Music for a lazy Saturday, from my favorite band (Jars of Clay):

You gotta love a band whose lyrics are, in part, inspired by the writings of Edmund Burke.

“Oh My God,” by Jars of Clay:

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 light
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

This is why:

“That title ["Good Monsters"] really describes the duality of our nature. There’s good and evil that mixes together under our skin. (Singer and lyricist) Dan (Haseltine) talks about a heart that’s split. One half is beautiful and strong, the other dark and moldy. I think that’s an amazing image,” [Chris Lowell, keyboardist] says.
“It’s not black and white. It’s a messy thing. … And that, to me, feels more like my life.”

. . . .

Haseltine has said that, for him, this album was about learning to show his true self, not a polished, presentable version. In that feeling, Lowell says, his friend is not alone.

“Well, it’s been a process — for all of us really, in the past couple years, learning to live our lives more honestly, not to partition so that it’s ‘Here’s the way I live as a Christian in front of people’ and ‘Here’s the side of me I need to hide,’ ” he says.

Yet another excellent review for the best band you’re (most likely) not listening to.

Yet another reason to purchase “Good Monsters.”

And you can preview “Good Monsters” here, courtesy of the fedster. Just type in the code: jars0fc1ay

Oh, and if “Oh My God” doesn’t deeply touch your soul, then you don’t have one, friend.