Eulogy
Today, all the sources would agree
That the day of their death was a cold dark day
Scuttled, ships have blocked the sea
And the pallid light of morning melts into an ashy gray
And goodbye to everything
Sayonara everyone
They are tired
Write the eulogy
No one understood a word they said
Hailed them all as kings up upon a pedestal
Their names scribbled on a parchment piece
Would sink like any ship listing fast from ruptured hull
And goodbye to everything
Sayonara everyone
They are tired
Write the eulogy
And I saw them as they passed
It was like a millstone cast
Far into the deep blue sea
The murky sea is black, dismal and so deep
Millstones rocket through the dark into its icy keep
A resting place for broken ships
A cemetery for the humble
No one's here to make you stumble
If Jesus Christ is true
Then I am mostly lies
If Jesus Christ is Love
Then I have failed to try
If Jesus Christ is Life
Then please just let me die
Let...this...die...
And goodbye to everything
Sayonara everyone
They are tired
Write the eulogy
And I saw them as they passed
It was like a millstone cast
Far into the deep blue sea
Comments: Reese said that this would be the song that everyone would think is about the band breaking up... but that it's not. And by far Eulogy is the song on the album most deserving of a close look. So... here's my attempt to explain this song stirring up so much discussion among fans, from what I've heard from Reese, from what I've seen in the Bible, and from what knowledge I can gather from myself and message boarders...
"But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck." -Mark 9:42
"...it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!" -Matthew 18:6-7
Ideally, Five Iron Frenzy would merely be members in a band proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ. God would always get the spotlight. Everyone who heard their songs would focus on the message, not the messengers. Unfortunately, we live in a world where nothing seems to work ideally, and it's all but impossible for fans to look completely past the band to the God they point to. Five Iron Frenzy gets the spotlight. Five Iron Frenzy gets the praise of their adoring fans. And even when God *is* glorified, the band is still there -- they never leave our peripheral vision.
Eulogy is about that. Eulogy is about letting Five Iron Frenzy die -- not Five Iron Frenzy as a band, but Five Iron Frenzy as the ones singing the songs. About completely erasing Five Iron Frenzy from existence, from memory, from attention. About the perfect world, where only the message remains. Only God remains. No one's here to make you stumble.
By signing up to carry the message of the love of Jesus Christ, Five Iron Frenzy also signed up to be the stumbling block between the message and its hearers. That's just how people are -- it's always easier to look to man than to God, even when man is undeniably flawed and imperfect, especially in comparison with God's glory, truth, and perfect love.
So many times the message is lost in the hype. No one understands a word they say, but willingly place the band on a pedestal with all the other famous, and even humble and admirable, yet undeniably mortal "heros". They seek after autographs -- mere names scribbled on a piece of paper -- to show to their friends, or even just for a keepsake. And while no one says you cant admire someone for their work, the fact is that somehow, despite the best of intentions, God is forced to share the spotlight.
On the day of Five Iron Frenzy's death, the ideal day that the band strives for yet never seems to reach despite their every effort, the band would be cast into the sea with millstones hung around their necks, never to be heard from again. There would be nothing standing between the message and the hearers.
Jesus Christ would be all that remains.
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