Sunday, April 3, 2011

Breathe in the Good Days


I have the perfect APL song for this Lord's Day: 'Breathe in the Good Days', on Ancient Tune.

There is a metaphysical/spiritual/religious--call it what you will--side of Adam that comes to expression occasionally in a song, and it perfectly captures, both in lyrics and music, a basic spiritual principle of life.  In the case of this song, I would say that the spiritual principle being expressed is 'faith'.

Adam and his loving big brother Nathan
"Everything is under control" is the basic refrain that is repeated several times in several different ways.  In other words, this reality we experience in life is not a chaotic void or merely a product of random chance, but rather it is, behind all the more superficial appearances and beyond all the real pain and tragedy, a 'uni'-verse that is harmonious and good and beautiful, because it is ultimately under the control of a 'good God'.

In this song, Adam begins with a gorgeous acapella vocal that sends my soul soaring.  It has a 'holy' quality to it, as if it were being sung in a beautifully resonant sanctuary.  It reminds me a little of the eucharistic responses that I used to sing behind the altar, during our services of Holy Communion in the churches I served in Highlands, Morganton, and Lexington.

Adam's music wouldn't normally be thought of as 'Christian' or 'Praise' music.  But this song is, in my opinion, a beautiful and faithful musical expression of the perennial religious vision of humanity.

Lyrics:
Breathe in the good days, Breathe out the bad
Your problems will dissipate fast
I know you can make it
You won’t have to fake it
Everything is under control

If a good god has got us, you’ll see what I mean
When trusting is slippery but it’s free
I know you can handle it
but if you need to take a candle to it, you’ll see
Everything is under control

Let’s culminate and generate
Let’s fall in love and stimulate
I glimpsed the goodness in you
Let’s burn the light through the night
Kiss me ‘cause it’s only right
that I touch that beauty in you
You’ve got all you need

Pebbles are my body, water is your soul
We’ve made it, so rivers can flow
There’s no disaster that we won’t look at after
as a waterfall that was under control

Let’s culminate and generate
Let’s fall in love and stimulate
I glimpsed the goodness in you
Let’s burn the light through the night
Kiss me ‘cause it’s only right
that I touch that beauty
I hold that beauty
That I glimpse that beauty in you
You’ve got all you need
and all I need too.

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