From the recording Land Of The Living (2001)

In cart Not available Out of stock

(DADGAD / capo 8 )
Aug. 15 – Sept. 23, 1999. A Charles Spurgeon-induced song. My original chorus to this song was lackluster at best. My wife even said so. I’m glad she encouraged me to rewrite it because, otherwise, in the chorus you’d be hearing:

Go west young man, don’t hurry to find
Go west young man, in faith and good time
As the sun sets (amazed across my soul)

blah, blah, blah, *yawn*… I prefer the official album version.

I’ve always imagined this as a battlefield song. What with the water-bearers’ ladles full of thirst-quenching sustenance on a dry, hot earth and the patient and wounded infantrymen awaiting further orders to attack, for the umpteenth time, a well-fortified, unforgiving, and as yet immovable enemy stronghold, it seems that there is indeed an enemy lurking who seeks to root out any last vestiges of hope or confidence that we may still possess. It’s in those moments that home becomes a lean-to shelter of age-old promises spoken by a quiet and ever-present voice.

Patience is not my forte. As is so often the case, the waiting does indeed tempt a whole slew of second thoughts.

Lyrics

The Iron Did Swim

faith, we all could use a sip of your water
the battle rages on, the redoubts have not yet fallen
has it been this long since I felt the pangs of birth?
on the one hand clenching life and on the other unsure of my worth

like the old oak trees who offer out their branches
loneliness becomes a friend while hope becomes a lantern
did I ever ask you what it’s like to know the time?
I’m writing words to feed us while the devil plays games in my mind

when I am tired you are my rest
in between the battles of the spirit and the flesh
when I’m out of rope may yours begin
a tug of war with myself and a fool on either end

we all are wearing wounds from the thief who lives among us
searching the western front for bombs still unexploded
making a lean-to shelter out of your promises
dressed in heavy sackcloth with a heart that of Thomas

I might be hard of hearing or I’m misunderstanding
what I thought you wanted, God, sure feels like I’ve been abandoned
the waiting, yes the waiting tempts a slew of second thoughts
I fix my eyes forward and I go with thanks in my heart

when I am hopeless be my reason to rejoice
you who gives so freely, even the thanks within my voice
when I’m forgetful may remembrance, like the wind,
come rushing up to greet me with thanks because the iron did swim