"The Sound (John M. Perkins' Blues)" brings up the rock level again, and was written while Jon was reading Let Justice Roll Down by John M. Perkins. It didn't start as one of my favorite songs, but it's growing on me. The static comes alive / Beneath the broken skies / John Perkins said it right / Love is the final fight
"Enough To Let Me Go" is about love as give and take, rather than consumption. Breathe it in and let it go / Every breath you take is not yours to own / It's not yours to hold / Do you love me enough to let me go?
"Free" has another rock hook, though it's somewhat of a rock anthem, an interesting combination. It may be the only way to break the album's pattern: soft, hard, soft, hard, soft, both! Jon describes it as the brother of "Mess of Me." Free / Come set me free / Down on my knees / I still believe / You could save me from me // Come set me free / Come set me free // Inside this shell there's a prison cell
"Hello Hurricane" is a song that could easily be taken "the wrong way." I shy away from inviting calamity into my life, since I figure there's enough calamity in life already. I think the focus of this song, though, seems to be more on one aspect of the preparation: Everything I have I count as loss / Everything I have is stripped away / Before I started building / I counted up these costs / There's nothing left for you to take away
"Always" has three parts. There's birth, full of hope and promise. There's life, with pain and brokenness and scars. Then comes the hallelujah: redemption. There's always redemption. Hallelujah, I'm caving in / Hallelujah, I'm in love again / Hallelujah, I'm a wretched man / Hallelujah, every breath is a second chance
"Bullet Soul" is another not-favorite of mine, but a rocking crowd-pleaser. You're a kid with a bullet soul / Are you ready to go?
"Yet" still rips me up every time I listen to it. What can you say when everything you do, and everything you are, and everything you try, fails? Just sing until your heart caves in. I want to quote the entire song, but I'll stick with the bridge: If it doesn't break your heart it isn't love / No, if it doesn't break your heart it's not enough / It's when you're breaking down with your insides coming out / It's when you find out what your heart is made of
Article comments
1 - Josh Hathaway
Phillip, this is a wonderful analysis and review of an outstanding record. Well done. It's always such a great add when you, EO, and Lisa find time among your other BC-related responsibilities to write. Your voices are missed.
2 - Phillip Winn
Thanks, Josh!
I'm just glad the album is as great as it is. I was experience some odd cognitive dissonance with my favorite song ("Faust, Midas, and Myself") as part of my least-favorite album!