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Three chalk outlines sleep in the dirty street
And in our beds, under the sheets
They're the halo of guilt hanging around your neck
Next to the rosary you count falling asleep
And we're praying
These are the symptoms
Of letting go of all our hope
Since we can't compete with martyred saints
We'll douse ourselves in gasoline and hang our bodies from the lampposts
So that our shadows turn into bright lights
'White lights, white heat'
We'll make as we're backing out in the center lane
(We swerve)
To the beat
(Spill)
All the ink
No revisions
Do you hear the church bells ringing?
Wake up!! Wake up in an outline and try to speak
With the shattered voice of the lives we lead
(Have we slept too long)
Between the bullet holes in a stained glass window state?
And we're praying
These are the symptoms
Of letting go of all our hope
(When we repent)
And we're praying
(We fall on the page)
(Read in the margins)
We are the symptoms
Of letting go of all our hope
Someday we'll be complete like modern saints
Baptize our kids in gasoline
And hang our doubts up in cathedrals
So that they turn to faith in the colored sun
'Red rain, red rain'
We'll make as we're backing out in the center lane
(We swerve)
To the beat
(Spill)
All the ink
(No revisions)
Do you hear the church bells ringing?
They ring for you
(We woke up this morning to a sky with no air in it
And the street is filled with a thousand burning crosses
And what we thought was the sunrise, just passing headlights)
Still the choir girls sing
'Oh lord, can you save us, save us?
Oh, lord, sing hallelujah.
Oh lord, can you save us, save us?
Oh, lord, sing hallelujah.'
They are the symptoms
Of letting go of all our hope
We're falling asleep with open eyes
Falling asleep inside the chapel
Falling asleep in chalk outlines
Falling asleep as the headlights pass us by
And in our beds, under the sheets
They're the halo of guilt hanging around your neck
Next to the rosary you count falling asleep
And we're praying
These are the symptoms
Of letting go of all our hope
Since we can't compete with martyred saints
We'll douse ourselves in gasoline and hang our bodies from the lampposts
So that our shadows turn into bright lights
'White lights, white heat'
We'll make as we're backing out in the center lane
(We swerve)
To the beat
(Spill)
All the ink
No revisions
Do you hear the church bells ringing?
Wake up!! Wake up in an outline and try to speak
With the shattered voice of the lives we lead
(Have we slept too long)
Between the bullet holes in a stained glass window state?
And we're praying
These are the symptoms
Of letting go of all our hope
(When we repent)
And we're praying
(We fall on the page)
(Read in the margins)
We are the symptoms
Of letting go of all our hope
Someday we'll be complete like modern saints
Baptize our kids in gasoline
And hang our doubts up in cathedrals
So that they turn to faith in the colored sun
'Red rain, red rain'
We'll make as we're backing out in the center lane
(We swerve)
To the beat
(Spill)
All the ink
(No revisions)
Do you hear the church bells ringing?
They ring for you
(We woke up this morning to a sky with no air in it
And the street is filled with a thousand burning crosses
And what we thought was the sunrise, just passing headlights)
Still the choir girls sing
'Oh lord, can you save us, save us?
Oh, lord, sing hallelujah.
Oh lord, can you save us, save us?
Oh, lord, sing hallelujah.'
They are the symptoms
Of letting go of all our hope
We're falling asleep with open eyes
Falling asleep inside the chapel
Falling asleep in chalk outlines
Falling asleep as the headlights pass us by
Lyrics submitted by Greg_miles
Track duration: 03:46
"Asleep in the Chapel" as written by Geoffrey/keeley Rickly
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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-geoff
and in our beds, under the sheets,
they're the halo of guilt hanging around your neck,
next to the rosary you count, falling asleep"
I liked what someone said about how these first lines mean homeless people that we walk by, and make us guilty because we aren't doing what Christ would want us to do. I don't think it just means homeless people though, because it says, "and in our beds, under the sheets" so the chalk outlines are everyone who feels empty, or alone, and we need to be helping them.
and we're praying
these are the symptoms of letting go of all our hope.
i've always seen these lines as saying that doubt, fear, loneliness, depression, guilt, etc. are the symptoms of letting go of our hope, and not believing there's more to life.
since we can't compete with martyred saints,
we'll douse ourselves in gasoline
and hang our bodies from the lampposts
so that our shadows turn into bright lights
i think these lines are saying that this line means we should just be honest with people, and actually be honest about our secrets, not hide anything from anyone. I think the line "hang our bodies from lamposts so that our shadows turn into bright lights" means that we should hang up our faults and sin for everyone to see, so we have nothing that's hidden, confess our sin, so we can be free of guilt and shame. Also, could this line possibly be inspired by the buddhist monks who set themselves on fire in protest to war?
wake up!! wake up in an outline and try to speak
with the shattered voice of the lives we lead...
have we slept too long
between the bullet holes in a stained-glass window slate?
by the way, it's window SLATE, not window STATE. i think this is trying to get people to wake up from their spiritual sleep, or indifference. I think the shattered voice of the lives we lead is how we can no longer speak, or think, or act when we are mere shells. "have we slept too long between the bullet holes in a stained glass window slate" is asking if we've slept through the desperate calls "bullet holes" of the people who are losing their faith. Since we've been sleeping we didn't hear the cries (gun shots) that created the bullet holes.
someday we'll be complete like modern saints,
baptize our kids in gasoline
and hang our doubts up in cathedrals
so that they turn to faith in the colored sunlight.
i've always taken this to mean that we should hang our doubts for everyone to see, so they can turn to faith when they're not hidden anymore. when we hide our doubts and fears they only grow, but when we get them out in the open and others can see them, they build faith not only for us, but for the others that we share our doubts with. we shouldn't be hiding our problems from the church. the church should be the place we go to share our problems, and to express and confess them.
we woke up this morning to a sky with no air in it.
and all the streets are filled with a thousand burning crosses
and what we thought was the sunrise, just passing headlights
still the choir girls sing, 'oh lord, can you save us? oh lord, sing hallelujah'
(I think the lyrics are "no air in it", not "no erring") i think this means he woke up and couldn't breath in the world he's in. the world is destroying religion by idly living without truly thinking about what they're doing. they go through the motions and do the routines without thought. I think the line "what we thought was the sunrise, just passing headlights" means that he's having doubts that the sun (possibly a symbol for the Son, Jesus Christ") will come up to save him from the world he's in. I think the choir girls singing gives him hope, that there's still someone innocent in the world who isn't going to church just because they're supposed to.
I watched youtube video that Lanimilbus posted, and i don't think he's trying to bash religion. i think this song is a wake up call to the everyone, athiest or christian, saying that we need to be helping each other. we need to be expressing our doubts and fears. in the video he said at the moment the clock came back on, he didn't know what to think, and he still can't decide. he said it's hard for him to believe that there's nothing more in life. i think this is a hopeful song. for sure one of my favorite thursday songs.
by the way, if you're going to bash religion, do it somewhere else. this site is for song meaning discussion. make a blog or something, but don't waste the space here.
youtube.com/…
because of this, most of the religions that are found in today's world are false, because people continued to pass down their beliefs even when they knew they weren't true (baptise our kids in gasoline is talking about how even when one of our rituals becomes completely blatantly rediculous, such as baptizing someone in gas, we continue to do it anyways)
i dunno if that makes much sense, but yea...