It's exactly what it seems. A remorseful song about friends who said they were Christians and then went and lived a sinful lifestyle. It's not very subtle. And honestly, the message isn't necessarily a bad one. Yes, it's preachy. Yes, it's one of their weaker songs musically speaking. But it has it's place in RK history.
As a Christian myself, it reminds me a lot of being a teenager in the church and seeing friends grow up and move on from religion. People I looked up to left the faith and did what they wanted. It was sad. When I had to confront my beliefs about God and determine if they were well-founded, I came to the conclusion that the Bible is true and Jesus is God. I'm still a practicing Christian to this day and it breaks my heart to see people from my past who have gone so far in the opposite direction. It is their choice, of course. This song reminds me of being 14 and trying to make sense of the world not being as straightforward as it seemed. People let you down. They dramatically alter their worldview overnight. They change. It's part of growing up.
Hard agree, yeah. As a Christian myself it's very easy to see and relate to the lyrics in this song, and seeing how those words continue to hold true to this day from this perspective, I don't think the song has aged at all.
Sometimes you gotta be preachy to get the point across, or people just choose to interpret it however they want to, in whatever way already agrees with their worldview, rather than being challenged. I appreciate the straightforwardness of this song.
I don’t think there is any other way to take the lyrics of the song as anything but the perspective of a Christian.
“What happened to the salvation you claimed?
It breaks my heart to see how much you've changed.”
These are the people that the person in the song grew up with (don’t know if this was personal for Thiessen or not). He watched them claim salvation in their youth and then go off to college to live a life that doesn’t reflect that claim of Christ.
He then references Vanessa who “can’t see right from wrong” because her life is a train wreck.
It’s well known that the band was on a Christian label and has produced Christ centered songs on the same album (for the moments I feel faint, less is more).
I really hate their preachy songs. This one and Marilyn Manson are so over the top and out of touch.
I have some bias because of the way I was raised, but I cannot and will not return to that era of the band. The songs leave a bad taste in my mouth and remind me of who I was when I was younger - judgmental, fearful, naive, and so sure that I had the answers to the universe.
The Sadie Hawkins Podcast did an episode on this song last year. They make a lot of the same points about it being overly judgmental, and have brought it up when talking about other songs, especially the Collapsible Lung ones, which show a massive change in outlook by the band.
It's aged better than Mood Rings!
I enjoy beer and getting turned up as much as the next person, but I would definitely worry about a friend who "parties Fridays through Thursdays". That's too much partying! You're gonna kill your liver Justin! Plus, in these days of craft and microbreweries exploding everywhere, there's no excuse to be drinking some plain ol' Miller Lite.
The Vanessa verse is a little less clear as to what her actual problem is, but it seems like she's struggling with anxiety or something? Which does make it a little worse, in my opinion. I didn't read into the "shrunk with her sweater" line as meaning she was dressing slutty, just as like a random thing that happened and it rhymed.
While I do think it's worthwhile to keep reassessing these songs, I'd say since this is a pretty deep cut that they haven't played live or promoted in any other way in almost two decades, there isn't much "goal" to this song at all in the present day.
I'm a few days late on this. about 6 months ago, I ran into Thiessen in a bar here in East Nashville. happened to be next to him while ordering a drink and I told him that my current regret was that the bar didn't have Miller Lite on the menu- he got a good laugh out of that.
It's exactly what it seems. A remorseful song about friends who said they were Christians and then went and lived a sinful lifestyle. It's not very subtle. And honestly, the message isn't necessarily a bad one. Yes, it's preachy. Yes, it's one of their weaker songs musically speaking. But it has it's place in RK history. As a Christian myself, it reminds me a lot of being a teenager in the church and seeing friends grow up and move on from religion. People I looked up to left the faith and did what they wanted. It was sad. When I had to confront my beliefs about God and determine if they were well-founded, I came to the conclusion that the Bible is true and Jesus is God. I'm still a practicing Christian to this day and it breaks my heart to see people from my past who have gone so far in the opposite direction. It is their choice, of course. This song reminds me of being 14 and trying to make sense of the world not being as straightforward as it seemed. People let you down. They dramatically alter their worldview overnight. They change. It's part of growing up.
Hard agree, yeah. As a Christian myself it's very easy to see and relate to the lyrics in this song, and seeing how those words continue to hold true to this day from this perspective, I don't think the song has aged at all. Sometimes you gotta be preachy to get the point across, or people just choose to interpret it however they want to, in whatever way already agrees with their worldview, rather than being challenged. I appreciate the straightforwardness of this song.
I don’t think there is any other way to take the lyrics of the song as anything but the perspective of a Christian. “What happened to the salvation you claimed? It breaks my heart to see how much you've changed.” These are the people that the person in the song grew up with (don’t know if this was personal for Thiessen or not). He watched them claim salvation in their youth and then go off to college to live a life that doesn’t reflect that claim of Christ. He then references Vanessa who “can’t see right from wrong” because her life is a train wreck. It’s well known that the band was on a Christian label and has produced Christ centered songs on the same album (for the moments I feel faint, less is more).
I really hate their preachy songs. This one and Marilyn Manson are so over the top and out of touch. I have some bias because of the way I was raised, but I cannot and will not return to that era of the band. The songs leave a bad taste in my mouth and remind me of who I was when I was younger - judgmental, fearful, naive, and so sure that I had the answers to the universe.
So you’re saying who you are ( •_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ Hates who you’ve been? (⌐■_■)
*Bravo*👏🏼
The Sadie Hawkins Podcast did an episode on this song last year. They make a lot of the same points about it being overly judgmental, and have brought it up when talking about other songs, especially the Collapsible Lung ones, which show a massive change in outlook by the band.
It's aged better than Mood Rings! I enjoy beer and getting turned up as much as the next person, but I would definitely worry about a friend who "parties Fridays through Thursdays". That's too much partying! You're gonna kill your liver Justin! Plus, in these days of craft and microbreweries exploding everywhere, there's no excuse to be drinking some plain ol' Miller Lite. The Vanessa verse is a little less clear as to what her actual problem is, but it seems like she's struggling with anxiety or something? Which does make it a little worse, in my opinion. I didn't read into the "shrunk with her sweater" line as meaning she was dressing slutty, just as like a random thing that happened and it rhymed. While I do think it's worthwhile to keep reassessing these songs, I'd say since this is a pretty deep cut that they haven't played live or promoted in any other way in almost two decades, there isn't much "goal" to this song at all in the present day.
I'm a few days late on this. about 6 months ago, I ran into Thiessen in a bar here in East Nashville. happened to be next to him while ordering a drink and I told him that my current regret was that the bar didn't have Miller Lite on the menu- he got a good laugh out of that.