Here's my long and unorganized interpretation of this song. haha. after reading the interview with Stephen Christian (the writer) it definitely opened my eyes to what this song is all about:
The first verse is about the couple (Mary and William) who don't get the miracle they needed.
It's also about his (Stephen's) personal struggle. He feels that God is miles away. "The house on Ridge Road" could be referring to his childhood home where he tells God and the Devil to leave him alone.
I think the line "You'll just have to trust me" is spoken by God, and then the writer replies "I'm scared"
The second verse is about "a mentor that used the guise of ‘missions work’ to leave his family in shambles and eventually decay. "
the mentor (Tommy) left behind something (his family) that will mean everything right before he dies. "You've already lost four little souls from your life." isn't talking about his children literally dying, it's talking about them being lost spiritually. "That plays with your salvation, when one experiences it." Imagine having a father who goes on missions work and shares his love with other people but never loved you? you would lose your trust in him. "Widows and orphans aren't hard to find" James 1:27 says "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress..." it's a bit ironic. here's a man who goes far away to fulfill his religion when really the widow and orphans were waiting at home.
"They're home missing daddy who's saving the abandoned tonight"
I'm not sure about the drinking part. It's kind of abstract.
The Third Verse is about "Billy, a traveling ‘ healer’ who crippled my life and growth right in front of me. " I think Stephen refers to himself as "Timothy" in this verse. he stood as long as he could but then Billy crippled his life and made his faith disappear.
"We're not questioning God. Just those he chose to carry on His cross" a very powerful line. Brennan Manning once said, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." It's interesting however, that a lot of people don't question God (which I think is the main point of this song) they question the ones who carry on his cross, i.e. Christians.
Stephen Christian said "later in life I realized I needed to stop looking at Christians to see Christ. I wrestled with God, and he won"
This song has really been a wake-up call for me. funny, but I often look at Christians and how they act when I doubt God, but I get the opposite reaction. rather than seeing a lot of hypocrites I know a lot of good strong christians. without them, I might give up on God. but this song (and the interview) has showed me that I don't need to look at christians to see God.
anyway, I know this is probably really confusing. feedback is appreciated. :)
This seems to be the fullest interpretation, very good! Those were my thoughts exactly!
This seems to be the fullest interpretation, very good! Those were my thoughts exactly!
Three things remain:
A) "Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you.
Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth."
B) Who is the Patron Saint of lost causes?
..and..
C) Who is "we" and "you" in the first and third choruses?
Three things remain:
A) "Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you.
Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth."
B) Who is the Patron Saint of lost causes?
..and..
C) Who is "we" and "you" in the first and third choruses?
a) Frydaddy22 had an interesting take on these two lines (7 posts after this one). He/she said that sometimes we choose to merely feel bad for someone rather than rebuking/convicting them. Perhaps the father, Tommy, is an alcoholic. On the other hand, maybe it is a spiritual drinking. Drinking of the Holy Spirit? Maybe the drinking symbolizes Tommy's hypocrisy or ignorance. Unfortunately, the "wish your drinking would hurry and kill you" part contradicts the sympathy mentioned in the next line. Hmm... What is your take on these two lines?
b) There's a few possibilities for the identity of the Patron Saint of lost causes (a saint who is the defender of lost causes). Lost causes are those who seem hopeless, yes? So who is the Patron Saint of lost causes? We know that
>
The writer calls himself the Patron Saint of lost causes.
Tommy is the Patron Saint of lost causes.
The Patron Saint of lost causes is lost, hense "are we all lost like you?"
1) One possibility is that the lost causes are their own Patron Saints. This is supported by the idea that person is a lost cause because no one is there to defend their faith in the first place, making them lost causes. They must support themselves, making them their own defenders, their own Patron Saints.
2) Another possibility is that the Patron Saints are those who defend the lost causes against their faith whether intentionally or inadvertently , making the Patron Saints a bad influence. When the writer told God and the Devil to leave him alone, he was his own Patron Saint, "defending" himself against his faith. Tommy is called a Patron Saint because he "defends" the writer against his faith, as Stephen mentioned in the interview. It would also make sense that these Patron Saints are also lost causes themselves, explaining the choir's line.
3) A third possibility is that there is indeed ONE Patron Saint of lost causes which is represented through the writer, Tommy, and probably many others. This could be the Devil or the Devil's influence. The Devil defends us against a relationship with God, and wants to make us lost causes and keep us that way.
4) The last possibility is that the Patron Saint of lost causes is an idea, like hypocrisy or ignorance.
What is your take on this?
c) I was thinking that "we" refers to the lost causes themselves, and that "you" is God. The writer may be deceived to think that God has given up on them and sees them as lost causes. This seems to be the only option that makes some sense to me, though I'm still unsure. What do you think?
Here's my long and unorganized interpretation of this song. haha. after reading the interview with Stephen Christian (the writer) it definitely opened my eyes to what this song is all about:
The first verse is about the couple (Mary and William) who don't get the miracle they needed.
It's also about his (Stephen's) personal struggle. He feels that God is miles away. "The house on Ridge Road" could be referring to his childhood home where he tells God and the Devil to leave him alone. I think the line "You'll just have to trust me" is spoken by God, and then the writer replies "I'm scared"
The second verse is about "a mentor that used the guise of ‘missions work’ to leave his family in shambles and eventually decay. " the mentor (Tommy) left behind something (his family) that will mean everything right before he dies. "You've already lost four little souls from your life." isn't talking about his children literally dying, it's talking about them being lost spiritually. "That plays with your salvation, when one experiences it." Imagine having a father who goes on missions work and shares his love with other people but never loved you? you would lose your trust in him. "Widows and orphans aren't hard to find" James 1:27 says "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress..." it's a bit ironic. here's a man who goes far away to fulfill his religion when really the widow and orphans were waiting at home. "They're home missing daddy who's saving the abandoned tonight" I'm not sure about the drinking part. It's kind of abstract.
The Third Verse is about "Billy, a traveling ‘ healer’ who crippled my life and growth right in front of me. " I think Stephen refers to himself as "Timothy" in this verse. he stood as long as he could but then Billy crippled his life and made his faith disappear. "We're not questioning God. Just those he chose to carry on His cross" a very powerful line. Brennan Manning once said, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." It's interesting however, that a lot of people don't question God (which I think is the main point of this song) they question the ones who carry on his cross, i.e. Christians. Stephen Christian said "later in life I realized I needed to stop looking at Christians to see Christ. I wrestled with God, and he won"
This song has really been a wake-up call for me. funny, but I often look at Christians and how they act when I doubt God, but I get the opposite reaction. rather than seeing a lot of hypocrites I know a lot of good strong christians. without them, I might give up on God. but this song (and the interview) has showed me that I don't need to look at christians to see God.
anyway, I know this is probably really confusing. feedback is appreciated. :)
This seems to be the fullest interpretation, very good! Those were my thoughts exactly!
This seems to be the fullest interpretation, very good! Those were my thoughts exactly!
Three things remain: A) "Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you. Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth." B) Who is the Patron Saint of lost causes? ..and.. C) Who is "we" and "you" in the first and third choruses?
Three things remain: A) "Wish your drinking would hurry and kill you. Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth." B) Who is the Patron Saint of lost causes? ..and.. C) Who is "we" and "you" in the first and third choruses?
a) Frydaddy22 had an interesting take on these two lines (7 posts after this one). He/she said that sometimes we choose to merely feel bad for someone rather than rebuking/convicting them. Perhaps the father, Tommy, is an alcoholic. On the other hand, maybe it is a spiritual drinking. Drinking of the Holy Spirit? Maybe the drinking symbolizes Tommy's hypocrisy or ignorance. Unfortunately, the "wish your drinking would hurry and kill you" part contradicts the sympathy mentioned in the next line. Hmm... What is your take on these two lines?
b) There's a few possibilities for the identity of the Patron Saint of lost causes (a saint who is the defender of lost causes). Lost causes are those who seem hopeless, yes? So who is the Patron Saint of lost causes? We know that
>
c) I was thinking that "we" refers to the lost causes themselves, and that "you" is God. The writer may be deceived to think that God has given up on them and sees them as lost causes. This seems to be the only option that makes some sense to me, though I'm still unsure. What do you think?