I got to listen to a group I haven't heard before last night, Water Deep . I enjoyed their sound,
but the song "Eighteen Bullet Holes" really grabbed me. Click on the 'read more'
link at the bottom to see the lyrics.
The line "I'm living in a bone grinding mill...one more body from the valley of the dry bones getting ground up into powder" is such a vivid, frightening image. (Remember the valley of dry bones from Ezekial 37:1-14?) It seems to say that this life has been taken and all hope is lost. I know that we always have hope in God, but once a life is taken, the opportunities for that person to affect the world or to come closer to God are gone. (Wow...Michael Card's 'Valley of Dry Bones' is just now playing on iTunes! Hmmm...)
The second verse talks about a girl getting destroyed...'She isn't always blinded, she isn't always far astray; she just might not be thinking, she might be having a bad day; but when you choose, you choose, and when you drown, you drown.' Another almost hopeless line, but there is a great deal of truth here. Choices have consequences, even if you weren't really paying attention, or if you thought it was a small choice.
Of course, the final verse about a dream is the clincher. The writer is basically Jonah, swallowed up because he's not paying attention to God, and is pretty much forced to acknowledge Him and realize that God IS aware of all this destruction and pain. What isn't mentioned, but I think is kind of implied between the lines, is that there IS hope because He sees us. But it definitely is more a song about realizing that, yes, we will have pain but that God sees us and HAS experienced more pain. He will get us through this, too.
If you get a chance to hear the group, have a listen. They're better live than in the studion, so you might want to check them out in Athens on April 11th!
The line "I'm living in a bone grinding mill...one more body from the valley of the dry bones getting ground up into powder" is such a vivid, frightening image. (Remember the valley of dry bones from Ezekial 37:1-14?) It seems to say that this life has been taken and all hope is lost. I know that we always have hope in God, but once a life is taken, the opportunities for that person to affect the world or to come closer to God are gone. (Wow...Michael Card's 'Valley of Dry Bones' is just now playing on iTunes! Hmmm...)
The second verse talks about a girl getting destroyed...'She isn't always blinded, she isn't always far astray; she just might not be thinking, she might be having a bad day; but when you choose, you choose, and when you drown, you drown.' Another almost hopeless line, but there is a great deal of truth here. Choices have consequences, even if you weren't really paying attention, or if you thought it was a small choice.
Of course, the final verse about a dream is the clincher. The writer is basically Jonah, swallowed up because he's not paying attention to God, and is pretty much forced to acknowledge Him and realize that God IS aware of all this destruction and pain. What isn't mentioned, but I think is kind of implied between the lines, is that there IS hope because He sees us. But it definitely is more a song about realizing that, yes, we will have pain but that God sees us and HAS experienced more pain. He will get us through this, too.
If you get a chance to hear the group, have a listen. They're better live than in the studion, so you might want to check them out in Athens on April 11th!
Eighteen Bullet Holes
18 bullet holes in the body of a priest
They say he was eating a hot dog when the ammunition was released.
They say he was always fat and lazy but he was an awfully nice guy.
That's just one more death to show you you never know when you're gonna die.
You might be facing the beast
Sometimes, God, I feel like I'm living in a bone grinding mill
And every time I hear the sound I can barely stand still
It's a thing I can't quite make out sometimes but it seems to keep getting louder-
One more body from the valley of the dry bones getting ground up into powder
Against Your holy will
Oh, God, it hurts so bad to love anybody down here
Why don't You come and help me out?
Cause I can't even see clear
The funny thing about the way a girl gets destroyed
About the way that deal goes down
Is that everybody pretty much sees it coming at the sister
From all the way across town
And she isn't always blinded, she isn't always far astray
She just might not be thinking, she might be having a bad day
But when you choose, you choose, and when you drown, you drown
Last night I dreamed that You swallowed me into Yourself
And I was floating on the sea inside
When I landed on the shore, I saw all these people that I thought had died
I hadn't seen some of them for ages
They had left without a single word
And when I said something to them, not a single one of them had heard
They were all looking right through everything like it wasn't even there
Some were full of anger, some full of fear
And then I recognized that something very sad
But very beautiful was happening right here
They were all caught outside standing alone in a very heavy rain
And when a raindrop landed on my tongue
I didn't need You to explain
That these were Your tears
Oh, God, it hurts so bad to love anybody down here
Oh, that's right, You know so well
One thorny crown, three nails, and a spear
One thorny crown, three nails, and a spear.
18 bullet holes in the body of a priest
They say he was eating a hot dog when the ammunition was released.
They say he was always fat and lazy but he was an awfully nice guy.
That's just one more death to show you you never know when you're gonna die.
You might be facing the beast
Sometimes, God, I feel like I'm living in a bone grinding mill
And every time I hear the sound I can barely stand still
It's a thing I can't quite make out sometimes but it seems to keep getting louder-
One more body from the valley of the dry bones getting ground up into powder
Against Your holy will
Oh, God, it hurts so bad to love anybody down here
Why don't You come and help me out?
Cause I can't even see clear
The funny thing about the way a girl gets destroyed
About the way that deal goes down
Is that everybody pretty much sees it coming at the sister
From all the way across town
And she isn't always blinded, she isn't always far astray
She just might not be thinking, she might be having a bad day
But when you choose, you choose, and when you drown, you drown
Last night I dreamed that You swallowed me into Yourself
And I was floating on the sea inside
When I landed on the shore, I saw all these people that I thought had died
I hadn't seen some of them for ages
They had left without a single word
And when I said something to them, not a single one of them had heard
They were all looking right through everything like it wasn't even there
Some were full of anger, some full of fear
And then I recognized that something very sad
But very beautiful was happening right here
They were all caught outside standing alone in a very heavy rain
And when a raindrop landed on my tongue
I didn't need You to explain
That these were Your tears
Oh, God, it hurts so bad to love anybody down here
Oh, that's right, You know so well
One thorny crown, three nails, and a spear
One thorny crown, three nails, and a spear.
