Dear God
How funny that I posted a heading with Satan in it a few days ago and now I’m posting about God. Actually, I’m not writing about him (just as my Satan posting wasn’t really about Satan). But on my way to work this morning I listened to an old mix-CD I had created and after a few Petula Clark songs (Looooooooove…this is my song) my favorite XTC song came on: Dear God.
Ah – that brings back memories for me from the 80’s. I first heard it as a teen when I was just beginning to realize my frustrations with organized religion (and those frustrations have grown considerably since then). The song starts off so pretty and folky…with a little boy singing. Then Andy Partridge (lead singer) joins in and it becomes the perfect little pop song with a serious message (a difficult combination). The only other group I can think of that succeeded so successfuly at mixing social issues with pop sounds was 10,000 Maniacs (What’s the Matter Here?, Eat for Two, Don’t Talk).
Anyway, there have been times in my life where I will just put “Dear God” on repeat and listen to it over and over. It never ceases to give me goose bumps when, towards the end of the song, he starts aggressively rattling off his beliefs. This morning, once I re-discovered the song, I played it continuosly for the rest of my commute. Here are the lyrics:
Dear god,
Hope you got the letter,
And i pray you can make it better down here.
I don’t mean a big reduction in the price of beer,
But all the people that you made in your image,
See them starving on their feet,
’cause they don’t get enough to eat
From god,
I can’t believe in you.
Dear god,
Sorry to disturb you,
But i feel that i should be heard loud and clear.
We all need a big reduction in amount of tears,
And all the people that you made in your image,
See them fighting in the street,
’cause they can’t make opinions meet,
About god,
I can’t believe in you.
Did you make disease, and the diamond blue?
Did you make mankind after we made you?
And the devil too!
Dear god,
Don’t know if you noticed,
But your name is on a lot of quotes in this book.
Us crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look,
And all the people that you made in your image,
Still believing that junk is true.
Well i know it ain’t and so do you,
Dear god,
I can’t believe in,
I don’t believe in,
I won’t believe in heaven and hell.
No saints, no sinners,
No devil as well.
No pearly gates, no thorny crown.
You’re always letting us humans down.
The wars you bring, the babes you drown.
Those lost at sea and never found,
And it’s the same the whole world ’round.
The hurt i see helps to compound,
That the father, son and holy ghost,
Is just somebody’s unholy hoax,
And if you’re up there you’ll perceive,
That my heart’s here upon my sleeve.
If there’s one thing i don’t believe in…
It’s you,
Dear god.
I get goose bumps, I swear! And it just seems so relevent with what’s going on in the middle east (“see them fighting in the street, ’cause they can’t make opinions meet, about God”) and even in our own country with that obscene Texas Republican Party platform full of hate and nonsense based on religion (see the August 25th posting from Will/DesignerBlog…his link is on the right).
HMMM – despite the frustrations/anger you may sense from this blog posting, I’m actually in a good mood today. Matt and I talked some more last night and got even more off our chests. The key is communication. I think one of our biggest problems in recent years is that we’ve avoided conflict to the point that the issues (which, in the scheme of things, really aren’t that big) appear to be taking over. Relationships are a work in progress…and Matt and I are going to continue working on it. Besides, after more than 9 years – we must be nearly done building it by now!
2 Comments
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you think youre nearly finished building? i think not! i think youre starting a new floor. youre never finished building, or its a constant issue of upkeep and renovation. communication, patience, and faith.
oh, and as for god:
“peace in a world free from religion, peace in a world where everyone gets heaven”
You so completely rock this blogging world! I almost went into shock the first time I heard that song so many many years ago. I all but forgot about it until you just posted about it! I love it! I absolutely love it! You are so dead on with the whole goose bumps thing too! I truly believe that will be one of those timeless songs like Lennon