When the God of Love Returns, There'll Be Hell to Pay

Listen while you read: Are you sure you want to go here?

When the god of love returns, there'll be hell to pay
Though the world may be out of excuses, I know just what I would say
Let the seven trumpets sound
As a locust sky grows dark
But first, let's take you on a quick tour of your creation's handiwork

Barely got through the prisons and stores
And the pale horse looks a little sick
Says, "Jesus, you didn't leave a whole lot for me
If this isn't hell already, then tell me what the hell is?"

And we say it's just human, human nature
This place is savage and unjust
We crawled out of the darkness and endured your impatience
We're more than willing to adjust
And now you've got the gall to judge us

The spider spins his web
The tiger stalks his prey
And we steal fire from the heavens to try to keep the night at bay
Every monster has a code, one that steadies the shaking hand
And he's determined to accrue more capital
By whatever means he can

Oh, and it's just human, human nature
We've got these appetites to serve
You must not know the first thing about human beings
We're the earth's most soulful predator
Try something less ambitious the next time you get bored

Oh, my Lord
We just want light in the dark
Some warmth in the cold
And to make something out of nothing
Sounds like someone else I know

~ Josh Tillman (Father John Misty)

My guess is that Josh Tillman never met a boat he didn't want to rock. But when he rocks it, you'd better be wearing your best IQ, because he is going to make you question everything you thought you knew. I love this dude. This song with the lengthy title appears on this year's Pure Comedy, an ironic moniker if there ever was one.

In this song, Tillman, who was raised in a severely evangelical home, uses the Apocalypse to explore human nature. I am no Biblical scholar, but if you are, you might recognize the references to the seven trumpets, the locust sky, and the pale horse. He imagines the Creator coming down to judge us after we've pretty much destroyed ourselves. He holds God responsible for our failures, since it was God who gave us free will. Try something less ambitious the next time you get bored.

Just as the spider and the tiger are slaves to their nature, so, too, does humanity seek survival by utilizing the gifts bestowed on it. (Think of intelligence as a gift.) We steal fire from the heavens to try to keep the night at bay. Philosophy, morality, government, and religion are our attempts to keep chaos in check. But when the human becomes gorged with greed and devolves into a selfish, lying, and opportunistic monster, decency is cast aside. (Instead of making a political statement, I'm just going to leave that last sentence there for you to ponder on your own.)

Tillman has noted that the biggest character in the life of an atheist is God, while the biggest character in the life of a Christian is Satan. He argues that we spend more time thinking about the things that we do not believe in than the things we do.

As for me, I believe I'll go make something out of nothing. Maybe a poem, maybe a song. Maybe a prayer.