1. |
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Try to carpet the world
With grass on our front lawns
With couches that we lounge upon
A mossy forest bed
But can’t soften our heads
Thoughts like shards of glass
With every news’ headline
Religion, race, and class
We can’t escape these troubled times
Like nails in our hands
A world of wolves becoming lambs
Like nails in our feet
We limp to paradise on broken streets
Try to run from the call
But it echoes in every valley
Though death is our finale
We have time to make some right
We’ve got time to put up a fight
At the curtain call
Will we bow or cower?
Oh, Jesus had the gall
To turn weakness into power
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2. |
Royals, Too
03:12
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This cyclone feels personal
Like I’ve done something wrong
To deserve this catastrophe
And the damage that it’s done
This fruit tree feels personal
Like of course I am loved
And deserve its provision
Shaken down from above
But this world has no preference
For the wicked or the good
Both blessing and disaster
Visit every neighborhood
Justice and mercy
Meted out with blindness
And our noblest pursuits
May not be met with kindness
We’re beggars all
We’re royals too
It seems there’s no God
But I still believe he cares for you
Imagine a universe
Of instant reward
A world where each sin
Is punished with the sword
If God is patient
If growth takes time
Maybe it means a system
Where there’s accident and crime
Cause this world is a prison
But we’ll all be set free
By the grace of a god
Of both poor and bourgeois
Cause life is a spectrum
Of manifold colors
Who is the heretic?
And who’s the believer?
Cause we’re sinners all
And we’re also chosen
To receive from God’s hand
Discipline and devotion
Yes, we’re beggars all
But we’re royals too
It seems there’s no God
But I believe he cares for you
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3. |
Preachers & Presidents
02:26
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To follow your lead
Doesn’t mean we’re agreed
On everything
You can show respect
And not genuflect
To an imperfect king
Are preachers and presidents
Still claiming “divine right”
After history has shown
Its folly?
Try not to be
Lemmings jumping off a cliff
Following others’ footsteps
Blindly
It takes more work
To do the research
Form your own conclusions
But we’ve been given a brain
So let reason reign
Over confusion
CH
There might be many
Opinions of what is right
But you’re the one
Who has to face yourself
At the end of every night
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4. |
Compassionate Quilter
03:20
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I used to swallow your words
Like a starving fisherman
Now I munch on poetry
They say sola scriptura
“Don’t be polluted by the world”
And that “the truth will set you free”
But I’ve found a steady diet
Of dogma to be
As poisonous as elderberry
I’d rather supplement
My divine teaching
With a very human library
God put on flesh
Give me that mortal mess
Instead of your pie in the sky
You say, avoid all the greys
That they’ll lead me astray
But what’s it mean to be sanctified?
Because try as you might
You can’t escape
This complex human circus
Write all your books
About identifying sin
And the battle against wordly excess
But I’d rather drink the cup
Of mankind’s thoughts
Discovering truth without filter
Be my open person
By engaging with the world
And become a compassionate quilter
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5. |
Sophisticated Teaching
01:30
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There’s a difference between
Sophisticated teaching
And flinging words like acid
In every age there has been both
The tumultuous and the placid
The rabble rousers
The demagogues
The fire and brimstone preachers
But it takes a real love for people
To be a tenderhearted teacher
Jesus chose his words with care
Illuminated a dark world
With a learned grace
Chose to embody
And illustrate his teachings
Instead of screaming in your face
We could learn a thing or two
From his composure
And his poise
Instead of giving
A knee-jerk reaction
And just adding to the noise
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6. |
Please, Lord
02:17
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Please Lord help me get better
Ground these mountains into powder
When I am desperate
Please don’t forget me
Because regretfully
I don’t always have
My own best interest in mind
Help me to always
Improve given time
When I am suffering
Comfort me like a story
Where by the end
I know a greater glory
Support me and challenge me
Like a good friend
So that my life’s an adventure
And I have a good end
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7. |
Let Your Heart Sing
01:32
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I’ve always lived my life in meter
Built my life upon
Less of impulsive Peter
And more of loving John
Because I think that the purpose
The message from above
Is that we are all precious
Not punishment but love
What character in the Bible
Expresses who you are?
What character in literature
Is your guiding star?
Because life is made to resonate
With your timbre of heart strings
If you can, before it’s too late
Just let your heart sing
Let your heart sing
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8. |
Totality
03:13
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We look with trepidation
And hope towards the future
Think about our world’s formation
In the times that were former
And try to make the most
Of the present date
And suck life of its marrow
Before it’s too late
But God lives in every tense
To our feeble minds
It makes no sense
Though he calls himself the “I Am”
He’s what was and what will be
He might as well have called himself
“The Totality”
But there’s a hint in his name
At the essence of life
We shouldn’t let our past or future
Fill our hearts with strife
He tells us not to worry
“Each day has trouble of its own”
And he will be faithful
That’s what he’s always shown
Yes, God lives in every tense
To our feeble minds
It makes no sense
But he calls himself the “I Am”
And you and I can be
Working more and more every day
Towards totality
Moses saw him in the burning bush
We see him too in Van Gogh’s painting brush
We see him in the struggle day by day
And if we can then we should also pray
That God lives in every tense
To our feeble minds
It makes no sense
But he calls himself the “I Am”
And you and I can be
Working more and more every day
Towards totality
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9. |
Regardless Of Gender
02:46
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Western history really does
Wipe out the materfamilias
How many old stories have you heard
Where the female carries
The greater load?
Powerful Medusa was stigmatized
Her face turned people into stone
And then there are the Amazons
But they had to build
A community of their own
Is God really threatened
By a woman with power?
Every woman in the Bible
Is not a delicate flower
Deborah was chosen over all the men
To use her gavel and her pen
To judge the nation of Israel
And then there’s the badass Jael
Who hammered a tent spike
Through Sisera’s head
She knew that that creep
Was better off dead
Jesus surrounded himself
By empowered women
He was warming them up
In his holy bullpen
The gospel which includes
The story of Mary
Anointing Jesus’ feet
He said would be carried
To the four corners of the earth
It seems like to God they’re of equal worth
Many preacher’s who teach submission
Are really scared of bringing
The kingdom of God into fruition
If Paul knew his words
Would be used to control
Manipulate and unjustly rule
Would he have said it differently?
The same man who said
The spirit sets us free?
Heaven I think will be
An interesting place
And to some a real
Slap in the face
I imagine a world
Where we’re all allowed
To reach our full potential
Not be bullied and cowed
Where women are given
Their just due
And regardless of gender
We can all be true
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10. |
Elephant Costume
02:19
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We treat the minor prophets
Like flies in the ointment
As if any course correction
Is just cause for disappointment
The artist comforts the disturbed
And disturbs the comfortable
We live in an awesome world
But not everything is wonderful
Thank God someone’s talking
About the elephant in the room
Even if they have to dress up
In an elephant costume
Great artists know great beauty
But they also know great grief
They have the gift of sorrow
And the gift of belief
With years and years of training
To make the medicine go down
There’s nothing as effective
As a sad-hearted clown
Thank God for the artists
Who take the time to care
Who trade pain for beauty
And their vulnerable hearts share
Some devote their lives
To a paramount cause
Not just living for the accolades
And the arbitrary applause
With paints and brushes and easels
With 88 keys
Have the enemy in the cross hairs
While still aiming to please
Thank God for the artists
Who sacrifice their lives
Endure life’s slings and arrows
So that others can truly live
Thank God for the artists
Who give their heart and time
And may we never live in a world
Where self-expression is a crime
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11. |
If You Want To Screw
02:11
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If you want to screw
That should be up to both of you
If you’re feeling lust
I think it should be built on trust
Every day we feel these things
And for some it’s diamond rings
That determine their sexual freedom
But the danger of the Puritan
Is that the choice is theirs not yours
We’re not living in the time of dinosaurs
We can be civilized
And not be quick to demonize
Every sign of flirtation
Sex is the power of creation
And though it can dangerous
Let’s instead be in service
Of teaching real respect
And the laws of cause and effect
If you’re a slave to your libido
You might regret it tomorrow
Make choices that you can get behind
And realize the battle’s in your mind
And if you think that it’s a sin
Then just don’t join in
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12. |
The Arm Of The Lord
02:28
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Famine and pestilence
Corruption and guns
Natural disasters
This world is a place
Not everyone
Has the money or strength
To master
But the arm of the Lord
Is not too short to save
God is mighty
With his outstretched arm
Reaching even into
The deepest darkest grave
Bringing comfort
Where there was only harm
Poverty, oppression
Neglect and fear
Death and also destruction
Even from a very young age
We know evil’s
Powerful seduction
CH
It may come from those who really care
It may come from those
Who demonstrate and strike
Though this life often doesn’t seem fair
And it may take much longer than we like
CH
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13. |
I'm Mad At You
01:14
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When the woman
I called mine
No longer wanted to be
Something broke in me
Things became less sacred
Ways that I was naked
Were covered up in a prickly cynicism
It created a real schism
Between me and God
Felt like it was all a fraud
I was praying the other day
And all I could say
Was, “I’m mad at you”
I’m mad at you
I’m mad at you
I’m mad at you
I’m mad at you
It’s probably all my fault
But why’d you let it end this way?
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14. |
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I get a little tipsy
And wonder why
God would pick me
I’ve got a fear of so many things
Yes, I’ve got wobbly heart strings
I’m addicted to convenience
Want happiness intravenously
It takes me so long to learn
But God’s love is never earned
It’s just in his nature to be tender
To be a love letter sender
“P.S. Would you be mine?”
He’s sending letters all the time
And my mailbox is full
But I’m a hard headed fool
I don’t retrieve the mail
And wonder why I fail
Why I don’t feel loved
He writes me letters in his blood
“Dear Gregory, would you be my wife?
You’re the reason that I gave my life
And I want to be with you forever”
That’s what it says in his bloody love letter
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15. |
If God Has My Address
01:29
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“If God has my address
Why does he never visit?
People say he’s everywhere
But I always seem to miss it”
Why do some people have faith
And some don’t?
If it is a gift
That some don’t possess
How could it be
The only thing that saves?
Is it a mystery
Only death will solve?
Is this life on earth
Really enough for all?
We see his handiwork
But will we see his face?
They say that God is filled
With perfect truth
And grace
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16. |
Three Commandments
02:21
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What’s right for you
May not be what’s right for me
Some teach themselves
Some go to university
Some marry young
Some never have any kids
Be wary of the one who only
Criticizes and forbids
Life’s complex
We may need our checks
And balances
But we’ve got our own will
And an artist thrills
At empty canvases
Where would we be
Without an Elvis or a Picasso?
Beware the thinking
That is always narrow
When it came to commandments
Moses only gave them ten
And Jesus boiled everything down
To three:
Love God
Love yourself
Love your neighbor
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17. |
A Faith That's Quiet
02:08
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They say
“Shout it from the mountain tops!”
Some make a holy racket
But I think there’s something to be said
For a faith that is quiet
That doesn’t have to convince
That’s not always proclaiming
Telling people about God
And Jesus name-dropping
It’s not that I’m embarrassed
I believe he fits the shoe
But I don’t need everyone
To believe the same things I do
I’d rather live in a world
Of honor, love, and kindness
Than the kind of fervor
That comes from spiritual blindness
If I want people to know God
I admit that it’s ironic
That I think using your tongue
Is often worse than just to hold it
But if you really believe
Do you have to always prove it?
Isn’t God able enough?
He made the earth and moves it
Around the sun in his good time
We live in a culture of “hype”
But if we have faith
Our actions will point
Others to the prototype
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18. |
Not Bread Alone
01:54
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You are what you eat
And that doesn’t just go for food
Is what your brain and heart’s ingesting
Poisonous or good?
“Man doesn’t live on bread alone
But on every word that comes
From the mouth of God”
It isn’t just the Bible
Though there’s wisdom there in spades
But also the wisdom
Of the people that he made
“Man doesn’t live on bread alone
But on every word that comes
From the mouth of God”
We are all mouth pieces
Effecting the world with what we say
Do our words bless and sustain
Or lead to hopelessness and decay?
“Man doesn’t live on bread alone
But on every word that comes
From the mouth of God”
It is life’s great mystery
To sift through words like a sleuth
But if you really seek it
I think you’ll find the truth
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19. |
Back To The Garden
04:04
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It used to be an insult
To say someone’s an animal
But somewhere along the way
We saw that they were beautiful
And that humans were the ones
That really wreaked destruction
That we could learn a thing or two
And look to them for instruction
The genesis of Jewish society
Was tending to a garden
And taking care of all God’s creatures
Oh, when did our hearts harden?
Native Americans felt a kinship
To animals and the earth
Would we be where we are now
If we thought they had such worth?
Not every revolution
Accomplishes pure progress
When we became industrial
There are many ways we digressed
And now many fear our lack of care
For our world and its creatures
Is leading us to climate change
And the extinction of nature
Is there time for us to go back
And embrace the ancient mores?
See God in nature and animal
And not simply ignore
The damage that we have done
And the damage that we’re doing
Make corrections, one by one
And do the holy work of renewing
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20. |
I Will Shed A Tear
02:19
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I will shed a tear
because I hurt you
With my behavior
And I will try to stop
By the power of
My savior
Why do I always do
The same destructive things?
Though I’m free like a bird
I choose to clip my wings
Life is a beautiful series
Of causes and effects
But the laws of spirit and nature
We often choose not to respect
There’s no one to blame
But me, myself, and I
But I’m still God’s child
And the apple of his eye
Let it be that we
Are always learning
Not fanning the flame of sin
That’s always burning
We’re all appointed a
Time and place to die
But there are deadly problems
That we can certainly rectify
Life’s not supposed to be
A truck driving full speed off a cliff
So make a course correction
And try to make it swift
My flesh is weak
But your spirit is so strong
With God I’ll turn
This failing breath into a song
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21. |
Feeling Fine
02:08
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I’m not where I want to be
But I know that things take time
So I’m feeling fine
The world can be frightening
But I trust that God’s benign
So I’m feeling fine
I’m lucky I don’t worry my life away
I’m able now to take things day by day
Not everyone has that luxury
So I often pray
You’re doing fine
I’m getting a bit older
And losing my hairline
But I’m feeling fine
Sometimes I am lonely
Don’t have a partner to call mine
But I’m feeling fine
CH
When you say you’re feeling fine
Do you really mean it?
I hope that you can tell the truth
And find a friend to bear it
CH
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22. |
We Press On
02:28
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We’ve got one foot
In the future
And one foot in the past
And often our perspective
Depends on which you ask
We could live our lives
In guilt or shame
Or hold onto old victories
But looking forward
With courage and hope
Can actually set us free
Forgetting what is behind
We press on
We’ve got an angel on
One shoulder
And a demon on the other
We know their voices
Oh so well
Though we tend to have
One we favor
Life is about learning
To figure out what’s best
Hold on tightly to
What’s good
And dismiss all the rest
Forgetting what is behind
We press on
We might wish that
We didn’t have to
Fight this fight
But in life there’s always
A wrong and a right
Forgetting what is behind
We press on
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23. |
I Never Saw The Wind
01:33
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I never saw the wind
But I saw its effect
Even though God’s invisible
I see her in every aspect
Of nature and humanity
In its beauty and brokenness
In the building of society
And life’s sacred process
And I’ve seen her wisdom
In the religions of the world
And I’ve seen her compassion
In the doctor who’s concerned
I’ve seen her great love
In the way people are moved
To give their whole lives
So that others are loved
I especially see her in Jesus
Who died up on the cross
How she’d rather be with us in our pain
Than show the world who’s boss
I’ve never seen God
One day maybe I will
But it’s extraordinary
How she makes herself known still
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Greg Walker Baltimore, Maryland
Indie rock, in the tradition of David Bazan, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Daniel Johnston, with a love for literature and lo fi music. Stays busy creating, so check back often.
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