A track from the In These Silent Days album.
A song parable about a ‘god-fearing man’ who rejected displaced people at the border, and found when he arrived at his heaven, he too was rejected to hell.
(special mention of two fantastic sources – The interview with Zane Lowe from Apple Music, and the track by track breakdown with Rachel Brodsky from Stereogum.)
In an interview with Zane Lowe from Apple Music, Brandi said of this song
“The mechanism by which the Christian faith has been most abusive to humanity…. isn’t the total rejection of LGBTQIA+ people, which it’s also responsible for, or it embracing of slavery and denying every piece of progress that American humankind has tried to make of the course of the last, you name it, amount of decades. It would be it’s rejection and marginlisation of displaced people, refugees, asylym seekers.” She continued, “It felt really good to sing those lyrics, and I don’t know if it’s helping anybody, but it’s helping me sleep at night.”
In the track by track breakdown of In These Silent Days, that Brandi Carlile did with Rachel Brodsky of Stereogum, Brandi said of this track, “To me, there’s nothing on planet Earth more maddening than the religious right’s rejection of displaced people. It’s just baffling. It could only be from a place of abstract evil, that there would be anything Christian about the concept of rejecting someone who’s had to leave their home, which no one wants to do for any reason, war, hunger, unrest, economic impact. For any reason that a person should become displaced and then systematically rejected is just antithetical to everything… I won’t even use the word “Christian,” but everything Gospel-based.” She discussed the phrase “god-fearing man” from the song, “Well, because I realize that’s the powerful delusion. I realize that the powerful delusion foretold in scripture will be a complete rejection of love and generosity and enduring patience, tolerance, mercy, that it’s the faith revealing itself in ourselves every day. And it’s renewable. We can fix it. We can change as a species if we want to. It’s not hurtling towards some fiery end. It’s a living, breathing faith.”
There is an alternative version on the Canyon Haze delux version.
Sinners, Saints, and Fools
Where the winds of change were blowin’
There lived a God-fearing man
He was turning through his Bible
When he came up with a plan
He painted up a sign
And held it high above his head
Waved it proudly in the air, and this is what it read
You can’t break the law
There are reasons for the rules
I keep things safe here for everyone
The sinners, saints, and fools
The poor and huddled masses
Who are hungry and afraid
You gotta do it by the Book and there’ll be
No exceptions made
To the weary, desperate souls
Who washed up on the sand
He said, “We hadn’t seen your paperwork”
And he withdrew his hand
You know he never felt any safer
All the peace he hoped he’d find
And up until the day he died
He never changed his mind
You can’t break the law
There are reasons for the rules
They gotta keep it safe here for everyone
You sinners, saints, and fools
The poor and huddled masses
Who are hungry and afraid
You gotta do it by the Book or there’ll be
No exceptions made, yeah
By the time he got to Heaven
It was surrounded by a wall
The pearly gates were locked up tight
The golden chains and all
They said, “We cannot let just anyone
Walk in here anymore
You didn’t do it by the Book, “
And then they pointed to the floor
You can’t break the law
There are reasons for the rules
I keep things safe here for everyone
You sinners, saints, and fools
The poor and huddled masses
Who are hungry and afraid
You gotta do it by the Book and there’ll be
No exceptions made
No
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Phillip John Hanseroth / Timothy Jay Hanseroth / Brandi Marie Carlile
Sinners, Saints and Fools lyrics © Songs Of Universal Inc., Music Of Southern Oracle
