MP3 Arthur Pope - From Thorns to Roses
A solo acoustic guitar carries on it''s voluminous wings: raw, honest, and atypical Christian music, featuring the tricky cool lyrics of a failure. and a Bible joke.
10 MP3 Songs in this album (32:42) !
Related styles: FOLK: Alternative Folk, ROCK: Acoustic
People who are interested in Incubus Jars of Clay Derek Webb should consider this download.
Details:
The debut album from acoustic singer/songwriter Arthur Pope is an expression of hope for light, following a cry of pain in the darkness.
Bringing an exploration of humanities lingering racially prejudice bent, as well as poetry illustrating perpetual personal failure, unmet desire, broken hearts, and expressions of inadequecy, Arthur Pope stands apart from mainstream Christian artists because of his brutal honesty alone. Paired with clever writing, and the occasional biting lyric, you have something of an artistic anomaly when you consider the overarching message of hope the record is crafted to convey.
01. Lies of Our Fathers
A priest, a rabbi, and a black guy
Walk into a bar
It seems that all is well ''till the rabbi gets hammered
Come to find, he finds the black guy
A bit too black guy
And the priest joins in his repudiative manner
What the hell is wrong with the world today?
It is the same as yesterday
We''ve seen the cost in the lives of our fathers
Seeing as heaven''s colored in eclectic shades
Why suffer earth''s bigoted ways?
We''ve no excuse for the lies of our fathers
Jesus Christ was not a white man
I''m sure He had a deeper tan
What if He closely resembled Osama Bin Laden?
Now He shows up at your terminal gate
Do you celebrate?
Or hope He''s kicked right out on His ass He rode in on?
What the hell is wrong with the world today?
It is the same as yesterday
We''ve seen the cost in the lives of our fathers
Seeing as heaven''s colored in eclectic shades
Why suffer earth''s bigoted ways?
We''ve no excuse for the lies of our fathers
What the hell is wrong with the world today?
It is the same as yesterday
We''ve seen the cost in the lives of our fathers
Seeing as heaven''s colored in eclectic shades
Why suffer earth''s bigoted ways?
We''ve no excuse for the lies of our fathers
02. Bettersweet
If this fire would be put out by tears then I would not be burning
If this vice would lessen it''s pressure from all my insides turning, it would be...
Better than running barefoot through a warm rain
Sweeter than honey smothered over fields of sugar cane
Lighter than feathers in a whirlwind
But now the rain''s cold
The taste is bitter
And the weight to great to bear
Floundering focus, dismayed by desire, confused despite my cunning
When time rolls, unveiling the end behind these means I am shunning, it will be...
Better than running barefoot through a warm rain
Sweeter than honey smothered over fields of sugar cane
Lighter than feathers in a whirlwind
But now the rain''s cold
The taste is bitter
And the weight to great to bear
And all that''s left I can think to say is "I am so very very sorry."
And hope that I might somehow be forgiven
And all that''s left I can think to do is pray that you find a love that''s better
And hope you still believe that you''re beautiful
If yesterday dictates, I am dead, and I''m held captive by the memory
If tomorrow reigns, we are alive, and we are free
So let it be...! Let it be...!
Better than running barefoot through a warm rain
Sweeter than honey smothered over fields of sugar cane
Lighter than feathers in a whirlwind
Better than running barefoot through a warm rain
Sweeter than honey smothered over fields of sugar cane
And lighter than feathers in a whirlwind
03. Choose Your Own Adventure
Time flies
Sometimes way too fast like this
Time rolls
Sometimes way too slow
Like an arctic ice flow
And I wish that I could turn the page to see where it goes
And I wish that I could turn the page to see where it goes
Things change
Sometimes way too fast like this
Things change
Sometimes way too slow
Like the desert wind blows
And I wish that I could turn the page to see where it goes
And I wish that I could turn the page...
To see if option A yields a better end
Or if it leads to broken hearts and dreams
I''d bet that action B brings me to the wrong end
While C is surely tempting
Improvident, but tempting
Suns rise
And sometimes fall too fast
Like a space rock impact
Dawn arrives
But sometimes dusk comes slow
And I wish that I could turn the page to see where it goes
And I wish that I could turn the page...
To see if option A yields a better end
Or if it leads to broken hearts and dreams
I''d bet that action B brings me to the wrong end
While C is surely tempting
Improvident, but tempting
From here, it matters little: that which I would choose
If I were the bearer of such hyper precognition
So should I snuff the fire? Light the fuse?
Or do I endure and let the embers lay?
04. Lord Mandrake (Why I''m Falling)
I''m full of doubt
I''m full of fear
I''m full of myself
I''m insincere
And I don''t like this road I''m on
I know where it takes me
Alone in regret of who I''ve done wrong
My every dream fading
And I don''t want to be there
I''m full of doubt
I''m full of fear
I''m full of myself
I''m insincere
And I don''t like this road I''m on
I know where it takes me
Alone in regret of who I''ve done wrong
My every dream fading
And I don''t want to be there
Please show me the way that brings me home
I see where I fail and why I''m falling
Throughout roughs the diamond begs the stone
And carves into hearts that hear him calling
I''m full of hope
I''m learning faith
I''ve doubt in myself
You''ve given grace
Please show me the way that brings me home
I see where I fail and why I''m falling
Throughout roughs the diamond begs the stone
And carves into hearts that hear him calling
Please show me the way that brings me home
I see where I fail and why I''m falling
Throughout roughs the diamond begs the stone
And carves into hearts that hear him calling
05. Power of One
Sometimes I look around at things I''d like to change
I don''t know how
One man, one life to live, one choice to sieze the day
None better than now
Sometimes I will live around the things I wish would change
It''s killing me how
One man, one revolution, a life more than a phase
Is being turned down
One shot at life
One target to aim for
One flight to make the goal
Released with many others from their sling
Who will you bring?
Who will you follow home?
Sometimes I see the timeline for who did what and why
Who''s impact never fades?
Who''s ripple altered generations, saved millions, and split time?
Is still a thriving wave
One man. One man.
One man to twelve to a world who hated them
One truth. The truth.
For Truth twelve died, there was no compromise
One shot at life
One target they aimed for
Each made their closure known
One flight. One light.
Their words screamed eternal life in paradise
I''ll join their journey home
Prophetic maps were lain to prove His claims today
This Jesus won''t go away
He said that He is the way
You cannot kill what He''s made
They''ve fought for 2,000 years
To keep His wave from the piers
His message still flooded my ears
I''m one in billions
How far will my voice go?
Thank God I''m not alone
Kudos to those who''s lives made the river flow so I would know
What one man does can grow
One shot at life
One target to aim for
One flight to make the goal
Released with many others from their sling
Who will you bring?
Who will you follow home?
06. Blue
I''ve loved a girl with a golden smile
so gorgeous the dreams do not subside
I offer all
She withdraws
You love a child with a wayward heart
Torn, forlorn, but still, Your love abides
You offer all
I withdraw
And the blue petals fall
And the blue petals fall
And I wonder
Do they even need the thorns?
And I wonder
Do you even need the thorns?
And the blue petals fall
And the blue petals fall
And I wonder
Do they even need the thorns?
And I wonder
Do you even need the thorns?
07. Forfeit
This fever won''t break, and my body is breaking
On the inside I ache as this fear robs my sanity
Trapped in this place, I am weak, I am subject to my
Extravagant nightmares and this pessimist''s toil
Have I really lost it all?
I see it now
I see the beauty I forfeit
I feel it now
How could I turn my back on all I was longing for?
How long will this take? Should I fight? Should I wait?
My God, help me cope
For her sake
In the wake of contengent events
Bringing the final fate in face of the fool
When I''ve found I''ve lost it all!
I see it now
I see the beauty I forfeit
I feel it now
How could I turn my back on all I was longing for?
I find it so hard to receive when times change like shifting sand
But if I refuse to believe it''s true I''ll be buried within it
My soul screams for all to restore. My head thinks he''s got it right
My heart bleeds for love from a jewel to return: all else left behind
I see it now
I see the beauty I forfeit
I feel it now
How could I turn my back to all I was longing for?
I see it now
I see the beauty I forfeit
I feel it now
How could I turn my back to all I was longing for?
This fever won''t break, and my body is breaking
On the inside I ache as this fear robs me
08. My Cry
Can You hear me crying "I surrender!"?
Will You be my only need?
Will You be my covenant defender?
Will You tear my Self from me?
This is certain
I''m a fool
You are correct in
All You do
It seems it''s been so long since I have submitted to this
My ways bring pain while Yours will render unnatural bliss
Can You hear me crying "I surrender!"?
Will You be my only need?
Will You be my covenant defender?
Will You tear my Self from me?
This is certain
I need grace
Just like the man who
Forgot his face
I started out so strong but now it''s beginning to fade
Once more I step out onto water, again I need raised
From under the waves
Can You hear me crying "I surrender!"?
Will You be my only need?
Will You be my covenant defender?
Will You tear my Self from me?
Can You hear me crying "I surrender!"?
Will You be my only need?
Will You be my covenant defender?
Will You tear my Self from me?
09. Solace
So I haven''t much to say
And my words don''t mean much anyway
These feelings: We''ve all felt
These cards: We''ve all been dealt
No, I''m not a wiser man
I simply know where rock meets sand
This thought: Where solace swells
This place: I do not dwell
This place: I do not dwell
10. Cords of Orion
The dawn
The deep
The light''s dwelling
It''s absence and the refraction
The flood
The gale
The crashing hail
The flash and followed diffraction
All bring wonder
Could there be a greater God?
Awe sparks wonder
Could there be a greater God?
The moon
The sun
The stars are strung
As Bear and the cords of Orion
The harp
The song
For a rightous throng with
The Lamb on the Mountain of Zion
All bring wonder
Could there be a greater God?
Awe sparks wonder
Could there be a greater God?
All bring wonder
Could there be a greater God?
Awe sparks wonder
Could there be a greater...