“Hypnotize” by Audioslave

Audioslave
Epic
2002

This is a straightforward song with a hard message. “Hypnotize” is about the way we, the wealthy, hoard our fortune and echoes Ezekiel 16:49; ‘Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.’ This song is an explicit call to share our wealth (both individually and corporately) with others. The implication if we don’t is that we will be surprised by our reward, which will be punishment.

Well if you set your mind upon it

I know that you can

You got everything you wanted

You've done everything you planned

So let me make an offer

I'm only trying to help

You can make your load

Just a little lighter

All you got to do is

Share the wealth

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

I know you've got problems

I see it in your eyes

But if you want to live

To see the morning

Leave it up to your brother

Or you get a surprise

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Well it's time to see

You've got to give or you’re gonna receive

Hey it's time to see

You've got to give if you wanna believe

You won’t breathe

It's time to see

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Interpretation

Well if you set your mind upon it

I know that you can

You got everything you wanted

You've done everything you planned

This stanza describes the privilege most of us experience. Those of us in this condition can decide to do something and follow through on it not because we are extraordinary people but because we’ve been given every benefit in life. We have “everything” we want and have done “everything” we hoped to do. Now, if we decide to be sacrificial we can do that too.

So let me make an offer

I'm only trying to help

You can make your load

Just a little lighter

All you got to do is

Share the wealth

The narrator approaches the message like a business proposal with a clear benefit for the hearer. The benefit? We can lighten our load by sharing our wealth. In what way would our load be lighter? I get the picture of a person lugging a chest full of gold up a hill, stubbornly refusing to reduce the weight to travel faster. Or a child eating himself into a sugar coma rather than share the candy with his sister.

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

The chorus is self-explanatory. Good luck and is responsible for our great wealth (see Jared Diamond’s excellent book, Guns, Germs, and Steel for more on this). Since our affluence is not of our making we shouldn’t pretend that we are entitled to stockpile it.

I know you've got problems

I see it in your eyes

But if you want to live

To see the morning

Leave it up to your brother

Or you get a surprise

The wealthy person has problems that are obvious from looking “in your eyes”. Could it be a dehumanized hollowness resulting from worshipping wealth? Or maybe fear of dying, an inevitability that no amount of money can prevent? If the wealthy person wants to “see the morning” (or the Kingdom of God) they must share their wealth or they will “get a surprise”. These people will find themselves outside the Kingdom. Despite any religious activity they engaged in during their life they might be unfit for the Kingdom solely because of their treatment of the power and powerless. This is described vividly in Matthew 25:31 where Judgment is brought on all nations at Jesus’ return. Those unfit for the Kingdom (the goats) are judged so because of their treatment of the poor, hungry, oppressed, etc.

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Well it's time to see

You've got to give or you’re gonna receive

Hey it's time to see

You've got to give if you wanna believe

You won’t breathe

It's time to see

This stanza evokes images of Jesus’ parable of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man from Luke 16:19. Just like the rich man in the story, the wealthy will see their folly when they die. They will mourn that they worshipped money and wasted their life. As a result, they will receive their reward in full; they won’t breathe, they will be dead in their sins in this life and the next by worshipping their wealth and hoarding it. Conversely, they will breathe; they will truly be alive by giving and sharing. The act of giving will open their eyes and allow them to enter the Kingdom.

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

Oh no don't you keep your

Good luck to yourself

“The Ghost of Tom Joad” by Bruce Springsteen

The Ghost of Tom Joad
Columbia Records
1995




This is a song based on John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. Tom Joad is a character invoked as a symbol of struggle against the powerful and wealthy.

Man walks along the railroad track

Goin' some place, there's no turnin' back

The Highway Patrol chopper's

Comin' up over the ridge

Man sleeps by a campfire under the bridge

The shelter line stretchin' around the corner

Welcome to the New World Order

Families sleepin' in their cars

Out in the Southwest

No job, no home, no peace, no rest

This stanza continues the bleak picture of poverty.

And the highway is alive tonight

Nobody's kiddin nobody about where it goes

I'm sitting down here in the campfire light

Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls his prayer book out of a sleepin' bag

The preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag

He's waitin' for when the last shall be first and

The first shall be last

In a cardboard box sleepin under tha overpass

With a one way ticket to the promised land

With a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand

Sleepin on a pillow of solid rock

Bathin' in the cities' aqueducts

And the highway is alive tonight

And where it's headed, everybody knows

I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light

Waitin on the Ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom Said;

"Ma, whenever there's a cop beatin' a guy

Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries

Where there's a fight against the blood and

Hatred in the air look for me ma' I'll be there

Wherever somebodies fightin for a place to stand

For a decent job or a helpin' hand

Wherever somebody is strugglin' to be free

Look in their eyes ma, you'll see me

And the highway is alive tonight

Nobody's kiddin nobody about where it goes

I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light

With the Ghost of Tom Joad

Interpretation

Man walks along the railroad track

Goin' some place, there's no turnin' back

The Highway Patrol chopper's

Comin' up over the ridge

This stanza introduces the literary character Tom Joad from the novel. The scene corresponds to his flight from the law after he kills a murderer.

Man sleeps by a campfire under the bridge

The shelter line stretchin' around the corner

Welcome to the New World Order

The stanza paints a more generic scene. A homeless man is sleeping under a bridge because the shelter was full. The “New World Order” is a reference to the conspiracy theory that the rich and powerful are working to establish a world government. The singer implies that the poverty represented by this homeless man would be the result of such a system.

Families sleepin' in their cars

Out in the Southwest

No job, no home, no peace, no rest

This stanza continues the bleak picture of poverty.

And the highway is alive tonight

Nobody's kiddin nobody about where it goes

I'm sitting down here in the campfire light

Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

This stanza alludes to Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. The “highway” on which the parable takes place is full of activity. There are robbers, victims, and self-righteous onlookers but the hero of the story is missing—the narrator is searching for Tom Joad’s “ghost”. This means he wants someone to stand up against these wrongs but no one can be found.

He pulls his prayer book out of a sleepin' bag

The preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag

He's waitin' for when the last shall be first and

The first shall be last

In this stanza, the “preacher” symbolizes God’s preference for the poor and oppressed and God’s opposition to the wealthy and powerful by showing the nearness of God to the poor. The “preacher” hopes for the day to come when the words of liberation in the Bible will become a reality.

In a cardboard box sleepin under tha overpass

With a one way ticket to the promised land

With a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand

Sleepin on a pillow of solid rock

Bathin' in the cities' aqueducts

This stanza present one more scene of poverty though this one includes overtones of violence. Implied here is that poverty contributes to and exacerbates violence towards and by those caught in poverty.

And the highway is alive tonight

And where it's headed, everybody knows

I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light

Waitin on the Ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom Said;

"Ma, whenever there's a cop beatin' a guy

Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries

Where there's a fight against the blood and

Hatred in the air look for me ma' I'll be there

Wherever somebodies fightin for a place to stand

For a decent job or a helpin' hand

Wherever somebody is strugglin' to be free

Look in their eyes ma, you'll see me

This stanza returns to the literary character of Tom Joad and depicts him telling his mother that he will fight tirelessly to oppose violence, poverty, hatred, inequality, exploitation, and oppression. He says that wherever people fight against those things he will be there in spirit. The obvious parallel is that just as Tom Joad is present wherever people fight injustice, so is Jesus.

And the highway is alive tonight

Nobody's kiddin nobody about where it goes

I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light

With the Ghost of Tom Joad

This stanza changes its tone since now the narrator is no longer looking for the ghost. The “ghost of Tom Joad” is present. This indicates a realization on the part of the narrator that he must stand up and fight against injustice and in this way carries on Tom’s legacy.

“Wake Up Dead Man” by U2

Pop
Island Records
1997

This song is a plea for God to act decisively to conquer evil in the world by establishing the Kingdom. In this sense, the narrator calls on Jesus to wake up and complete his mission of ushering in God’s kingdom. The narrator also calls on us to wake up and work to see evil in the world eradicated.

Jesus, Jesus help me

I'm alone in this world

And a fucked up world it is too

Tell me, tell me the story

The one about eternity

And the way it's all gonna be

Wake up. Wake up dead man

Jesus, I'm waiting here boss

I know you're looking out for us

But maybe your hands aren't free

Your Father, He made the world in seven

He's in charge of heaven

Will you put a word in for me?

Wake up. Wake up dead man

Listen to your words they'll tell you what to do

Listen over the rhythm that's confusing you

Listen to the reed in the saxophone

Listen over the hum of the radio

Listen over sounds of blades in rotation

Listen through the traffic and circulation

Listen as hope and peace try to rhyme

Listen over marching bands playing out their time

Wake up. Wake up dead man

Jesus, were you just around the corner?

Did you think to try and warn her?

Or are you working on something new?

If there's an order in all of this disorder

Is it like a tape recorder?

Can we rewind it just once more?

Wake up. Wake up dead man

Interpretation

Jesus, Jesus help me

I'm alone in this world

And a fucked up world it is too

The narrator asks Jesus for aid in a world with many problems. He sadly feels like the only one who realizes the horrible state of things.

Tell me, tell me the story

The one about eternity

And the way it's all gonna be

The narrator wonders why, though Jesus acted to redeem the world, it has not been accomplished. He sarcastically asks to be reminded of the story as if Jesus forgot the ending. The narrator prods Jesus by saying, ‘you remember the kingdom of God you came to establish, right? The one that will never end? The one that will renew the whole world? Come on. I know you know what I’m talking about.’

Wake up. Wake up dead man

The narrator demands that Jesus “wake up” as if he was still in the tomb and get to accomplishing the redemption he was supposed to have already enacted.

Jesus, I'm waiting here boss

I know you're looking out for us

But maybe your hands aren't free

Descending further into doubt, the narrator wonders if Jesus even has the power to act in the world. He guesses that maybe Jesus’ “hands aren’t free”, that something is stopping him from acting.

Your Father, He made the world in seven

He's in charge of heaven

Will you put a word in for me?

The narrator follows up the doubt from the past stanza by reminding Jesus that God (his
“father”) had enough power to create the world and rule the universe so maybe Jesus could ask the big guy to do something.

Wake up. Wake up dead man

The following eight-section poem is the narrator’s argument for why Jesus should help us. It begins by reminding Jesus of his own words but then moves into a sequence where the narrator calls Jesus’ attention TO certain things (our heart cries and attempts at peace) and AWAY from other things (poseurs, pop culture, and violence).

Listen to your words

They'll tell you what to do

The narrator calls attention to Jesus’ own words presumably the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew 5-7 where he outlines a radical Kingdom theology. The narrator hopes those words will awaken Jesus.

Listen over the rhythm that's confusing you

The narrator asks Jesus to overlook the people who confuse his message, a criticism of those calling themselves ‘christians’ and who knowingly or otherwise distort the gospel of the Kingdom. The “rhythm” played out in this warped version is the loudest song describing Jesus’ message in the world today. The narrator asks Jesus to hear the prayers of those seeking his kingdom above this noise.

Listen to the reed in the saxophone

The Blues is a form of music the narrator associates with bearing our souls to Jesus. In our blues Jesus will see clearly the prayer of people calling out for liberation.

Listen over the hum of the radio

A double reference. First, the narrator asks Jesus to ignore the numerous radio programs that only pit people against each other. Second, it refers to pop culture, asking Jesus to hear our prayers despite the insipid and selfish realities of pop culture.

Listen over sounds of blades in rotation

This line requests that Jesus hear us despite our endless wars. The “blades in rotation” evokes the image of a helicopter.

Listen through the traffic and circulation

Here, the narrator prays that Jesus hears us even when we are consumed with self-focused harried lives. “The traffic and circulation” suggests a rush-hour commute.

Listen as hope and peace try to rhyme

In this line the narrator asks Jesus to recognize that we sometimes try to enact the Kingdom. Some of us work for peace but this great hope of ours too often fails. Still, the narrator hopes that our efforts might be credited to us as a worthy attempt.

Listen over marching bands

Playing out their time

The narrator asks Jesus to hear our plea even though we fill our lives with mindless entertainment. “Marching bands” can refer to sporting or civic events that take the attention off the real problems of poverty, violence, and oppression.

Wake up. Wake up dead man

Jesus, were you just around the corner?

Did you think to try and warn her?

Or are you working on something new?

This stanza describes the early church expecting Jesus to return within their lifetimes (“were you just around the corner?”). As time went by these followers realized Jesus’ return was not as imminent as they thought. The narrator wonders why Jesus didn’t make the timing clear to the Church; why he didn’t “warn her”. Perhaps, the narrator guesses, Jesus has different plans than the ones we envision. Maybe Jesus is “working on something new?”

If there's an order in all of this disorder

Is it like a tape recorder?

Can we rewind it just once more?

The scene shifts more intently to the current institutional church. The narrator wonders if there is any point to the activity (“disorder”) going on in churches. With all the problems and abuses infesting them, is there a possibility of undoing (rewinding) these things done in the name of God?

Wake up. Wake up dead man

In this final chorus, the narrator continues to ask Jesus to wake up, but an additional meaning is added to these words. It’s as if Jesus turns around the narrator’s words and puts the question to us. ‘Are you alive?’ Jesus challenges the narrator and the rest of us “dead” people to “wake up” and get to doing the work of the kingdom here and now. While the narrator waits passively for Jesus to wave a magic wand, Jesus urges us to rise from our dead sleep of self-centeredness and embody the values of the kingdom like love and redemption. Jesus reminds us that we are his hands on earth.

“Surrendering” by Alanis Morissette

Under Rug Swept
Maverick
2002



God is singing a sort of ode to the person in this song. God has pursued her like a lover and now, looking back on these events, God lauds how far she’s come, encourages her to continue moving closer, and assures her that there is nothing to fear. This song beautifully describes God’s delight in the development of the relationship.

You were full and fully capable

You were self sufficient and needless

Your house was fully decorated in that sense

You were taken with me to a point

A case of careful what you wish for

But what you knew was enough to begin

And so you called and courted fiercely

So you reached out, entirely fearless

And yet you knew of reservation

And how it serves

And I salute you for your courage

And I applaud your perseverance

And I embrace you for your faith in the

Face of adversarial forces that I represent

So you were in but not entirely

You were up for this but not totally

You knew how arms length-ing

Can maintain doubt

And so you fell and you're intact

So you dove in and you're still breathing

So you jumped and you're still flying

If not shocked

And I support you in your trusting

And I commend you for your wisdom

And I'm amazed by your surrender in the

Face of threatening forces that I represent

You found creative ways to distance

You hid away from much through humor

Your choice of armor was your intellect

And so you felt and you're still here

And so you died and you're still standing

And so you softened and still

Safely in command

Self-protection was in times of true danger

Your best defense to mistrust and be wary

Surrendering a feat of unequalled measure

And I'm thrilled to let you in

Overjoyed to be let in in kind

Interpretation

You were full and fully capable

You were self sufficient and needless

Your house was fully decorated in that sense

God acknowledges the person was doing fine in life. She was competent (“fully capable”), independent (“self sufficient”), and didn’t really need God in one sense. Her house had all the necessary furnishings—it looked good from the outside. Implied here is that the narrator’s life was just a façade; she really did need God.

You were taken with me to a point

A case of careful what you wish for

But what you knew was enough to begin

As God pursues the person, she warily begins to fall in love with God. This relationship starts cautiously as she opens up to God but God says these tentative steps are “enough to begin”. God does not expect a complete and total commitment on the first date.

And so you called and courted fiercely

So you reached out, entirely fearless

And yet you knew of reservation

And how it serves

God reflects on her progress and recalls how she “called and courted fiercely” implying that she overcame her initial caution to “[reach] out” to God. This intense and “fearless” response to God may have been only temporary because soon the person reverts to wariness or “reservation”. This attitude is one of self-protection. The person doesn’t want to over-commit and then be burned. Caution “serves” her by avoiding the possibility of being let down.

And I salute you for your courage

And I applaud your perseverance

And I embrace you for your faith in the

Face of adversarial forces that I represent

God continues to encourage (“salute”, “applaud”, and “embrace”) the person like helping a child learn to walk. God goes on to celebrate her “courage”, “perseverance”, and “faith” despite the conflict (“adversarial forces”) that a relationship with God might “represent”. God understands that she is moving slowly and it’s okay. She has a lot of baggage to deal with such as beliefs that viewed a relationship with God as a negative thing.

So you were in but not entirely

You were up for this but not totally

You knew how arms length-ing

Can maintain doubt

As she struggles with her emotions, the person dabbles in a relationship with God and yet maintains a degree of separation (she was “in but not entirely” and “up for this but not totally”). She holds on to doubt as a virtue and applies this to every aspect of life, even in relationships. She keeps all her relationships (not just the one with God) at arms length. This is the core practice that keeps the person from loving God and, in turn, other people. She distances herself from others as a means of protection but with God she is starting to let down that guard.

And so you fell and you're intact

So you dove in and you're still breathing

So you jumped and you're still flying

If not shocked

In this pivotal stanza the person breaks down and gives over completely to God (she “fell”, “dove”, and “jumped”). When this happens she discovers she doesn’t stop being a unique person. She is still “intact”, alive (“breathing”), and even excelling or “flying”. She is shocked that this is the case.

And I support you in your trusting

And I commend you for your wisdom

And I'm amazed by your surrender in the

Face of threatening forces that I represent

God again celebrates the person for her “trusting”, “wisdom”, and “surrender”. These small steps are praised even though she still harbors some doubt, this time due to the “threatening forces” that God represents. Any relationship is threatening because she believes intimacy—being vulnerable—will somehow diminish her as a person.

You found creative ways to distance

You hid away from much through humor

Your choice of armor was your intellect

The person continues to keep God at a “distance” by using “humor” or lack of serious reflection as a façade. She also uses her “intellect” in an attempt to protect herself from becoming too attached to God. She hides behind intellectual reasoning as “armor”. Maybe she denies God’s existence or aspects of theology she doesn’t like. She gets increasingly “creative” in her attempts to remain aloof.

And so you felt and you're still here

And so you died and you're still standing

And so you softened and still

Safely in command

Despite her best efforts, the person moves closer to God. Another stone falls away from the wall surrounding her heart as she “felt”, “died”, and “softened” as she falls in love with God. The narrator permits herself to feel (implying that she has kept her emotions guarded until now) and is surprised to find herself still sane or “here”. She experiences the renewal promised by Jesus when we die to ourselves. She discovers that she is “still standing.” She also finds that allowing her heart to be “softened” is not fatal but leaves her “safely in command” describing the peace that comes in God’s hands.

Self-protection was in times of true danger

Your best defense to mistrust and be wary

Surrendering a feat of unequalled measure

And I'm thrilled to let you in

Overjoyed to be let in in kind

God once again declares his delight at how much the person has overcome. She has laid down her “self-protection” that kept her safe in “times of true danger”. She conquered her “mistrust” and “wary” approach to relationships that had been her “best defense”. The most important step is that she surrendered which God describes as “a feat of unequalled measure”. Now, God is overjoyed to be in relationship with her (“to let you in”) and to be loved by her (“to be let in in kind”).

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2

The Joshua Tree
Island Records
1987

This is a song about our search for God’s Kingdom on earth. The narrator claims to have traveled vast distances and sought out spiritual experiences, and is now crying out to God to reveal the kingdom on earth. The world must be redeemed—the narrator knows that—it is his steadfast expectation of God kingdom breaking through that causes him to look so avidly for its coming.

I have climbed the highest mountains

I have run through the fields

Only to be with you

Only to be with you

I have run I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls

Only to be with you

But I still haven't found

What I'm looking for

I have kissed honey lips

Felt the healing in her fingertips

It burned like fire

This burning desire

I have spoke with the tongue of angels

I have held the hand of a devil

It was warm in the night

I was cold as a stone

But I still haven't found

What I'm looking for

I believe in the Kingdom Come

That all the colors will bleed into one

But yes I'm still running

You broke the bonds

You loosed the chains

You carried the cross

And my shame

You know I believe it

But I still haven't found

What I'm looking for

Interpretation

I have climbed the highest mountains

I have run through the fields

Only to be with you

Only to be with you

I have run I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls

Only to be with you

The narrator describes his journey to be with God through natural barriers (mountains and fields) as well as physical ones (city walls). He has desperately searched for evidence of God’s kingdom breaking into our world with the redemption that accompanies it.

But I still haven't found

What I'm looking for

He went searching for God’s kingdom on earth and has not found it. The narrator knows Jesus established the kingdom during his lifetime but he is looking for the changes to be more physically apparent. He yearns to see the fully consummated kingdom but it has not yet become visible to him.

I have kissed honey lips

Felt the healing in her fingertips

It burned like fire

This burning desire

As with most U2 songs, God and especially God’s Spirit are referred to in the feminine gender. The narrator describes an intimate relationship with God and how that started the fire in him to see the kingdom on earth. Because he has experienced this transformational touch of God, the narrator wants the whole world to feel it too.

I have spoke with the tongue of angels

I have held the hand of a devil

It was warm in the night

I was cold as a stone

The narrator reflects on times when he has represented God’s coming kingdom appropriately. Sometimes he spoke the truth like a prophet (“with the tongue of angels”). At other times he failed as an emissary, behaving as if he held “the hand of the devil”. When he represented God’s kingdom well it was if he were sleeping contentedly (“warm in the night”). On the contrary when he failed he slept miserably (“cold as a stone”).

But I still haven't found

What I'm looking for

I believe in the Kingdom Come

That all the colors will bleed into one

But yes I'm still running

This is a very clear statement that leaves no doubt as to the meaning of the song. The narrator puts his hope in the coming kingdom of God when we will all be united under Jesus’ Lordship. However, since that has not happened yet, the narrator is still “running”.

You broke the bonds

You loosed the chains

You carried the cross

And my shame

You know I believe it

This is another very clear stanza. The narrator confesses his faith in God. He uses imagery of liberation from oppression (“bonds”), imprisonment (“chains”), sin (“cross”), and guilt (“shame”).

But I still haven't found

What I'm looking for

Even though he has experienced personal liberation from God the narrator longs to see the complete transformation of the created order. This is what he is looking for. He believes he will one day find it though he is growing impatient.