"In My Place" by Coldplay

A Rush of Blood to the Head
Capitol
2002

This song explores Jesus’ vocation on which God imposed a specific script (described as lines). People in power also had a script in mind for Jesus but he constantly upset those expectations. Jesus’s followers (his disciples and those of us since) also experience the script we are to follow flowing from our vocation. Following the script sometimes brings pain and frustration so we cry out to God asking how long we have wait until the kingdom comes to earth and our hopes are fully realized.

In my place, in my place

Were lines that I couldn't change

I was lost, oh yeah

I was lost, I was lost

Crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed

I was lost, oh yeah

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?

Yeah, how long must you pay for it?

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?

I was scared, I was scared

Tired and under-prepared

But I wait for you

If you go, if you go

Leave me here down on my own

Well I wait for you

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?

Yeah, how long must you pay for it?

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?

Sing it please, please, please

Come back come sing to me

To me, me

Come on and sing it out now, now

Come on and sing it out to me, me

Come back come sing it

In my place, in my place

Were lines that I couldn't change

I was lost, oh yeah

Interpretation

In my place, in my place

Were lines that I couldn't change

I was lost, oh yeah

In this first stanza, Jesus describes his life. The “lines” he “couldn’t change” refer to his vocation as Messiah. Those “lines”, as in a script, would lead Jesus to one result: persecution and death. By remaining obedient to his vocation he would forfeit his life; he “was lost”.

I was lost, I was lost

Crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed

I was lost, oh yeah

There were different “lines” playing out in Jesus’ life though these were imposed by the people around him. Jewish religious leaders drew certain lines in the sand and Roman authorities drew others. Jesus ignored these lines attracting hatred from both groups. He was lost since by physically crossing those lines he surrenders his life, literally.

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?

Yeah, how long must you pay for it?

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?

Jesus cries out asking how long until God is victorious (the first “it”), how long must the burden be carried (the second “it”), and how long until the Kingdom is fully established (the final “it”).

I was scared, I was scared

Tired and under-prepared

But I wait for you

Jesus’ followers are speaking now. They reveal their fear, fatigue, and lack of skill in the hours following the crucifixion. Many have lost hope and yet they continue to wait despite the fact that they don’t clearly know to expect Jesus’ resurrection.

If you go, if you go

Leave me here down on my own

Well I wait for you

After the resurrection, Jesus’ followers are faced with him leaving them again in the Ascension. They lament this separation but resolve to keep hoping and anticipating his return in glory. They begin to understand the grand scheme and though Jesus is going away for a time, they will wait for that time.

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?

Yeah, how long must you pay for it?

Yeah, how long must you wait for it?

Much like Jesus’ cry, his followers ask how long until he returns (the first “it”), how long they must face persecution and disdain (the second “it”), and how long until the Kingdom is fully established (the final “it”). Jesus’ followers wonder what God is waiting for; they are pleading for God to act.

Sing it please, please, please

Come back come sing to me

To me, me

Come on and sing it out now, now

Come on and sing it out to me, me

Come back come sing it

A combined song; Jesus singing to God and the disciples singing to Christ. The song they long to hear is the song of the Kingdom from Luke 4:18-19: good news to the poor, release for the captives, recovery of sight for the blind, comfort for the downtrodden, the year of the Lord’s favor. This is the most beautiful of all songs.

In my place, in my place

Were lines that I couldn't change

I was lost, oh yeah

This is our cry. We who call Jesus ‘Lord’ will face the same “lines” as Jesus and his disciples. We have a script to follow, which will mean stepping over lines other people draw for us. If we pick up our cross we will be hated and persecuted. We can’t change that. Our lives are not our own. We forfeit them when we follow Christ.

“Symphony Of Destruction” by Megadeth

Countdown to Destruction
Capitol
1992

“Symphony Of Destruction” describes the violent history of the United States of America. Beginning with the British Empire, which built its wealth and power on violence the song moves on to the independent USA still drenched in violence. The USA justified our violent reaction against the British and yet, in our freedom, replicated that violent cycle throughout our history.

You take a mortal man

And put him in control

Watch him become a god

Watch peoples heads a'roll

Just like the Pied Piper

Led rats through the streets

We dance like marionettes

Swaying to the Symphony of Destruction

Acting like a robot

Its metal brain corrodes

You try to take its pulse

Before the head explodes

Just like the Pied Piper

Led rats through the streets

We dance like marionettes

Swaying to the Symphony of Destruction

The earth starts to rumble

World powers fall

A'warring for the heavens

A peaceful man stands tall

Just like the Pied Piper

Led rats through the streets

We dance like marionettes

Swaying to the Symphony of Destruction

Interpretation

You take a mortal man

And put him in control

Watch him become a god

Watch people’s heads a'roll

This stanza describes the British Empire led by King George III. He is the “mortal man” that is put “in control” and acquires god-like power. When leaders have unlimited power they are easily corruptible which leads to the sort of violent regime characterized by warfare abroad and capital punishment at home (where “people’s heads a’roll”). The growing dissatisfaction with a king as their leader in the American colonies is one of many causes of the rebellion against the crown.

Just like the Pied Piper

Led rats through the streets

We dance like marionettes

Swaying to the symphony of destruction

Masses of people are deceived by this leader (“the Pied Piper”). We let ourselves become easily manipulated puppets compliantly “swaying to the symphony of destruction”. What is being destroyed in this symphony? Life, first of all, as a result of warfare. The nation’s economic well-being, global goodwill, and moral grounding is also eroded by deranged leaders. We who ignorantly follow the leader lose ourselves as the ship sinks and civil society is destroyed in repression and corruption. In the story of the American Revolution, people came to see themselves as being manipulated by King George III, which gave rise to the rallying cry, ‘Don’t Tread On Me’. They sought freedom from a leader consumed by the death song.

Acting like a robot

Its metal brain corrodes

You try to take its pulse

Before the head explodes

The monarchy is compared to a “robot” with a corroding “metal brain” and no pulse. The King’s savage tendency towards violence occurs like a programmed response. As leaders gain power they become corrupt and inhuman. The final two lines are a revolutionary statement. Why would we need to take the King’s pulse before “the head explodes”? This is an image of a violent demise to a violent regime. The people are rising up to destroy the violent monarchy’s hold on them. We figuratively “take its pulse” to satisfy ourselves that what we are killing is not human—it’s a machine. We want to believe we are not evil like the King and can justify our revolt.

Just like the Pied Piper

Led rats through the streets

We dance like marionettes

Swaying to the symphony of destruction

We’ve stopped “swaying” to the King’s destructive tune. Instead we’ve created our own death song. This chorus makes it clear that the slavery we experience is not to human government but to something deeper and darker. Even though we’ve rid ourselves of an evil despot, we still find ourselves being led “through the streets” like rats; we’re still dancing like puppets to the music of death. The true conductor of the “symphony of destruction” is our own lust for power and violence.

The earth starts to rumble

World powers fall

A'warring for the heavens

A peaceful man stands tall

The scene flashes forward as the United States emerges from its colonial period. Rather than breaking free from the yoke of violence and tyranny, this new country is mired in an endless series of wars, conflicts, and brutality at home and abroad. The culmination of this savagery is evident when the US rises to the level of a “world power”. With our violent song pulling us forward in a trancelike dance, we begin to shake the earth—it “starts to rumble”. We exert our military might in toppling regimes that threaten our safety or corporate interests and justify much of our warfare with religious language (“a’warring for the heavens”—we’re fighting for God). And then the last line turns all of this on its head. “A peaceful man stands tall,” describes Jesus. Jesus stands for everything contrary to the “symphony of destruction”. He “stands tall” because his message is so contrary to the message of the conductors of the death song.

Just like the Pied Piper

Led rats through the streets

We dance like marionettes

Swaying to the symphony of destruction

As long as we remain ignorant and complacent we are complicit in the violence and oppression characteristic of the current US empire, the former British empire, and the long list of evil empires throughout history. The “peaceful man” that “stands tall” offers a way out. Jesus presents a new set of dreams and values in God’s kingdom that will release us from the song of the “Pied Piper” and the strings of the puppeteer. Jesus will teach us a new song that sounds nothing like the “symphony of destruction”.

“Redemption Day” by Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow
A&M
1996

This song is a cry for God's Kingdom to come bringing with it an end to evil in our world especially in the area of war and violence.

I've wept for those who suffer long

But how I weep for those who've gone

Into rooms of grief and questioned wrong

But keep on killing

It's in the soul to feel such things

But weak to watch without speaking

Oh what mercy sadness brings

If God be willing

There is a train that's heading straight

To heaven's gate, to heaven's gate

And on the way, child and man,

And woman wait, watch and wait

For redemption day

Fire rages in the streets

And swallows everything it meets

It's just an image often seen

On television

Come leaders, come you men of great

Let us hear you pontificate

Your many virtues laid to waste

And we aren't listening

What do you have for us today?

Throw us a bone but save the plate

On why we waited till so late

Was there no oil to excavate?

No riches in trade for the fate

Of every person who died in hate

Throw us a bone, you men of great

There is a train that's heading straight

To heaven's gate, to heaven's gate

And on the way, child and man,

And woman wait, watch and wait

For redemption day

It's buried in the countryside

Exploding in the shells at night

It's everywhere a baby cries

Freedom

Interpretation

I've wept for those who suffer long

But how I weep for those who've gone

Into rooms of grief and questioned wrong

But keep on killing

The narrator describes her intense sorrow when people suffer but she pities even more those who are wronged and in vengeance inflict harm on others. September 11th 2001, is a perfect example of the narrator's sentiment. She weeps for those who were harmed in the attack but she weeps even harder for the United State's reaction which repaid evil with evil and escalated the violence.

It's in the soul to feel such things

But weak to watch without speaking

Oh what mercy sadness brings

If God be willing

This stanza focuses on each individual's response to evil acts. It’s normal to be horrified when evil things happen but this should not lead us to endorse vengeance. In fact, the narrator states it is "weak" or cowardly not to oppose retribution and endorse mercy. Mercy is the proper response to sorrow though it is only possible through God.

There is a train that's heading straight

To heaven's gate, to heaven's gate

And on the way, child and man,

And woman wait, watch and wait

For redemption day

The narrator longs for a time when evil will not be repaid with evil but when everything will be redeemed. All of us (“child and man and woman”) are waiting and hoping (even if we act on these hopes in wrong ways) for this “redemption day”.

Fire rages in the streets

And swallows everything it meets

It's just an image often seen

On television

The narrator describes real violence (rioting, war, protests) that we see on TV but don’t experience firsthand. Because of that separation we stay passive and unmoved to action.

Come leaders, come you men of great

Let us hear you pontificate

Your many virtues laid to waste

And we aren't listening

Society's leaders have failed to solve the problem of violence. The narrator even states that these leaders are guilty of feeding those destructive fires (their “virtues [are] laid to waste”). They have lost contact with the people they are supposed to be leading—no one hears what they preach anymore because their actions have invalidated their message. This is directed specifically at religious leaders who appear to endorse retribution instead of preaching Jesus' gospel of peace and nonviolence. By adopting the world's way of responding to evil, they have nullified their their message.

What do you have for us today?

Throw us a bone but save the plate

On why we waited till so late

Was there no oil to excavate?

No riches in trade for the fate

Of every person who died in hate

Throw us a bone, you men of great

This stanza is a continuation of the previous one. It condemns governmental leaders for trying to appease people while they continue to enrich themselves, grab more power, and destroy more lives. The three accusations include oil, trade, and war. The average person is excluded from the benefits of trade and commerce and yet subjected to the destruction and pain of violence in war.

There is a train that's heading straight

To heaven's gate, to heaven's gate

And on the way, child and man,

And woman wait, watch and wait

For redemption day

It's buried in the countryside

Exploding in the shells at night

It's everywhere a baby cries

Freedom

Up to this point, the song carried a defeated tone. The narrator uses the inescapability of death ("buried in the countryside") and the lack of choice we have in birth (a crying baby) to illustrate how we've made struggle (exploding shells in warfare) seem inevitable. But that isn't true. We are free. War, violence and retribution are choices we make and are not inevitable. We can choose differently as individuals and as a nation.

“Science” by System of a Down

Toxicity
American Recordings
2001

The Enlightenment generated the twin ideas that progress is inevitable and that science will solve society’s problems. This song rejects those ideas. Regress is just as likely as progress and science, rather than solving society's problems, has sometimes contributed to its decay.

Making two possibilities a reality

Predicting the future of things we all know

Fighting off the diseased programming

Of centuries, centuries, centuries, centuries

Science fails to recognize the single most

Potent element of human existence

letting the reigns go to the unfolding

Is faith, faith, faith, faith

Science has failed our world

Science has failed our Mother Earth

Science fails to recognize the single most

Potent element of human existence

letting the reigns go to the unfolding

Is faith, faith, faith, faith

Science has failed our world

Science has failed our Mother Earth

Spirit-moves-through-all-things

Letting the reigns go to the unfolding

Is faith, faith, faith, faith

Science has failed our world

Science has failed our Mother Earth

Spirit-moves-through-all-things

Science has failed our Mother Earth

Interpretation

Making two possibilities a reality

Predicting the future of things we all know

Fighting off the diseased programming

Of centuries, centuries, centuries, centuries

In this first stanza the narrator describes the Enlightenment’s promise. The prophets of this worldview told us that reason would defeat evil. Science will “[fight] off the diseased programming of centuries” meaning that humanity’s years of ignorance will dissipate in the light of knowledge, technology, and the inevitability of progress.

Science fails to recognize the single most

Potent element of human existence

Letting the reigns go to the unfolding

Is faith, faith, faith, faith

The narrator states that the “most potent” or powerful “element of human existence” is “faith” and “science” ignores this reality. The narrator goes on to describe faith as “letting the reigns go”, which criticizes the attitude accompanying the Enlightenment since it’s based on human control. Faith is letting go (humility), science is holding on (arrogance).

Science has failed our world

Science has failed our Mother Earth

The narrator states that “science has failed” to accomplish what it promised, which is a core tenet of the postmodern critique of the Enlightenment. The horrendous evils of the past one hundred and fifty years (including the destructive toll of progress on "Mother Earth") is cited as an indictment against blind devotion to science.

Science fails to recognize the single most

Potent element of human existence

Letting the reigns go to the unfolding

Is faith, faith, faith, faith

Science has failed our world

Science has failed our Mother Earth

Spirit-moves-through-all-things

“Spirit moves through all things” holds a double meaning. First, it means that though science has failed to deliver on the promises of the Enlightenment, there is still value in its pursuit. Because the “spirit moves through all things” God can work through science. Second, it is a further condemnation of those who go through life on blind faith both in the power of science and in the movement of God in things with obvious natural causes. Both beliefs stem from ignorance and laziness. Faith, on the other hand, is active, potent, and uncontrollable. To the narrator, faith is the greatest aspect of humanity.

Letting the reigns go to the unfolding

Is faith, faith, faith, faith

Science has failed our world

Science has failed our Mother Earth

Spirit-moves-through-all-things

Science has failed our Mother Earth

“Release” by Pearl Jam

Ten
Epic Records
1991

This is a beautiful song telling the story of people who obeyed God including Noah, Abraham, and Jesus. The character in each story struggles with the desire to be released from their responsibility. Noah seeks release from his task of building the ark, Abraham with the command to kill his son, and Jesus from execution.

I see the world

Feel the chill

Which way to go

Windowsill

I see the world's on a

Rocking horse of time

I see the birds in the rain

Dear dad

Can you see me now?

I am myself

Like you somehow

I'll ride the wave

Where it takes me

I'll hold the pain

Release me

Dear Dad

Can you see me now?

I am myself

Like you somehow

I'll wait up in the dark

For you to speak to me

I'll open up

Release me

Interpretation

I see the world

Feel the chill

Which way to go

Windowsill

I see the world's on a

Rocking horse of time

I see the birds in the rain

God commands Noah to build a big boat and he obeys. Noah surveys “the world” around him and “feels the chill” meaning the wickedness of the people as well as the destruction caused by the flood. After the flood destroys the evil of human civilization, Noah wonders where to go since they are floating aimlessly. He then muses about the nature of reality and describes the movement of God in creation as a “rocking horse of time” meaning the tilt from creation to the flood and now back to a fresh start. The “birds in the rain” signifies the birds that brought proof of dry land or, in a veiled way, it could be Noah anticipating the coming of Messiah (the dove at Jesus’ baptism).

Dear dad

Can you see me now?

I am myself

Like you somehow

I'll ride the wave

Where it takes me

I'll hold the pain

Next, is Abraham’s story. The familiarity with which he addresses God exhibits their intimacy. God has just asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac and Abraham is poised to follow through. He describes himself as “like” God comparing his own sacrifice to God’s sending of his only son to be executed. In this way they are similar. Abraham promises to follow God’s order (“ride the wave where it takes me”) despite the fact that it will be hurt. Abraham is prepared to bear this burden (“hold the pain”).

Release me

This line is sung by Noah and Abraham as a request to be excused from the task or (like Jesus on the cross saying ‘into your hands I commit my spirit’) it could be a declaration of complete surrender to God’s will; a statement of readiness to obey God’s commands.

Dear Dad

Can you see me now?

I am myself

Like you somehow

I'll wait up in the dark

For you to speak to me

I'll open up

There are two possible speakers here. The first is Jesus in the garden crying out to God (his “Dad”) to “speak” to him. Jesus prays for the cup, or his impending execution, to be removed from him. Jesus prays in the garden all night, listening for God. The second possible speaker is a generic narrator who is in turmoil over something God calls him to do. He asks if God sees him, understands that the agony he is experiencing is “somehow” like Jesus in the garden. The narrator promises to “wait” patiently throughout the “dark” of the night to hear God “speak. He promises to “open up”, to submit to God.

Release me

Jesus asks God to release him from the responsibility of the cross and the other speaker asks to be released from his painful duty. But all of these speakers when they say, “release me”, are also surrendering to God. Their request is also to be released from their doubt and strengthened as they obey.

“Until the End of the World” by U2

Achtung Baby
Island Records
1991

Sung from Judas’ perspective, this song explores his betrayal of Christ. The sexual images employed throughout the song signify an intimate relationship between Jesus and Judas and imply that Judas’ motive in betrayal is more complex than greed. We are led to consider whether Judas betrayed Jesus for money, love, or religion.

Haven't seen you in quite a while

I was down the hold just passing time

Last time we met was a low-lit room

We were as close together

As a bride and groom

We ate the food, we drank the wine

Everybody having a good time

Except you

You were talking

About the end of the world

I took the money, I spiked your drink

You miss too much these days

If you stop to think

You lead me on with those innocent eyes

You know I love the element of surprise

In the garden

I was playing the tart

I kissed your lips and broke your heart

You, you were acting

Like it was the end of the world

Love

In my dream I was drowning my sorrows

But my sorrows, they learned to swim

Surrounding me, going down on me

Spilling over the brim

Waves of regret and waves of joy

I reached out for the one

I tried to destroy

You, you said you'd wait

Till the end of the world

Interpretation

Haven't seen you in quite a while

I was down the hold just passing time

Last time we met was a low-lit room

We were as close together

As a bride and groom

The opening scene finds Judas greeting Jesus in the garden prior to betraying him. Judas hasn’t seen Jesus recently because he was secretly plotting with the chief priests. He brushes off his absence by saying we was “down the hold just passing time” or simply twiddling his thumbs. Judas reminds him the last time they were together was during the last supper where Judas was seated near Jesus (“close together as a bride and groom”).

We ate the food, we drank the wine

Everybody having a good time

Except you

You were talking

About the end of the world

Judas recalls the last supper where everyone was feeling pretty good about things. Most still had wrong ideas about Jesus and were probably expecting armed rebellion until Jesus started talking about his impending death. Maybe Jesus’ words led Judas to take the route he did. “The end of the world” refers to the disciple’s perception that if Jesus died their hopes for an earthly Jewish kingdom would die as well. Maybe Judas wanted to force Jesus into action or maybe he was furious at the idea of Jesus leaving them.

I took the money, I spiked your drink

You miss too much these days

If you stop to think

You lead me on with those innocent eyes

You know I love the element of surprise

Spiking Jesus’ drink (stealing money from the treasury and/or the betrayal) is retaliation for Judas’ disappointment with Jesus as Messiah. Jesus enticed Judas with “innocent eyes”, like a lover playing hard to get. Messiah was to establish God’s kingdom on earth and Judas avidly believed Jesus could be that person so he followed him like a lover enjoying being flirted with. Judas ultimately felt disillusioned and deceived as if Jesus used his power of attraction to lure Judas into a foolhardy cause.

In the garden

I was playing the tart

I kissed your lips and broke your heart

You, you were acting

Like it was the end of the world

Back in the garden, Judas proceeds with the betrayal. Judas describes himself as a “tart”, or prostitute, in that he approaches Jesus as a friend but had ulterior motives. We aren’t told what that motive could be. There are two possibilities. The first is that Judas is a Zealot who expects Messiah to be a military conqueror. Judas hands Jesus over to the authorities to force this violence to a head. The second possibility is that Judas loves Jesus beyond the normal devotion of a disciple. Judas then went crazy when Jesus started talking about his own death (the “end of the world”) and betrayed him in a fit of anger.

Love

This single word suggests that Judas loved Jesus and didn’t intend for him to be executed. Judas either wanted Jesus to fight or he wanted to get back at him for scorning his love.

In my dream I was drowning my sorrows

But my sorrows, they learned to swim

Surrounding me, going down on me

Spilling over the brim

After the betrayal, Judas regrets his actions. The nightmare he created is overwhelming him; his “sorrows” are crushing him, they’ve “learned to swim”. Judas is highly distressed and once again sexual imagery describes this tremendous agony. The scene depicts a chaotic sort of demonic orgy within Judas.

Waves of regret and waves of joy

I reached out for the one

I tried to destroy

You, you said you'd wait

Till the end of the world

Even in his grief—leading to suicide—Judas realizes that Jesus was more than even he imagined hence the “waves of joy”. At the end of his rope (no pun intended), Judas reaches out for the redemption Jesus offers implying that it’s available even to the person who betrayed Jesus.

“The World I Know” by Collective Soul

Collective Soul
Atlantic Records
1994

This song describes the narrator's awakening from the only world he's known to emerge in the the breathtaking reality of God’s kingdom.

Has our conscience shown?

Has the sweet breeze blown?

Has all the kindness gone?

Hope still lingers on

I drink myself of newfound pity

Sitting alone in New York City

And I don't know why

Are we listening

To hymns of offering?

Have we eyes to see

That love is gathering?

All the words that I've been reading

Have now started the act of bleeding

Into one

So I walk up on high

And I step to the edge

To see my world below

And I laugh at myself

As the tears roll down

'Cause it's the world I know

It's the world I know

I drink myself of newfound pity

Sitting alone in New York City

And I don't know why

So I walk up on high

And I step to the edge

To see my world below

And I laugh at myself

As the tears roll down

'Cause it's the world I know

It's the world I know

Interpretation

Has our conscience shown?
Has the sweet breeze blown?
Has all the kindness gone?
Hope still lingers on
The narrator wonders if society is too far gone to be saved. The world has ignored its conscience so we haven't experienced any "sweet breeze" of friendship, peace, or even "kindness". The story of civilization is hate, warfare, and death. Despite this grim realization, the narrator still has hope that it can be different.

I drink myself of newfound pity
Sitting alone in New York City
And I don't know why

Alone and wallowing in sorrow and self “pity”, the narrator laments the state of the world. He wants to know why the world is in such a state of brutality, but answers escape him; he doesn’t “know why”.

Are we listening
To hymns of offering?
Have we eyes to see
That love is gathering?

Next, the narrator wonders if we as humans (or maybe Christians specifically) recognize the message that Jesus taught; do we have “eyes to see”? A blatant reference to Jesus’ often repeated phrase, ‘he who has ears to hear, listen!’ The narrator calls us to wake up and recognize that “love is gathering”; God’s kingdom is breaking into our world.

All the words that I've been reading
Have now started the act of bleeding
Into one
The “words” the narrator has “been reading” is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. That amazing oratory is taking shape in the narrator’s mind as a unified force that will renew the world.

So I walk up on high
And I step to the edge
To see my world below
And I laugh at myself
As the tears roll down
'Cause it's the world I know
It's the world I know
This stanza paints two pictures. The first is one of suicide; going up to the roof (“on high”) and stepping “to the edge” as if to jump. The narrator “laughs” bitterly at himself while he’s crying because he realizes he is self-consumed, sick with self-love. The only “world” the narrator knows is this one characterized by selfishness. The emptiness of that world is enough to drive him suicide. The second picture conveys the narrator's spiritual transformation, an experience akin to walking in the clouds ("on high"). He steps "to the edge" of his selfishness ready to throw away his old world and jump into God's kingdom.

I drink myself of newfound pity
Sitting alone in New York City
And I don't know why

So I walk up on high
And I step to the edge
To see my world below
And I laugh at myself
As the tears roll down
'Cause it's the world I know
It's the world I know