Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Follow You Into the Dark
Seattle-based, formerly-indie rock group "Death Cab for Cutie" released an album in August of 2005 entitled, "Plans." Many of the songs include poignant observations of love and loss, and the often apparent futility of making plans. This of course brings to mind James 4:14 ("Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."), not to mention the entire book of Ecclesiastes. However, there is one song that stands out amongst the rest, one that Lisa Dremousis of Paste Magazine calls, "...one of the most gorgeous songs of the past decade, in any genre, throughout the heliosphere. A purer love song has never been written."
I Will Follow You Into the Dark
Love of mine some day you will die,
But I'll be close behind; I'll follow you into the dark
No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white,
Just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles brusied by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me "Son,
fear is the heart of love" So I never went back
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangcock to Calgary, and the soles of your shoes
Are all worn down, the time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about 'cause we'll hold each other soon
In the blackest of rooms
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
I'll follow you into the dark
________________________________________________
Fortunately, a purer love song has been written, and the author is God Himself.
The desire for romantic love to continue after the body ceases to function taps into a human desire that thrives within the hearts of people around the world. The idea of an afterlife is not a human invention, but a distinct reality that everyone, despite what they claim to believe, feels tugging at their consciousness. Knowing full well that God exists, many create a reality that makes a comfortable place for sin to reside, without acknowledging the one, true and living God (Romans 1:18-21). Such is the case with this song.
In the alternate reality that Ben Gibbard has created in this song, he and the love of his life frolic in a non-existent absence somewhere between heaven & hell. An idea is conveyed that neither heaven nor hell want them to join their congregation, and so the two decide to exist alone together somewhere else, and their love for one another will be enough. There is no judgment, no justice, and there are no consequences for sin.
The problem that lies herein is the same problem that exists for all post-modern thinkers: sincerity of belief neither equates to truth, nor does it equate to reality. If I sincerely believe that I can step directly in front of bus going 65 mph and not get hit, it doesn't stop the bus from hitting me. The truth and reality of such a situation would mean that I would be sorely, sorely mistaken. The bus would hit me, and after I had made the decision to trust my feeling and my sincere belief, I would never be able to take it back. It goes back to Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seem right to a man, but its end is the way of death." There exists no middle-ground between heaven & hell, no third option, and no alternative.
The basic premise of this song is incredibly romantic: that love conquers death and can continue in the afterlife. Fortunately for us, this premise is true! "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13. The love song of Christ's life, death, and resurrection far exceeds the words or deeds of any man. "In this love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins," - 1 John 4:10. Death is swallowed up in the victory Christ has won over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Those who confess Christ with their mouth, and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved from the fires of hell (Romans 10:9). "This eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
**********************
On a side note, Gibbard makes abundantly clear that his abandonment of the Christian faith is due to faulty teaching in a Catholic school. He attirbutes an entire verse to describe an experience he had has a young boy with a nun who told him that "fear is the heart of love." Either Gibbard is mistaken in his recollection of what the nun had taught him, or the nun was mistaken in her recollection of Scripture. According to Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction," (emphasis mine). Notice also that it does not say that fear of nuns or fear of man, but fear of the Lord, equating to a reverent respect of God. Moreover, 1 John 4:18 assures us that, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." God's perfect love allows believers to live without fear!
Because of one woman's poor witness, thousands of people will impacted by a song that exalts a human relationship, denies God, and attempts to challenge the reality of judgment in the afterlife. Perhaps this nun would have done well to have read James 3:1 - "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."
I Will Follow You Into the Dark
Love of mine some day you will die,
But I'll be close behind; I'll follow you into the dark
No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white,
Just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles brusied by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me "Son,
fear is the heart of love" So I never went back
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangcock to Calgary, and the soles of your shoes
Are all worn down, the time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about 'cause we'll hold each other soon
In the blackest of rooms
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied
We'll luminate the 'NO's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
I'll follow you into the dark
________________________________________________
Fortunately, a purer love song has been written, and the author is God Himself.
The desire for romantic love to continue after the body ceases to function taps into a human desire that thrives within the hearts of people around the world. The idea of an afterlife is not a human invention, but a distinct reality that everyone, despite what they claim to believe, feels tugging at their consciousness. Knowing full well that God exists, many create a reality that makes a comfortable place for sin to reside, without acknowledging the one, true and living God (Romans 1:18-21). Such is the case with this song.
In the alternate reality that Ben Gibbard has created in this song, he and the love of his life frolic in a non-existent absence somewhere between heaven & hell. An idea is conveyed that neither heaven nor hell want them to join their congregation, and so the two decide to exist alone together somewhere else, and their love for one another will be enough. There is no judgment, no justice, and there are no consequences for sin.
The problem that lies herein is the same problem that exists for all post-modern thinkers: sincerity of belief neither equates to truth, nor does it equate to reality. If I sincerely believe that I can step directly in front of bus going 65 mph and not get hit, it doesn't stop the bus from hitting me. The truth and reality of such a situation would mean that I would be sorely, sorely mistaken. The bus would hit me, and after I had made the decision to trust my feeling and my sincere belief, I would never be able to take it back. It goes back to Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seem right to a man, but its end is the way of death." There exists no middle-ground between heaven & hell, no third option, and no alternative.
The basic premise of this song is incredibly romantic: that love conquers death and can continue in the afterlife. Fortunately for us, this premise is true! "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13. The love song of Christ's life, death, and resurrection far exceeds the words or deeds of any man. "In this love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins," - 1 John 4:10. Death is swallowed up in the victory Christ has won over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Those who confess Christ with their mouth, and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved from the fires of hell (Romans 10:9). "This eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
**********************
On a side note, Gibbard makes abundantly clear that his abandonment of the Christian faith is due to faulty teaching in a Catholic school. He attirbutes an entire verse to describe an experience he had has a young boy with a nun who told him that "fear is the heart of love." Either Gibbard is mistaken in his recollection of what the nun had taught him, or the nun was mistaken in her recollection of Scripture. According to Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction," (emphasis mine). Notice also that it does not say that fear of nuns or fear of man, but fear of the Lord, equating to a reverent respect of God. Moreover, 1 John 4:18 assures us that, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." God's perfect love allows believers to live without fear!
Because of one woman's poor witness, thousands of people will impacted by a song that exalts a human relationship, denies God, and attempts to challenge the reality of judgment in the afterlife. Perhaps this nun would have done well to have read James 3:1 - "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."
posted by j.ro at 4:26 PM
16 Comments:
Very interesting!
My sentiments exactly. Thanks for sharing. I've heard a lot of buzz about their stuff, but haven't actually listened to anything yet.
Have a merry Christmas. :)
All you anti-Death Cab kids...
Who are any of us to say that he has "abandoned" xian life? Perhaps he is in a state of transition, seeking something different. We can't judge what we don't know.
Have a blessed holiday.
I'm not anti-Death Cab; in fact, PLANS is one of my favorite releases of 2005! Their music is great, but judging by Gibbard's view of what happens after death (as explained in this song), his understanding is far from biblical.
You're right in saying that we can't judge what we don't know. However, from the lyrics in this song, we know that Gibbard HAS abandoned a biblical understanding of heaven & hell. In fact, in this song he specifically exalts a girl over Christ. By denying heaven, Gibbard denies an eternity with Christ, and chooses an eternity with someone else. This is a denial of the Christian life, in that he has abandoned a life lived to exalt Christ (even in death) in order to exalt another.
If I haven't been clear in my defense, please let me know. Thanks for commenting, and God bless!
One who may abandon their idea of heaven doesn't neccesarily abandon their belief in God. The Christian life doesn't revolve around heaven and/or hell. It results on King Jesus and how to make this world a better place.
Perhaps it isn't the same idea the interpreters of the bible had. But it doesn't say that Gibbard is beyond anything.
I don't agree with my understanding of the song (and like you, I love Plans), but perhaps one paragraph isn't enough to nail someone as having abandoned the Christ and, consequently (as some would have it). damning themselves to eternal hellfire and brimstone.
Thanks for making this lively, red.hot! :)
I agree with you in that Gibbard has not necessarily abandoned his belief in God. In fact, he seems to express some understanding of God's existence, as he never denies the existence of heaven or hell, assuming they are real places.
However, in this song King Jesus is dethroned by Gibbard (and to clarify, I'm not using the verse about Catholic school as my basis for argumentation). He voluntarily chooses to follow another "into the dark," abandoning the kingdom of heaven and Christ who reigns as king. Referencing your summation of the gospel on your most recent blog, Gibbard has not made King Jesus his God. His god has become a relationship, one that he longs for more than he longs for anything else. The meat of the song and the "romance" of the song is that he wants the relationship with a girl even more than a relationship with Christ, exhibited by his abandonment of spending an eternity worshiping Christ as King in the kingdom of heaven.
And that makes sense to me.:) I was just trying to see where exactly you stood on this beyond the more superficial Bible school answers. Not to say that your post was bad... I just wanted to see how you felt about it, somewhat deeper...
Thanks for the clarification!
so ... j.ro ... breaking the bands of the nonconformists, i see. you joined the sbts blogring. keep an eye out for chris at Passion. we're leaving for Nashville on the first.
John Ross! I found you! And I linked you fom my blog too. I am sure your readership will skyrocket now (I said sarcastically).
Laura Beth O'Nan (used to be Atwood)
Ooooh! Look at me! I'm John Ross and I started a blog and told everyone about it and then wimped out after only one post! Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! I'm a big blog chicken!
In case you can't tell, I'm trying to shame you into continuing.
I've sincerely meant to continue, as the posts continue to brew in my head. But now I have 4.5 jobs!!!! This is a big change from last semester when I only had half a job.
But thanks for your encouragement. It's now on the agenda for Wednesday.
Wait wait. 4.5 jobs?!?
I withdraw my sarcasm.
thanks. i would like to hear more.
I only read some of your responses, but I was compelled to add that Gibbard's song is a piece of artwork and we can't say for sure what his meaning is, but i really believe that he's being quite hypothetical in this song. "IF heaven and hell decide..." to me he's saying that should there be nothing left for either of us, I'll share nothing with you. And the reference to "fear being the heart of love" seems less about a stab at Catholicism and more about, don't be afraid of death. Fear doesn't exist for us. Even though some people would teach it that way...
Anyways, thanks for your post.
This is a really great blog you have. I feel it really encourages in the Lord especially for those that enjoy the type of music that you examine in this light. I actually recommitted my life to Christ through listening to a Cake album (the Lord works in mysterious ways), so I am continually putting music under a biblical lens to see where lyrics fall. Thanks for what you have here and i hope to see more of your critiques.
Thanks
Craig
This was really interesting!
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