The Jacob's Trouble Video Archives

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Toublemaker's Vote: Favorite JT Song Countdown Part 4 (35-31)


Here are the next 5 songs in our countdown! Sorry about the delay!

35. Let Me Love on You



"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" - Luke 13:34

I sent you poets, baby, to pen sweet lines of love

I left a million undiscovered clues

I sent you prophets, lady, to beg you, "Please come home"
They all came back bloody, beaten and abused
Let me love on you

We were big fans of the TV show Twin Peaks around the time we made this CD. This song was an attempt to emulate that low, baritone guitar sound that was so prevalent in the music from that show by the great Angelo Badalmenti.

Some folks expressed some confusion about what the title line in the chorus meant. “loving on” someone is a Southern expression meaning to show affection and intimacy towards someone. A Southern mom might say to her children, “C’mere and let momma love on you a little bit!” and then wrap them up in a big embrace.

I wanted to pull back the veil and explore what I believed God’s heart is towards us. Over and over again, the scripture echoes His desire to be “among” us and “in our midst.” Revelation 21 records that the signature mark of the new earth will be that the dwelling place of God would be physically and literally with us. God would no longer seem a distant shadow or whisper barely heard. We will see Him up close and personal. His presence will no longer be something we sense or feel; He will be among us as our God and we will be with Him as His people.

I’m not sure if it worked in the context of the darker, somber quality of the music. It seems kinda juxtaposed now but it worked for us at the time. It seemed a great way to close out the record. Little did we know we were pretty much closing out our career together as a band with that track.
-Jerry


34. Wounded World



"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." –Matthew 5: 13-16


We sting like salt in the wounds of a wounded world

I had the opening riff rolling around in my head for months before I wrote the rest of the song. I got the idea for the lyrics from Jesus’ words, “You are the salt of the earth.” I was thinking of all the things salt does; preserves, flavors, etc. Then I thought and it stings in an open wound. Like salt in a wound, Christians can also be seen as an annoyance by a world wounded and separated from God. Whenever we are compelled to speak truth when people prefer lies, we are hated and scorned. We sting like salt in the wounds of a wounded world.

At first I sang the lead on this one but in the studio Terry decided Mark’s voice sounded more heartfelt and desperate, largely because he was recovering from a bad head cold.
-Jerry



33.It's a Boys' Boys' Boys' Boys' World



"I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." - Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

You better believe it's a dangerous thing

When we start believing that youth is king

Probably my third favorite JT song ever (right after Little Red Words and This Moment). I am especially pleased with the lyrics to this one. Ever a child of the Eighties, I was trying for a big jungle drum driving beat of stuff like Duran Duran, Big Country, etc. We only played it live a few times but I always loved it when we did. It’s a ton of fun!

The idea for the song grew out of a discussion about the youth-obsessed nature of our culture. We worship it like it’s the pinnacle of existence. We spend the first 20 years of our lives trying to grow up then the rest of our lives trying to stay 20! It’s insanity. The entire culture is geared toward youth and regards age as an enemy rather than a gift to be treasured and embraced.

It was my attempt to be both funky and philosophic at the same time. If you listen close we take a playful jab at our old touring mates, the Newsboys, in the fade out.
-Jerry

32. Time Bomb




"For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." - Ecclesiastes 12:14

A well of secret shame is buried deep inside my crooked heart

It's quiet on the surface but inside it's tearing me apart

Alright, I need someone to talk to
I'm a time bomb, baby

We had been listening to a lot of INXS at that time. We were big fans of that band and I really wanted to capture their funky, dance-groove influence in a song. Listening back now it sounds really “white” to me, like Kevin James’ character in Hitch learning to dance from Wil Smith. “Don’t you bite your lip!”

Lyrically, it’s all about trying to handle your sin yourself. You try to keep it a secret from everyone around you because you don’t want to deal with the shame and guilt and embarrassment associated with it – whatever “it” is. So instead of seeking help and strength from the allies God has put in your life (and they are there, you just have to look for them hard enough and have patience), you just hunker down and try harder to do better. The problem with that it that the whole approach runs counter to the gospel. You cannot handle it yourself. You can’t ignore it and hope it just gets better. It’s just a matter of time before it manifests itself in your life somehow and you can bet it won’t be pretty. Find someone you can trust and get help. Your Enemy is too big and if we could have handled the battle ourselves, then Jesus on the cross was pointless.

I had high hopes of radio single potential for this track but it was not to be.
-Jerry


31. About Sex




 
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"It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God." - 1 Thessalonians 4: 3-5
 
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The Greatest Hit We Never Had. People used to drive from all over to hear us play this song in concert. It was, without question, the show stopper in our early live sets. It was originally intended for Door Into Summer but was passed on when the final song selection was made. We re-recorded it ,intending it for Knock Breathe Shine, but Terry declined to produce it. He felt the lyrics were too “moral majority” and that it clashed with the musical and artistic direction the album was taking. Looking back I can see that Terry was probably right, but the ideas expressed in it are still true and more relevant today than when it was first written, even if the pop-culture reference are outdated.
-Jerry 


Tune in next time for new stories from Jerry, Ron, and Keith!

 


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