Then You Die

Scripture tells us that creation groans as it waits for for the sons of God to be revealed (Rom 8:19).

Do you know what this groaning sounds like? If you listen, you can hear it every day.

Where? On our radios. On iTunes. On CDs. On iPods.

One of the main places creation groans is through music.

Lots of Christians believe that we should only listen to “Christian music.” I sometimes wonder if this is a lie perpetuated by some in the Christian music industry so that we financially support mediocre musicians, but that’s probably too harsh. What is boils down to is that some think that non-Christian music is “evil.”

I couldn’t disagree more. It is in “non-Christian” music where we can hear the voice of our dying world, and listen to their cries for help, their search for something true, and see most clearly their longing for unconditional love.

Listen to the song below and hear the groaning.

The song is called “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve (Urban Hymns 1997). It is a song about about life, and the emptiness of living as a slave to money just so you can die. And interestingly, from the perspective of the musician, there’s nothing that can be done about it. He can’t change it. He can’t change himself. Nothing will change. You just have to keep going.

We live. We make money. We die. That’s life. There are millions of people who want others to recognize their pain, but nobody hears, and so we go back to living to make money until we can die.

Bleak? Yes. But that is what life is like for most people, despite any smile they show the world.

Maybe most ironically of all, this song led to a major lawsuit between Verve vocalist Richard Ashcroft and Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones. The Verve had licensed a sample from The Rolling Stone’s song “The Last Time,” but it was later argued that The Verve used “too much” of the sample, including some bongo drums which had not been licensed. Eventually, Richards and Jagger won the lawsuit, awarding them 100% of the royalties for this song. You can read more about it here.

It is ironic that Ashcroft wrote a song about how life is little more than a chase after money, and then other insanely rich musicians sued him for all the money from the song. The song turned out to be more bitter sweet than The Verve ever intended.

Anyway, here is the video with the lyrics down below.

LYRICS:

‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet.
You’re a slave to money then you die.
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down.
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah.

No change, I can’t change
I can’t change, I can’t change.
But I’m here in my mind
I am here in my mind.
But I’m a million different people
from one day to the next.
I can’t change my mind
No, no, no, no, no, no, no,no,no,no,no,no.

Well I never pray
But tonight I’m on my knees yeah.
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah.
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now.
But the airways are clean and there’s nobody singing to me now.

No change, I can’t change.
I can’t change, I can’t change.
But I’m here in my mind
I am here in my mind.
And I’m a million different people
from one day to the next.
I can’t change my mind
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
I can’t change
I can’t change it.

‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, this life.
Trying to make ends meet
Trying to find some money then you die.
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah.

You know I can’t change, I can’t change
I can’t change, I can’t change.
But I’m here in my mind
I am here in my mind.
And I’m a million different people
from one day to the next.
I can’t change my mind
No, no, no, no, no.

I can’t change my mind
no, no, no, no, no.
I can’t change.
Can’t change my body,
no, no, no.

I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down.
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down.
Been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
That you’ve ever been down
That you’ve ever been down