4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
Track eight is the second breath song, and it is the tenderest demolition on the album. Earlier drafts of this idea tried to sneer at the altar call - and sneering never lands, and frankly it never sounded like the gospel. So this version stopped attacking the practice and started marveling at the Author. I had it backwards the whole time. I thought I was walking toward you, but you'd already crossed the room.
The genius of the song is that it leaves all the altar-call furniture in place - the card in the pew, the date in the back of the Bible, the certificate on the wall, Just As I Am, the woman who led her through the prayer - but it reframes every piece as something the Author authored. You authored the wanting that walked me up the aisle. You authored every step before I knew there was a step to take. The practice does not get mocked. It gets relativized, which is far more devastating, and far kinder.
And the title carries the whole turn. The decisional gospel says there was a day you chose Him. The song says yes - there WAS a Decision Day, there WAS a yes that fixed it. But the yes wasn't mine. The yes was yours. The yes was it is finished, on a hill, on a Friday, before there was a me to ask. He has been head over feet for me since before there was a me. That is the correction sung as gratitude instead of grievance - and it demolishes the error more completely than any sneer ever could.
Lyrics
[Intro]
I had it backwards
The whole time
I thought I was walking toward you
But you'd already crossed the room
[Verse 1]
You authored the eight-year-old
In the yellow dress
You authored the woman in the back
Who led me through the prayer
You authored the wanting
That walked me up the aisle
You authored the room
You authored the hush
You authored every step
Before I knew there was a step to take
[Pre-Chorus]
I've been telling the story wrong
For thirty years
I thought it was the day I chose you
I thought it was the date I wrote down
But you'd been writing me
Since before the page was bound
[Chorus]
You've been head over feet for me
Since before there was a me
Head over feet for me
Since before the world was wound
And I'm head over feet for the day
You walked into the room I was sitting in
With your name already on me
With the page already mine
[Verse 2]
You authored Just As I Am
You authored the piano
You authored the preacher
With his slow voice on the call
You authored the card in the pew
The date in the back of the Bible
You authored the certificate
That hung on my bedroom wall
You authored every prop
Because you'd already authored me
[Pre-Chorus]
I had it backwards for so long
I thought the moment was the cause
I thought the date was the ground
But the ground was older than the date
The ground was a hill
The ground was a Friday
The ground was you
[Chorus]
You've been head over feet for me
Since before there was a me
Head over feet for me
Since before the world was wound
And I'm head over feet for the day
You walked into the room I was sitting in
With your name already on me
With the page already mine
[Bridge]
There WAS a Decision Day
There WAS a yes that fixed it
But the yes wasn't mine
The yes was yours
The yes was It is finished
On a hill, on a Friday
Before there was a me to ask
No man cometh unto me
Except the Father draw him
And you drew
[Final Chorus]
You've been head over feet for me
Since before there was a me
Head over feet for me
Since before the world was wound
And I'm head over feet for the Author
Who'd been authoring me
Before there was a day to decide
Before there was a me to choose
The Decision was yours
The Decision was yours
[Outro]
The Decision was yours
The Decision was yours
Head over feet
Head over feet
The Decision was yours
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