Jars.

So the music series failed epically, much like every other blogging project I've ever undertaken. I'm not even sure if that's even a word, undertaken, but it sounds better than undertook. Rohan, my walking grammar-machine! Enlighten me with your wisdom.

It turns out that I don't have much of a reason why I like most of my music, I just like it because it's good and I was introduced to it! Who would have guessed? So the blogs ended up being pretty boring, just me saying "it's a catchy song, I just like it!"

But it's really my top three bands that are my favourites and I like for reasons, so I figure I'm going to pick it up again but skip 4 and 5. For your information, they are Nobuo Uematsu and Anberlin respectively.

But today, I talk about my third favourite band!

3. Jars of Clay.

They're my favourite Christian worship/rock band. They're sort of a mix of both, half is worship but half is normal christian rock. I'm doing 15 songs because 10 just isn't enough for this amazing band. Also, I haven't listened to the Who We Are Instead and Redemption Songs albums yet, but I hear they're both great!

15. Art In Me
This is quite a clever song about seeing people in creative ways. Not in a 'well you're not a retard, you're just special' way, in a 'your life is an empty canvas which you get to paint' sorta way. It mentions all these different forms of art (painting, sculpting, writing, music) and relates it to a human being. It makes me look at the human race as a masterpiece of God's handiwork, and that to me is just beautiful. I'm not going to post ALL the lyrics, but you can check them out here. Please do so. In your picture book I'm trying hard to see, turning endless pages of this tragedy. Sculpting every move, you compose a symphony and you plead to everyone "see the art in me".

14. Dead Man (Carry Me)
I think this song was and is quite defining for Jars of Clay. Their sound has changed a tiny bit every single album eventually evolving over 10 CD's to what it is today. This song made people realise, or at least made me realise, who the new Jars of Clay is and what they sound like. It's upbeat, catchy and rocky as opposed to all their earliest albums which relate more to folk music if anything. Make me breathe, I want to be a new man, tired of the old one, out with the old plan.

13. Boys (Lesson One)
This is from their newest album, The Long Fall Back To Earth which was released nearly a week ago. So maybe I'm still in the infatuation stage of liking this song, but nevertheless it's really beautiful and I love the strings in the background. When you need it most, I have a hundred reasons why I love you.

12. Fly
I have read that this song was written in repsonse to the lead singer finding out a friend of his had cancer. It's all about sticking by her in the troubling time. The lyrics kinda just make you happy and wish you had someone in life who would say these things to you. Or make you think of someone who has said them to you. And with the sombre story behind it, you'd think it would be quite a sad song but it's not, it's incredibly filled with joy about the friendship. Tears like rain fill up the skies, oh my love I'm not letting go, I won't let you go.

11. There Is a River
I didn't particularly like this song up until recently. It has a very loud and sudden beginning, so I learned to automatically skip it whenever it shuffled. But it wasn't until recently when Rohan mentioned the lyrics of the song in a blog post that I listened to it properly and realised what was being sung. It's about leading hectic a life and learning to let go, relax and focus. It's been a helpful reminder to me a lot in the past month. So give up the right to control the waves that empty out your life. Above wild skies are the rays that break the shadows we design. Give it up, let it go, these are things you were never meant to shoulder.

10. Love Song for a Saviour.
This was pretty much the first significant Christian worship song for me. It's about rejoicing in the lord and has an extremely simple but powerful chorus: "I want to fall in love with you." and as a new Christian, that's pretty much how I felt. I was to new to the faith so I didn't know any complex theories in Chrisitianity, all I really knew was that I wanted to fall in love with Jesus. So I did. This song is nothing short of beautiful. It seems too easy to call you saviour, not close enough to call you a God. So as sit here and think of the words I care to mention to show my devotion...I want to fall in love with you."

9. Boy on a String
Everybody loves puppets. Puppets bring you into a new world which you can let your imaginition run wild. This song is about puppets! I'm not entirely sure, but I think it talks about how we are puppets meant to entertain the masses with, but we aren't hurt by it so it doesn't matter. I dunno. But it has some really beautiful lines in it and is quite poetic. Feel the sadness like Gepetto, watching the life that he created run away.

8. Blind
This is the third song in a row from their first (self-titled) album and fourth so far. Don't worry, there is more to come. This is quite brutal in some parts, but it's just saying that God's love for us is so real and obvious, why do you have to be so blind to it? The song ends with a beautiful string outro and is definitely a brilliant way to finish the album. Cynical, it's just your way. You play the doubting Thomas, feel the scars and wipe the stains.

7. Work
I do believe this is my most played Jars song on my iTunes at the moment. All though that's not accurate, on my old computer I had a few Jars songs on it and the highest was at least 60. Right now Work only has 44. But I love this song, and it has a great video clip too. It's a single take of the band just playing in a tank slowly filling with water. And the singer looks like Professor Snape in it too. Don't believe me? HAVE A LOOK! IT'S TOTALLY SEVERUS RIGHT THERE! I kinda wish he kept the look, but he's always been a lot more macho than this and he seems to have returned to it. All the demons look like prophets, and I'm living out every word they speak. Do you know what I mean when I say I don't want to be alone?

6. This Road
I blogged about this a few weeks back, so I'm not sure how much more I need to say about it. This song is really inspired and poetic, as is most Jars of Clay songs. This road that we travel, may it be the straight and narrow. God give us peace and grace from you, all the day, shelter with fire, our voices we raise still higher. God give us peace and grace from you all the day through.

5. Closer
This is my newest favourite song from them. Obviously because it's from the new album, but I've known it for a while because they released it on the Closer EP a few months back. I only liked it when I listened to the album version and listened to the words. It's a cutsey song with lots of metaphors and stuff about how two people are made for each other. I love it, so cute. =P You're my shirt iron-on, you're the tick, I'm the bomb. You're the L and the V, I'm the O and the E. Am I speaking clearly?

4. Good Monsters
It took me a surprisingly long time to work out what was meant by a 'good monster', but when I realised I kinda liked the song in a whole new way. The idea is that we're all monsters but some of us have our monsterous power which we don't use. Those people are the 'good' monsters, whereas the ones who do use their powers are the 'bad' monsters. I guess it's all about being meek in the regard. I love this song and it too has a really great film clip with the band singing on a plain white background with plain white instruments. Also, it features an epic battle scene between monsters and robots so you know it has to be good. :) All the good monsters rattle their chains and dance around the open flames, they make a lot of empty noise.

3. The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy)
This is a sincere and heartfelt worship song. It's one of those songs I can sing no matter if I'm on top of a mountain or in a valley. I really feel as if the two part name is essential for this song because it accentuates both aspects in the song. Christians often use the terms 'mountains' and 'valleys' to describe how their feeling in life. If they're good, they're on a mountain. If they're not too well, they're in a valley. It's used a LOT. Anyway, half the song is about being in the valley and the other half is about being led out of the valley by God thanks to his mercy. It's so beautiful and has brought tears to my eyes many times. And though the pain is an ocean, tossing us around, around, around. You have calmed greater waters, higher mountains have come down! I will sing of your mercy that leads me through valleys of sorrow to rivers of joy. Alleluia, Alleluia.

2. Frail
Another recent find, but it's definitely worthy for place #2. The lyrics to Frail are beautiful and talk about the fragility of us as humans. It has an amazing strings score and singer Dan Haseltine just has a certain honesty and humility in his voice which you can find in no other artist. He's not afraid to call himself an idiot and weak, which is really admirable. This song has so many nice lyrics, the line Convinced of my deception, I've always been a fool is probably my favourite line from a song ever. The idea that you can lie to yourself and then make yourself believe this lie is surprisingly something I've actually come across in life quite a bit, and that one sentence puts it perfectly. Exposed beyond the shadows, you take the cup from me. Your dirt removes my blindness, your pain becomes my peace.

1. Worlds Apart
By far my favourite song by Jars of Clay and one of my all time favourites is Worlds Apart. This song says nothing more than we are broken and need fixing by God. It's delicate, humble, tragic, simple, not at all glorious, and beautifully written. It's not accusing, it just places all the fault back on the individual and accepts all the fault. You just have to check it out, that's all I can say. This song continues to break me on a regular basis. I bolded my favourite lyrics below.



I am the only one to blame for this,
Somehow it all ends up the same.
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride,
I flew too high and like Icarus I collide
With a world I try so hard to leave behind.
To rid myself of all but love,
to give and die.

To turn away and not become
Another nail to pierce the skin of one who loves
more deeply than the oceans,
more abundant than the tears
Of a world embracing every heartache

Can I be the one to sacrifice?
Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow?

To love you - take my world apart
To need you - I am on my knees
To love you - take my world apart
To need you - broken on my knees

Said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own.
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me.

Did you really have to die for me?
All I am for all you are,
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart

To love you - take my world apart
To need you - I am on my knees
To love you - take my world apart
To need you - broken on my knees

I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost.
wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remain.
More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour.
The battle between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago.
So steal my heart and take the pain,
and wash the feet and cleanse my pride,
take the selfish, take the weak,
and all the things I cannot hide.
Take the beauty, take my tears,
this sin-soaked heart and make it yours.
Take my world all apart,
take it now, take it now.

And serve the ones that I despise
speak the words I can't deny.
Watch the world I used to love
fall to dust and blow away.
I look beyond the empty cross,
forgetting what my life has cost
so wipe away the crimson stains
And dull the nails that still remain.
So steal my heart and take the pain,
take the selfish, take the weak,
And all the things I cannot hide
Take the beauty, take my tears,
Take my world apart, take my world apart
I pray, I pray, I pray.
Take my world apart.

Worlds Apart.