Smokin’ From Shootin’
“Faith can’t prove what science won’t resolve”
-Jim James
My Morning Jacket’s Evil Urges
Ah… The first quote from my favorite band of all time. See, the thing is, I don’t think Jim James has the best lyrics ever. They’re ok, but let’s face it, our bearded friend is no Conor Oberst. I’m gonna put it like this: Conor is better at writing words (usually something about how lonely he is and how much he drinks) but Jim is better at writing music. It seems like Conor writes very personally, like in first person about stuff that happens to him or that he makes up, while Jim writes in a more general way. I’m closer to Conor’s writing because it’s easier to relate to. But Jim knows he has my love <3. Anyways, let’s get into the quote.
First off, I love everything about this song. From the starting beat to the transition into Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt.2 everything is great. Especially the epic climax. While I’ve never really understood the whole intention of this song (it’s not like I’ve studied it much, either), this phrase really took me by surprise. While at first glance the song may seem like just another love song, it actually talks about religion, or at least as far as I understand it. This phrase, possibly my favorite of the record, says a lot about religion nowadays. It says, yeah, I understand that some people need to surrender to a bigger thing, that they need to believe in that because otherwise they won’t feel the need to do good and behave. It makes them feel special. Like somebody is always gonna love them no matter what. I guess some people need that kind of reassurance. Who doesn’t want to feel special, right? But at what cost? What’s the point of everything if I’m not going to get punished or rewarded by someone who is greater than me?
While I do understand this urge some people have, I just don’t get the whole concept of religion. I don’t understand why so many people fight and don’t talk to each other because their religions can not coexist peacefully. It’s so contradictory, this whole thing of “do good and be good to everybody” but then you can’t even accept the opinion of someone else.
I mean, you can also look at this phrase from a different side, as a man who is not the most religious dude ever, I decided to take it like I said above, but you can also view it from a religious perspective. Like, there’s just some stuff that science can’t, and probably won’t understand until it improves with time like it has been doing. Like, we shouldn’t rule out religion just because it may not always seem real. Faith is a strong thing, it’s a gift, but not even that can explain to the rest of the people in the world who have yet to receive this gift that there’s a superior being who created us and wants us to be good.
Well done, Mr. James. You just got me thinking about my whole philosophies about the origin of life and my take on religion, which I will continue ranting about later because I just got kind of confused.
