I am back to listening to a lot of music from The Alarm this past week. It didn't arrive in time for Christmas, so my wife gave me the package of all four winter releases for my birthday (didn't receive the Christmas-or birthday card-though). I always have appreciated the music of Mike Peters and The Alarm (bought the original EP the first day it was released in America). Mike is such a nice guy (sort of like the Captain Kangaroo of Rock music)! I am sure I am the first to make that comparison, but he just makes you feel comfortable, like the Captain did (although I don't think the Captain could rock!). His lyrics are filled with hope, optimism, fight, and faith. One song that I have been reacquainted with on the new cds is called "My Town". It has a great sound and punctuates the atmosphere of a post 9/11 world. I just personally hate one line, "Not even Jesus Christ could separate the sinners from believers." I know Mike is trying to prove a point here about people, but he misses the point from scriptures that Jesus is the Good Shepard that know his sheep: "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14-15. I don't appreciate that these lyrics strip Jesus of his power to know "who" belongs to him and who doesn't and this song always makes me feel uncomfortable (would the Captain ever do that?). We may not, as humans, be able to judge people accurately as this song suggests, but I think it is misguided to think that, even in a song, Jesus is as powerless as us. If I was writing the song, I think it would pack just as much punch to say, "That only Jesus Christ could separate the sinners from believers. It goes against my core beliefs, but otherwise it is a great song. Sorry Mike!Here is a performance of the song from Fearlessmusic.com.
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'My Town'
Here it comes the reaping of the whirlwind that was promised us
And all the streets are littered with the tension and the pressure
A culture spreads it's needles ‘round like flowers in the garden
The only thing that comes for free is the air we need to breathe
This is where I come from
This is my town
When I last looked everything was black and white but now it's grey
Not even Jesus Christ could separate the sinners from believers
Backpack bombs and cups of tea lying on the kitchen table
The only thing that I believe I'm fighting fit and able
This is where I come from
This is my town
Turn off the lights listen to the city by the river
Turn off the power listen to the pulse of your heart beating
Turn off the sound listen to the blood running through your veins
Turn off the voice that says that all of this has not been worth it
I can't take back the bullets fired in the name of God
Two wrongs don't make it right
Two rights don't make it wrong
This is where I come from
This is my town
