"Whether or not you believe it, you are listening to true recordings of bigfoot creatures in their natural environment. We know these are naturally -"

From one moment to the next
Reading in the papers to know what's best
Sometimes you don't know yourself
Eating loads of vitamins for your health
From one moment to a next
Red negativity in the street
Maybe it's the dirt, maybe it's the heat
A baby on the bus smiled at me so easy

Now I think it's alright we're together
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's the best you ever played it
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's alright to feel inhuman
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's alright we'll sing together
Now I think that's a riot

A running child's bloody with burning knees
A careless child's money flew in the trees
A camping child's happy with winter's freeze
A lucky child don't know how lucky she is

From one moment to a next
A thousand wasted Brooklyners all depressed
The ins and outs of something's chest
Will only be your friend if he touches your breast
From one moment to a next
Shifting in the plates of what you ingest
From sugar teas to honey best
Bulimic vegetarian wins weight contest

Now I think it's alright we're together
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's the best you ever played it
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's alright to feel inhuman
Now I think that's a riot
Now I think it's alright we'll sing together
Now I think that's a riot

A running child's bloody with burning knees
A careless child's money flew in the trees
A camping child's happy with winter's freeze
A lucky child don't know how lucky he is

This one's for Reverend Green . . .



Lyrics submitted by Jack_Strife, edited by trystt, Smxxch, Mellow_Harsher

Track duration: 06:36


For Reverend Green song meanings
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94 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:when avey's repeating the line "For Reverend Green," does anyone else hear "for rubbin' me?" towards the end? as in, reverend green inappropriately touched the narrator ("touching your breast") and stole his/her childhood away from him/her, thus the narrator looks at other children and envies their carefree existence?

    if not, this theory completely falls apart, lol
    Flag satozukion May 21, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Not sure if this is relevant at all, but in the original version of the board game Clue, from the UK, Mr. Green is known as Reverend Green. Parker Bros. changed it when the game to America because they thought Americans would object to a member of the clergy being a murderer.
    Flag hillergoodspeedon April 10, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:THIS SONG STILL ROCKS.. (5 years later) hahahha. And when I look at society and where it's headed, it makes more sense than ever..
    Flag poppyseeds91on January 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Honestly, I think that this song has a lot to do with adults who grew up around people who grew up around... any way I think this song has to do with adults not knowing themselves and just following what people tell them thus they become confused with who they are (which also depends on if people these people who I'm describing grew up with people like this/Reverend Green therefore not really knowing how to be a chill/proper adult) and miss their childhood but also are confused by it because they aren't a kid anymore, so in other words- I think this song is a lot about pedophilia. (You can tell immediately because this song's called 'Reverend Green' and at the beginning there's a dude with a deep voice distorted like you would hear on like Dateline or something)

    Here is my argument: First off, AC has been very influenced by Horror movies so I think they are very interested in mystery stuff or stuff that's meant to be scary. Reverend Green is a character in the game Clue, which has a lot to do with mystery. Reverend Green is a psychotic priest because he has been defrocked of his attention as a Church member. Just him being in the game clue enhances my argument for this song being about fucked up human urges because its a power struggle and its also very suspenseful.

    Aside from just the game clue, there have been numerous pedophilic attempts involving priests. I think this song is about confused adults who grew up with people like Reverend Green trying to stay "forever in green"/ forever careless but powerful. Parts of the song are also from the perspective of people thinking this way:

    A running child's bloody with burning knees
    A careless child's money flew in the trees
    A camping child's happy with winter's freeze
    A lucky child don't know how lucky she is

    I think this is a song about people just doing what Reverend green tells him is innocent and such, and you should always be innocent and such and in turn you end up labeling innocent things like they are nothing. Because children are innocent compared to older people, if you think like Reverend green you end up labeling children as simple beings that are always gonna be there to make everything pure. Instead of just appreciating a childs process of growing Reverend Green thinks children are always pure (and in this way fucks them up by singing with them in Church while he's a grown fucking man who should be out there fighting cancer). People like Reverend Green are annoyances and are confused. They take advantage of 'innocence' for their distorted out of whack own 'comfort'.

    The fluctuation of the two sentence types in the phrase:

    Now I think it's alright we're together
    Now I think that's a riot
    Now I think it's the best you've ever played it
    Now I think that's a riot
    Now I think it's alright to feel inhuman
    Now I think that's a riot
    Now I think it's alright, we'll sing together
    Now I think that's a riot

    shows the inner monologue interaction between desiring for your 'mysterious wants' and the other parts of your mind not agreeing or being put off with these unknown desires. This is Reverend Green talking to a normal person or child's monologue and the person he is talking to being weirded out and annoyed. Or Reverend Green fighting with the rational/ chill/social-able part of him.

    To close my case there's also a lot of other shit about pedophilia in this song and adults feeling insecure about themselves and their surroundings, 'From one moment to a next
    Reading in the papers to know what's best
    Sometimes you don't know yourself
    Eating loads of vitamins for your health
    From one moment to a next
    Red negativity in the street
    Maybe it's the earth, maybe it's the heat
    A baby on the bus smiled at me so easy' and trying to cover it up by meaning to seem to be a nice person who wishes they could be as smiley as a baby (and thus try to get it back by following urges that have no use for much of anything except brainwashing and feeling some extremely distorted feeling of power over power.)
    But no really, to close my case:

    This one's for Reverend Green
    Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green
    For Reverend Green

    at first he sounds like he's saying 'forever in green' respecting Reverend Green's 'Authority' by singing for him (which is really just a bullshit way for people to try to stay forever easy and 'happy'. People do things like this all the time, to try to feel good about themselves when they're really just being taken advantage of because Reverend Green wants to feel good about himself. He's saying 'forever in green' because that is abusing the idea of 'Green', being happy and full of the sun's light. It's corrupting 'green' because its saying that green is something to indulge in rather than just to live through. At the end when he screams 'FOR REVEREND GREEN!!!' (at least in the version of the song I have on my phone) it sounds like he's saying 'foreverd green'/ 'forever green' like he's finally found out how horrific Reverend Green has acted towards life and is finally out of the illusion of wanting to live a life of nothing. He starts screaming it and now realizes how fucked up the priest is. He's not some nice guy wanting to teach you to stay forever in youth, he's a lame loser who doesn't know himself.

    I feel like this song is also a way to show a kid approached by a pedo, trying to make sense of it. But in the end the kid just basically says fuck you Reverend Green by taking what the Reverend has asked him to do and actively distorting it (through lots of yelling), exposing the Reverend of his actual- powerlessness. The way the kid deals with his confusion is by facing the pedophile and differentiating himself from Reverend Green.

    ALso dope song, and I probably over-analyzed it, it might just be a song about getting high.
    Flagged warwiththemysticson January 04, 2012   Link
  • +4
    General Comment:I think this song is to stay for ever in green, or to always remain young.

    "A running child's bloody with burning knees
    A careless child's money flew in the trees
    A camping child's happy with winter's freeze
    A lucky child don't know how lucky she is"

    the bliss life of being young even when you get hurt, loose your money, and so on

    "From one moment to a next
    A thousand wasted Brooklyners all depressed
    The ins and outs of supper's chest
    He'll only be a friend if he touches your breast
    From one moment to a next
    A shifting in the plates of what you ingest
    From sugared tits to honeyed pests
    Bulimic vegetarian wins weight contest"

    this is more about all the hangups of being an adult, we all know what this is about, life sucks, but the song is not a depressing song it's a song of trying to remain/stay "for ever in green" for every young!

    and then Avey sings about the band and how they can stay "for ever in green"

    Now I think it's all right we're together
    Now I think that's a riot
    Now I think it's the best he ever played it
    Now I think that's a riot
    Now I think it's all right to feel inhuman
    Now I think that's a riot
    Now I think it's all right, we'll sing together
    Now I think that's a riot

    To sum it up, life is awesome and kids don't know how lucky they have it!
    Flag cujoocujoon August 24, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is a terrific song. Lately I've been thinking it is about how a clergyman touching children makes him a monster.

    The chorus is a beautiful sentiment of how everything is ok, and will be ok. Then the comment about the "man of god" feeling inhuman. And it is sung like a monster screaming in rage and desire, then quickly correcting itself as to not scare off said target, or prey, or unsuspecting child, or whatever.

    The verses are the twisted and wonderful versions of the world that a 'man of the cloth' gets to hear, and perceive, and judge if they are good or bad or how they should be dealt with. It is this right or calling that makes him "feel inhuman".

    I love the half scream phrases. But nearing the end of the song, he is screaming "A lucky child doesn't know how lucky he is". Then the repetition at the end of "for Reverend Green, for touching me".

    I wonder if this is the case. This is one of my favorite songs. I doubt the band spends any time on fan or lyrics sites (I wouldn't), but nice work guys.
    Flag beesbaneon August 16, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Avey's voice is really sexy in this song, guys. I'm just saying.
    Flag littlefidelityon June 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For some reason I keep hearing "forever in green."
    Flag 1ntr3p1dtrav3l3ron May 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it's "from sugared teas"
    not from sugared tits
    Flag jukeboxdiveon March 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:this song to me is about scaremongering done by the media for what benefit? They cast so much fear into our lives that it becomes dumb to listen to, our lives are better without it.

    Its ridiculous, a joke: e.g.
    "Now I think thats a riot"

    the problems with the world made worse by the sensationalist media: e.g.

    "Maybe it's the earth, maybe it's the heat"
    referring to global warming scares, other Earth based issues.

    until the stories become:
    "Bulimic vegetarian wins weight contest"
    this sums up how ludicrous it all sounds.

    The 'child' refers to the innocence of youth and how they should be able to live without worry, and fear. they should run, be careless, enjoy the outdoors (possibly leasing us to reverend green?) yet we wrap them up in cotton wool, causing them to believe these activities will end up in disaster. this also explains 'inhuman', we've moved on from human activities.

    'reverend green' obviously means a lot to the narrator, as the song is dedicated towards him/her/it. unfortunately i know nothing about Al Green so i don't know if theres any reference through his work, but i think there must be some connection with the outdoors/nature (green) somewhere

    this is my interpretation, not yours, listen and let the song mean what you think it does!!





    Flag valuepackon February 03, 2011   Link

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