of his life... full of screw ups. But this song is about surrendering to God.. "Raising the dead in me" is about God reviving the his spirit... you know, being "spiritually dead" and the "I am the second man now" is him putting his own wants aside and bending to God's will... Jesus is the first man in his life now instead of himself.

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CH2241
04-02-2005

Rated 0 
thanks touchthestarsforme! now i get it and it makes more sence.

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clairpatra
04-12-2005

Rated 0 
well when i first heard it i was thinking about the 24 chapters in the gospel of Luke... Thats where i thought the 24 came from and i still do

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clairpatra
04-13-2005

Rated 0 
"Wrestled the angel, for more than a name" maybe referring to the part in Genesis where Abram wrestles with God and is then renamed Abraham??? The bible rocks...

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slipknot3421
04-28-2005

Rated 0 
I think that the lyric:

"I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause"

is talking about the idea that we do things with good intentions and we figure we don't need god for some of the smaller things, but in the end it's more then that. I'm still trying to figure out what this song means to me. But I do agree with clairpatra. that's probably the meaning behind it.

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shirvs
05-17-2005

Rated 0 
I think this is one of Switchfoot's best. I love the guitar work and melody but the lyrics just blew me away. I heard Jon wrote it on the eve of his 24th birthday and was just sitting with his guitar reflecting on the last 24 years of his life. Hence all the 24's. But I just think it shows so much maturity to be able, at 24, to write such a spiritual piece of music. To be able to acknowledge and understand that with all the trials and tribulations we go through all it takes is to turn it over to God. Jon Foreman has got it all worked out, in his songs at least and I think we can all learn a lot from him. BTW clairpatra, I agree with you, the bible does rock.

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SolubleWords
07-15-2005

Rated 0 
Well, I won't try to explain what I think this song means since you hear it right from the writer, but there is one line that has always stood out to me.

"I wrestled the angel for more than a name."

This, to me, means he wanted to be able to do more in this life than he's able to do with mortal limitations.

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ner23
09-17-2005

Rated 0 
It's about a guy looking back on his life and realizing he hasn't been the person he wants to be. The Spirit is God. God is taking all of the "dead" or bad stuff out of him and he's becoming the second, or new man now. It's a beautiful song.

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ner23
09-17-2005

Rated 0 
It's about a guy looking back on his life and realizing he hasn't been the person he wants to be. The Spirit is God. God is taking all of the "dead" or bad stuff out of him and he's becoming the second, or new man now. It's a beautiful song.

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Kisma
09-19-2005

Rated 0 
This song remains one of the strangest experiences I've ever had. The guys were touring and my friend and I went to see them on the spur of the moment. I wasn't a big fan yet, but when Jon began singing it I just joined in and somehow knew all the words even though I'd never hear it before! I have no idea how, but it was such a beautiful song, it felt like somehow I SHOULD know it!
Anyway, this remains my fave Switchfoot song. I think we can all relate to being at odds with yourself and simply wanting truth and freedom, unity within your own mind and heart.

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answeris42
11-07-2005

Rated 0 
"Wrestled the angel, for more than a name"

Refers to Jacob in the Bible, and how he wrestled the Angel for his Faith... The angel wounded him in the wrestling match, but even with his heart crying out in fear and his hip screaming out in pain Jacob wouldn't let go of the angel until he had the blessing of seeing God's face and receiving his new name from God. This also explains the I am a second man... After Jacob got his new name he lived for God. It's a beautiful song... I love Switchfoot... I'm just upset that they aren't as Christian Rock as they used to be.

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3ebLover
01-28-2006

Rated 0 
To answer the question about the Second man, it's saying that he will put God and the holy spirit in front of himself from now on. Jesus is now his 1st priority

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WZrWolf31
01-29-2006

Rated 0 
I have never heard God so strong in anything, I get shivers everywhere, I LOVE IT. To listen to this song is to be enlightened

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kdiddy33
03-16-2006

Rated 0 
Hey everyone! Thanks so much for clearing this up for me and my sisters, mum, and all my sisters friends. You have no idea how long we've been looking for the meaning of "24".. my sister and mum dug into the Bible like no other and found a bunch of stuff that would relate to other parts of the song (The second man is referring to your spiritual self, btw... and answer is42 is right, I think he is referring to Jacob in the Bible)... but we never found out what it could mean. So THANKS!... It put us all to ease!

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shirvs
03-22-2006

Rated 0 
Yay. I'm the twenty fourth comment on '24'. Amazing. Anyway, listen to this song while driving, makes it even better, if that's possible. This is close to the best song in terms of everything in it complementing each other, the only one better being 'On Fire'. Just sounds so good, gives me chills.

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preacherman837
05-19-2006

Rated 0 
this song means so much... its definitely that he wrote it on the evening of his 24th birthday... but like someone else up there said Jesus is now the first man and he's no longer first in his own life... but also that part could mean that the old man that Jon Foreman use to be has died and he is now the second man... "
I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause" is where he is saying that he fought with the idea that God Alone is in control of his destiny... Jesus died for you, do you live for Jesus?

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