"Oh My God"
Oh my God, look around this place
Your fingers reach around the bone
You set the break and set the tone
Flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain
All fools say, "Oh my God"
Oh my God, Why are we so afraid?
We make it worse when we don't bleed
There is no cure for our disease
Turn a phrase, and rise again
Or fake your death and only tell your closest friend
Oh my God.
Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and graft my soul upon your grief
Weddings, boats and alibis
All drift away, and a mother cries
Liars and fools; sons and failures
Thieves will always say
Lost and found; ailing wanderers
Healers always say
Whores and angels; men with problems
Leavers always say
Broken hearted; separated
Orphans always say
War creators; racial haters
Preachers always say
Distant fathers; fallen warriors
Givers always say
Pilgrim saints; lonely widows
Users always say
Fearful mothers; watchful doubters
Saviors always say
Sometimes I cannot forgive
And these days, mercy cuts so deep
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we're better,
Scales were gone and faces lighter
When we wake, we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent falls below my heavy breathing,
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the thunder
Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat all the wounds that money causes,
All the comforts of cathedrals
All the cries of thirsty children - this is our inheritance
All the rage of watching mothers - this is our greatest offense
Oh my God
Oh my God
Oh my God
Your fingers reach around the bone
You set the break and set the tone
Flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain
All fools say, "Oh my God"
Oh my God, Why are we so afraid?
We make it worse when we don't bleed
There is no cure for our disease
Turn a phrase, and rise again
Or fake your death and only tell your closest friend
Oh my God.
Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and graft my soul upon your grief
Weddings, boats and alibis
All drift away, and a mother cries
Liars and fools; sons and failures
Thieves will always say
Lost and found; ailing wanderers
Healers always say
Whores and angels; men with problems
Leavers always say
Broken hearted; separated
Orphans always say
War creators; racial haters
Preachers always say
Distant fathers; fallen warriors
Givers always say
Pilgrim saints; lonely widows
Users always say
Fearful mothers; watchful doubters
Saviors always say
Sometimes I cannot forgive
And these days, mercy cuts so deep
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we're better,
Scales were gone and faces lighter
When we wake, we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent falls below my heavy breathing,
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the thunder
Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat all the wounds that money causes,
All the comforts of cathedrals
All the cries of thirsty children - this is our inheritance
All the rage of watching mothers - this is our greatest offense
Oh my God
Oh my God
Oh my God
From Jars of Clay about this song...
"...Some questions, when they are found, will never go away. They are like scabs covering deep wounds, once scratched off the skin, they bleed slowly for a lifetime, but they remind us that we are alive and that we feel and think and embrace, and inhale and exhale.
Oh My God was a point of convergence. The depth of my hearts depravity, the pain I had walked through in the world, and the pain I observed through the stories and images and places I saw in Africa came together in this song.
It is a song in three parts.
Part one, simply setting the stage:
This verse really describes the human condition... we are fatally wounded people, tainted by sin, and plagued by shallow faith that sometimes doesn't hold us as we search for a clear answer to the question of Jesus' death and resurrection. Doubting the existence of God is part of our human story.
Part two of the song:
This is actually where the song began... Matt brought the question to the band, "Why do so many people use the phrase, "Oh My God?" And we began to think about the various people who use the phrase, and wondered if we could describe this in a song.
It is amazing to me that a person can use the same phrase to be both a curse and an affirmation. These three letters can be used in part of our deepest contentment and our deepest longing. So whores and angels and all of the above use it. People who believe in God and people who don't still find need for this phrase.
Part three:
This is the rant. This is why I, in that season, spoke those words. I did not deliberate over these lyrics. The song was only sung once in the studio. These words were only written within seconds of singing. This is a gut level grouping of words. And it was a way of bringing the questions I had been storing up and forgetting about and remembering and fighting, to amplification. And so it ends with questions, just as it started.
We performed this song two times. We didn't edit it for the record, or add very much to it. It still is one of my favorite songs to sing."
Oh My God was a point of convergence. The depth of my hearts depravity, the pain I had walked through in the world, and the pain I observed through the stories and images and places I saw in Africa came together in this song.
It is a song in three parts.
Part one, simply setting the stage:
This verse really describes the human condition... we are fatally wounded people, tainted by sin, and plagued by shallow faith that sometimes doesn't hold us as we search for a clear answer to the question of Jesus' death and resurrection. Doubting the existence of God is part of our human story.
Part two of the song:
This is actually where the song began... Matt brought the question to the band, "Why do so many people use the phrase, "Oh My God?" And we began to think about the various people who use the phrase, and wondered if we could describe this in a song.
It is amazing to me that a person can use the same phrase to be both a curse and an affirmation. These three letters can be used in part of our deepest contentment and our deepest longing. So whores and angels and all of the above use it. People who believe in God and people who don't still find need for this phrase.
Part three:
This is the rant. This is why I, in that season, spoke those words. I did not deliberate over these lyrics. The song was only sung once in the studio. These words were only written within seconds of singing. This is a gut level grouping of words. And it was a way of bringing the questions I had been storing up and forgetting about and remembering and fighting, to amplification. And so it ends with questions, just as it started.
We performed this song two times. We didn't edit it for the record, or add very much to it. It still is one of my favorite songs to sing."
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