This outstanding track by Oh, Sleeper can be found on the new Tooth and Nail Solid State Sampler (just click on “Free Sampler”).

To me, this is one of those tracks that epitomizes how lyrical meaning can be radically extended by the medium in which it is delivered.  While I think the lyrics on their own merits are pretty profound, their execution against the shrill guitars and angst of the vocal performance infuse them with a level of intensity and meaning that could not be captured otherwise.  This is definitely one of my new favorite songs.

Synopsis

This song is basically a conversation between Satan and the crucified Christ, or rather a monologue from two radically different perspectives.

Throughout the song, the devil exults in his apparent victory over the “weak forgiver,” the supposed savior who has been vanquished by the devil’s hand in the grave.  Satan continues by mocking the dead Christ, intimating that he should have used his power to save himself, rather than “wasting power on grace.”  And having triumphed over Christ in death, the devil promises that the same end which now enfolds the body of the redeemer will be that toward which he will lure all those Christ came to save.

But his boast does not end, for though his rise has at times been thwarted, surely this victory in the cross is his vindication.  It is Satan’s crowning achievement, the final necessity for fully claiming the world as his throne, using the very ones Christ failed to save as the backs upon which his rule will be built.  This is a glorious new reality, a “dawn which will last forever.”

Yet in the midst of the violence and provocation, against the boasting of victory and the relishing of death and decay, the words of the crucified break through simply, yet clearly:

“If you could see like me you’d see, you haven’t won anything”

Though the death of the savior appears to be a victory for the powers of sin and death, they see things from a false perspective.  Rather than a loss, through death Christ will be shown as the ultimate victor, triumphing over the power of sinfulness and death through the very means by which they sought to destroy him. Though Satan dons the crown of the “son of the morning” and the “lord of the air” and the “ruler of the world,” Christ will inevitably triumph.  By the newness of life granted to him by the Father, Christ’s resurrection has shown the powers of sin and death to be ultimately bankrupt and vacuous.  Unable to hold Christ in death, the chains of sin and violence are broken, and the rule of the devil and the darkness are shattered forever.

Surely, from a perspective of blindness, it seems obvious that Satan has the upper hand and has triumphed.  But if he could see things from the eyes of the resurrected Christ, he’d see the truth that his power has been broken; his victory is really an everlasting defeat.

I hope you enjoy the song, and if you do, please lend a few dollars and support the band.

Son of the Morning

I am the rival. I am the one who speaks in whisper.

Hear me now, dear, weak forgiver.

Hear me now, weak forgiver. Hear me now…

Don’t send an angel to face the devil.

You’re wasting power on grace. A maggot will always seek to feed from the grave,

where I’ll lead them and teach them to feast on the skin that defeats them, the skin they crave.

If you could see like me you’d see you haven’t won anything.

If you could see like me you’d see, it’s by my grace you’re breathing.

If you could see like me you’d see you haven’t won anything.

If you could see like me you’d see.

Every night I start my rise, climbing high into the morning sky,

but soon after I lose your bride and I damn your son for stealing my light.

This world is mine…

They call me the son of the morning. They call me the son of the morning.

I can mound all your fallen past the clouds as they roll in,

and when I do I will claim your throne through all these cowards you call your sons.

I am the lord of air and my dawn will last forever.

Go on pouring out because in the end I will have them.

If you could see like me you’d see you haven’t won anything.

If you could see like me you’d see, it’s by my grace that you’re breathing.

If you could see like me you’d see you haven’t won anything.

If you could see like me you’d see, your precious light is fading.

Your light is fading.

The Video

Quick note: There is a LOT of screaming in this song.  If that’s not your cup of tea, you’ve been warned 🙂