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THE QUOTES
A. Dan: "[This] is a song that talks a lot about how prayer is usually the last place we go when we're in the midst of a struggle or a crisis or something like that. You know, oftentimes we rant and rave and do a lot of different things before we come to the point where we realize we can't do it on our own, and we need help from God and finally we reach that place to be able to pray and be in weakness there-and that's what the song is about."
B. Charlie: "[This song] was written and recorded last summer. It paints a picture of the journey we are on as a band, blindly responding to God's voice, not always knowing where we are going, but being certain of His lead and control.
C. Dan: "Here's a tune that's actually our prayer about the Holy Spirit. Using the image of a river, we paint a picture of something both totally inviting and unsafe at the speed and strength of its current. Our desire is to be overtaken and carried by such a force."
D. Steve: "Charlie and I are reading a book called Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges, and it really speaks of this song in that [the author] compares accepting Christ's righteousness to filing complete bankruptcy, spiritually speaking-I think it's called Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The battle that Dan and Matt wrote about is when we file for Chapter 12 bankruptcy, which is partial bankruptcy. We accept God's grace for our salvation, and we know we'll be caught up into heaven. But [while] living the Christian life in between those two things, we try to pay for some of that with our works. Singing that song, we can't help but continually dwell on the fact that He wants to be all of that for us. We're constantly challenged to file permanent bankruptcy."
E. Dan: "I remember writing it, thinking that it was one of the most straight forward songs Jars had ever written. I had the image of a girl standing on a stage looking very much in control, and another image of faded, running mascara surrounding a set of fearful eyes kept creeping in-a reflection in a private vanity mirror in the basement of some beautiful theatre. This seemed to personify so thoroughly the worst fear we all seem to possess. That is the fear of being found out, of somehow being confronted with a Judas, betraying our true nature, the one we have fought to keep secret, the one that keeps us only accepting very conditional love. It is the fear that keeps us from believing that someone does know all our dirt and dark black, yet willfully pursues us to the core of our souls."
F. Charlie: "[This song] was the first song that was written as Jars of Clay. We wrote it back in college in 1993-wow!-on our dorm floor, in my bedroom with an acoustic guitar and a keyboard. I think I was wearing a bandanna when we wrote that song. It's a song that, lyrically, deals with the issues of doubt and where we find truth, how we seek truth. It's kind of a skeptic's anthem."
G. Dan: "This is really just a song that hopefully paints a very graphic picture of the way Christ sacrificed for us."
H. Dan: "I think kind of the capturing concept of that song is just that in our inability to be weak is born true weakness, and just that we need to be weak in the eyes of God in order to be strong. And when we're unable to be weak, we truly find ourselves in a place of desperation and barrenness."
I. Matt: "Our perceptions of ourselves and why we believe we are alright, and the reality of why we are alright in God's eyes, are usually polar opposites. It's important that people remember that God doesn't make mistakes."
J. Dan: "It turned out to be an anthem or a call to action away from the apathy that has plagued our generation. The lyrics were written as they were sung the first time we recorded the demo-we never changed them...for better or worse."
K. Charlie: "[This song] was written during the eleventh hour sessions in response to a personal loss in the band. It deals with God meeting us through trial and suffering."
L. Dan: "It's a song about how easy it is to praise God for things like mountains and mountaintop experiences, but we always overlook the creativity and the art that [occurs] when we reach the valleys and God actually sculpts us and puts us together and allows us to fall on Him. We kind of neglect that and say, 'God, I'll praise You when You get me through this.'"
M. Steve: "The lyric itself is pretty self-explanatory in terms of when we're at our most hopeless, when we're at that point of feeling like we're unsalvageable or 'unsaveable,' that nothing can be done to help us-even past that point-it's still God to the rescue. There isn't a place we can conceive that God can't be. It is true that we're a lot worse off than we think we are but we're [also] more loved than we think we are. I think that message pervades the whole record. It's about how well God loves us even in the midst of how 'unwell' we love Him back.
N. Dan: "It's a song that was inspired by my grandparents, (who) actually were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and it was just sort of exciting to watch two people that had been through so much, and I think I just wanted, I sort of built from that relationship that they had, and said what would it be like to be, to try to express a relationship that spans years, and, you know, what are the ups and downs and the struggles of that. And so, it was really kind of a simple song just to express the power that being able to spend years with someone can have."
O. Charlie: "It's funny how that, I think that first version is pretty dark, lyrically and musically, and sort of reflects the time period of Much Afraid, and just a little bit darker season for the band, a little more struggle, and the new [version] on If I Left The Zoo is very optimistic and very hopeful and thankful, and that's sort of the season that If I Left The Zoo has been, so it's sort of mirrored those two albums."
P. Dan: "This is a serious look at the ways we procrastinate in our dealings with others and, more importantly, our relationship with God. When will our time run out? Who will we have lost the chance to love and be loved with?"
Q. Dan: "This song is written from the perspective of a person longing for the return of the One who has promised to bring peace and mercy and life everlasting with Him. How long will we sing this song? There are questions attached to every element of the Gospel. And this, along with the others, is written because of faith more than about it."
THE SONGS
"Art in Me"
"Crazy Times"
"Disappear"
"The Edge Of Water"
"The Eleventh Hour"
"Fade to Grey"
"Famous Last Words"
"Fly Farther"
"Frail"
"Grace"
"I'm Alright"
"Liquid"
"Redemption"
"Revolution"
"River Constantine"
"The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy)"
"Worlds Apart"
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THE ANSWERS (and where to find the original quotes)
A. Dan: "[This] is a song that talks a lot about how prayer is usually the last place we go when we're in the midst of a struggle or a crisis or something like that. You know, oftentimes we rant and rave and do a lot of different things before we come to the point where we realize we can't do it on our own, and we need help from God and finally we reach that place to be able to pray and be in weakness there-and that's what the song is about."
"Crazy Times" (Crazy-Times Maxi Single)
B. Charlie: "[This song] was written and recorded last summer. It paints a picture of the journey we are on as a band, blindly responding to God's voice, not always knowing where we are going, but being certain of His lead and control.
"Redemption" (Grassroots Music, February 2003)
C. Dan: "Here's a tune that's actually our prayer about the Holy Spirit. Using the image of a river, we paint a picture of something both totally inviting and unsafe at the speed and strength of its current. Our desire is to be overtaken and carried by such a force."
"River Constantine" (Breakaway Magazine, June 2000)
D. Steve: "Charlie and I are reading a book called Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges, and it really speaks of this song in that [the author] compares accepting Christ's righteousness to filing complete bankruptcy, spiritually speaking-I think it's called Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The battle that Dan and Matt wrote about is when we file for Chapter 12 bankruptcy, which is partial bankruptcy. We accept God's grace for our salvation, and we know we'll be caught up into heaven. But [while] living the Christian life in between those two things, we try to pay for some of that with our works. Singing that song, we can't help but continually dwell on the fact that He wants to be all of that for us. We're constantly challenged to file permanent bankruptcy."
"Worlds Apart" (CCM Magazine, October 1995; )
E. Dan: "I remember writing it, thinking that it was one of the most straight forward songs Jars had ever written. I had the image of a girl standing on a stage looking very much in control, and another image of faded, running mascara surrounding a set of fearful eyes kept creeping in-a reflection in a private vanity mirror in the basement of some beautiful theatre. This seemed to personify so thoroughly the worst fear we all seem to possess. That is the fear of being found out, of somehow being confronted with a Judas, betraying our true nature, the one we have fought to keep secret, the one that keeps us only accepting very conditional love. It is the fear that keeps us from believing that someone does know all our dirt and dark black, yet willfully pursues us to the core of our souls."
"Disappear" (Gospelsite, February 2002)
F. Charlie: "[This song] was the first song that was written as Jars of Clay. We wrote it back in college in 1993-wow!-on our dorm floor, in my bedroom with an acoustic guitar and a keyboard. I think I was wearing a bandanna when we wrote that song. It's a song that, lyrically, deals with the issues of doubt and where we find truth, how we seek truth. It's kind of a skeptic's anthem."
"Fade to Grey" (Crazy-Times Maxi Single)
G. Dan: "This is really just a song that hopefully paints a very graphic picture of the way Christ sacrificed for us."
"Liquid" (Jars of Clay Interactive CD-rom)
H. Dan: "I think kind of the capturing concept of that song is just that in our inability to be weak is born true weakness, and just that we need to be weak in the eyes of God in order to be strong. And when we're unable to be weak, we truly find ourselves in a place of desperation and barrenness."
"Frail" (Crazy-Times Maxi Single)
I. Matt: "Our perceptions of ourselves and why we believe we are alright, and the reality of why we are alright in God's eyes, are usually polar opposites. It's important that people remember that God doesn't make mistakes."
"I'm Alright" (Parable.com, 1999)
J. Dan: "It turned out to be an anthem or a call to action away from the apathy that has plagued our generation. The lyrics were written as they were sung the first time we recorded the demo-we never changed them...for better or worse."
"Revolution" (Gospelsite, February 2002)
K. Charlie: "[This song] was written during the eleventh hour sessions in response to a personal loss in the band. It deals with God meeting us through trial and suffering."
"The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy)" (Grassroots Music, February 2003)
L. Dan: "It's a song about how easy it is to praise God for things like mountains and mountaintop experiences, but we always overlook the creativity and the art that [occurs] when we reach the valleys and God actually sculpts us and puts us together and allows us to fall on Him. We kind of neglect that and say, 'God, I'll praise You when You get me through this.'"
"Art in Me" (CCM Magazine, October 1995)
M. Steve: "The lyric itself is pretty self-explanatory in terms of when we're at our most hopeless, when we're at that point of feeling like we're unsalvageable or 'unsaveable,' that nothing can be done to help us-even past that point-it's still God to the rescue. There isn't a place we can conceive that God can't be. It is true that we're a lot worse off than we think we are but we're [also] more loved than we think we are. I think that message pervades the whole record. It's about how well God loves us even in the midst of how 'unwell' we love Him back.
"The Eleventh Hour" (FamilyChristian.com)
N. Dan: "It's a song that was inspired by my grandparents, (who) actually were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and it was just sort of exciting to watch two people that had been through so much, and I think I just wanted, I sort of built from that relationship that they had, and said what would it be like to be, to try to express a relationship that spans years, and, you know, what are the ups and downs and the struggles of that. And so, it was really kind of a simple song just to express the power that being able to spend years with someone can have."
"Fly Farther" (Gospelsite, October 2000)
O. Charlie: "It's funny how that, I think that first version is pretty dark, lyrically and musically, and sort of reflects the time period of Much Afraid, and just a little bit darker season for the band, a little more struggle, and the new [version] on If I Left The Zoo is very optimistic and very hopeful and thankful, and that's sort of the season that If I Left The Zoo has been, so it's sort of mirrored those two albums."
"Grace" (Gospelsite, October 2000)
P. Dan: "This is a serious look at the ways we procrastinate in our dealings with others and, more importantly, our relationship with God. When will our time run out? Who will we have lost the chance to love and be loved with?"
"Famous Last Words" (Breakaway magazine, June 2000)
Q. Dan: "This song is written from the perspective of a person longing for the return of the One who has promised to bring peace and mercy and life everlasting with Him. How long will we sing this song? There are questions attached to every element of the Gospel. And this, along with the others, is written because of faith more than about it."
"The Edge Of Water" (Gospelsite, February 2002)
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