Walking Far From Home

I was listening to Iron and Wine's "Walking Far From Home" from the album of the same name and was intrigued by the lyrics that contain a myriad of images. Here are the lyrics:

Walking Far From Home

Iron & Wine

I was walking far from home

Where the names were not burned along the wall

Saw a building high as heaven

But the door was so small, door was so small

I saw rainclouds, little babies

And a bridge that had tumbled to the ground

I saw sinners making music

And I dreamt of that sound, dreamt of that sound

I was walking far from home

But I carried your letters all the while

I saw lovers in a window

Whisper, "Warn me like time, warn me like time"

I saw sickness blooming fruit trees

I saw blood and a bit of it was mine

I saw children in a river

But their lips were still dry, lips were still dry

I was walking far from home

And I found your face mingled in the crowd

Saw a boat full of believers

Sail off talking too loud, talking too loud

I saw sunlight on the water

Saw a bird fall like a hammer from the sky

And a woman on a speed train

She was closing her eyes, closing her eyes

I saw flowers on a hillside

And a millionaire pissing on the lawn

Saw a prisoner take a pistol

And say, "Join me in song, join me in song"

Saw a car crash in the country

Where the prayers are like weeds along the road

I saw strangers stealing kisses

Giving only their clothes, only their clothes

Saw a white dog chase its tail

And a pair of hearts carved into a stone

I saw kindness and an angel

Crying, "Take me back home, take me back home"

Saw a highway, saw an ocean

I saw widows in the temple to the Lord

Naked dancers in the city

How they spoke for us all, spoke for us all

I saw loaded linen tables

And a motherless colt and it was gone

I saw hungry brothers waiting

With a radio on, radio on

I was walking far from home

Where the names are not burned along the wall

Saw a wet road form a circle

And it came like a call, came like a call

From the Lord

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Samuel Ervin Beam

Walking Far From Home lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

 

Figure 1: source

The song has obvious religious overtones but the third and fourth lines especially caught my attention:

Saw a building high as heaven

But the door was so small, door was so small 

This seems to be a reference to a passage in the Gospel of St. Luke (see Figure 1) and the Gospel of St. Matthew, that is translated as:

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 

(Matthew 7:13-14 – English Standard Version)

OR 

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

(Matthew 7:13-14 – New International Version)

 

Figure 2: source

It's an easy song to play on guitar. I've worked out the melody and here are the chords, courtesy of Ultimate Guitar:

STANDARD TUNING

CAPO on I

ALL CHORDS RELATIVE TO CAPO

       G                D

I was walking far from home

            Em                       C

Where the names were not burned along the wall

       G                 D

Saw a building high as heaven

        Em                  C

But the door was so small, door was so small

This the best reference that I found to an interpretation of all the lyrics (source):

"I was walking far from home

Where the names were not burned along the walls"

The Revelation uses imagery of the New Jerusalem having 12 foundations with the names of the 12 Apostles written on them, and 12 gates with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel written on them. Seems like an image of Sam's own personal spiritual journey of metaphorically leaving the Holy City.

"Saw a building, high as Heaven

But the door was so small, door was so small"

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." -Jesus, Matthew 7:13. This could be Sam expressing what the church, or at least church culture, looks like from the outside--a big city with tiny gates. Jesus criticised the religious leaders of His day because they "taught as doctrine the commandments of men" and because of that they "neither entered into the Kingdom of God nor allow(ed) those who would do so to enter."

"I saw sinners making music

And I dreamt of that sound, dreamt of that sound"

If we go with the idea of this narrative of someone leaving this "Holy City" that represents restrictive church culture, Sam's hearing the music of the world and being enthralled by it. It could be that these 'sinners' are people who were classified as sinners by those in the Holy City and refused entry, yet their music is so beautiful.

"I was walking far from home

But I carried your letters all along"

Many Evangelicals like to refer to the Bible as a letter from God to man. Most of the New Testament is a collection of letters written to early churches by the Apostles. Sam was walking far from home, but he was still holding onto God in his heart, even though he was out in the world that those in the Holy City separated themselves from.

"I saw lovers in a window

Whisper want me like time, want me like time"

Sam sees people searching for one of our most fundamental desires and needs, love, and finding it in each other, in whatever flawed form it takes.

"I saw sickness bloom in fruit trees

I saw blood and a bit of it was mine"

Jesus often compares believers to trees who bear fruit, good or bad. "Bad fruit does not come from good trees, nor good fruit from bad trees." Sam could be for the first time seeing flaws in the people of the Holy City who would personify themselves as good trees. As for the blood, it's pretty simple that nobody makes it out of life without some wounds, and Sam at this point has left the sterile environment he was used to.

"I saw children in the river

But their lips were still dry, lips were still dry"

"Children"---Jesus loved children, and He said to His disciples, "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore anyone who humbles himself like a child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." "River"---Jesus said "Whoever believes in me, as the Scriptures say, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

I define those terms to explain my interpretation. These children are in the river, which perhaps means they're under the influence of their own Christian families and role models, yet their lips are still dry. Jesus was speaking to a woman at a well outside her city in Samaria--He was, in a way, 'walking far from home' Himself--and He told her, "Whoever drinks of this water will soon be thirsty, but whoever drinks of the water I give them will never be thirsty again." If these kids were drinking of the living water that Jesus gave, they'd never be thirsty again, but their lips are dry. This means Sam sees these kids who are suffering because of the emptiness of their parents.

"I was walking far from home

And I found your face mingled in the crowd"

Walking through the world and being acquainted with all these people, though they're all flawed and imperfect, he still finds God in their midst. Jesus said "The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'Look over there!'; for, behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst." He's everywhere if we want to find Him. Jesus didn't spend hardly any time with religious people or in temples or synagogues, He ate with publicans, prostitutes, drunks, and sinners, which got Him criticized by the religious leaders of His time, and it likely got Sam criticized as well.

"Saw a boat-full of believers

Sail off talking too loud, talking too loud"

Out there in the world, Sam finds believers who aren't perfect, they're too loud, but they're in boats talking loudly together. They're loving each other, which Jesus said the whole world would recognise His followers for.

"I saw sunlight on the water

Saw a bird fall like a hammer from the sky "

Jesus said He saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. After this, the lyrics take a darker turn to show greed, chaos, disaster, despair, but there are still glimmers of light. Seeing as all this happens when the bird falls from the sky, we can assume these things are directly related, and Sam's trying to make a point that evil isn't from God's hand. Things look up when the angel cries out "Take me back home, take me back home," and we come to this imagery:

"Saw a highway, saw an ocean

I saw widows in the temple of the Lord"

Once Jesus was in a temple and He saw the rich people and the Pharisees making extravagant offerings and gifts on the altar, but He saw one poor widow place a single copper coin in the offering plate. He observed, "This woman has truly given more than any of the others." Sam could be making the point that Jesus was making, it's not about extravagance or making a show, it's about the sincerity of the gift.

"Naked dancers in the city

How they spoke for us all, spoke for us all"

In the Old Testament, King David was bringing the Ark of the Covenant which represented the presence of God on earth back to Jerusalem. He lead the whole city in worship in the form of dancing; he himself wore an ephod which wasn't very modest at all and danced his heart out. When he got home, his wife jumped onto him and said basically, "You've made a fool of yourself and showed yourself to all the women in town." His reply was, to sum it up, "I'm just getting started making a fool of myself. You're gonna think I'm a pure heathen by the time it's over with." A whole lot of churches are critical about the way we choose to worship. More pointless man-made laws. Again, it's not about extravagance or looking good, it's about sincerity.

"I saw loaded linen tables

And a motherless colt then it was gone"

Jesus' last stretch of work was a week in Jerusalem. He fulfilled an ancient prophecy by entering the Eastern Gate on a donkey, or a colt. He'd sent His disciples to get it from a house on the road, and He said that if anyone asked what they wanted with it, to tell them, "The Lord has need of it." The loaded linen tables refer to traditional artistic imagery of the Last Supper which happened in Jerusalem. Sam's purpose could be another way of illustrating willing surrender in contrast to that Holy City mentality.

"I saw hungry brothers waiting

With the radio on, radio on"

The disciples arrived to their private Passover feast, and they didn't start until He arrived, as was traditional not to begin without their master/teacher. They likely sang songs or cut up to pass the time. Sam could be trying to paint a picture evocative of the humanity of Jesus and the Apostles, rather than the sterile imagery we see too often from the "Holy City."

"I was walking far from home

Where the names were not burned along the wall

Saw a wet road form a circle

And it came like a call, came like a call from the Lord"

After taking this dirty road from the Holy City all the way through the world, Sam comes back home when the Lord calls him. Maybe he left because of disillusion with the people, maybe he ran from God Himself, but it's clear that Sam found Him in the end, and He doesn't look like what he was used to picturing when he thought of Him.

Blood Testimony on September 12, 2014