This song has perplexed me for so long. I’ve had academic training in deciphering the meaning of poetry through universities. Additionally, I have had so much real life experience within evangelical Christian circles as well as academic biblical scholarship.
Therefore, I thought that this song would be incredibly easy for me to interpret it’s meaning and intent. Nope! I am stuck.
The official video of this song is here.
I’ll break down what I believe some of the lyrics mean and bracket the verses that have left me befuddled.
I can’t say that I love Jesus
That would be a hollow claim
He did make some observations
And I’m quoting them today
All of this seems fairly straightforward to me.
“Judge not lest ye be judged”
What a beautiful refrain
Again, this is easily understood IMO.
The studio audience disagrees
Why wouldn’t they?
Have His lambs all gone astray?
Is this questioning the ‘studio audience’?
The chorus repeats itself three times:
Call me a leper
Call me a leper
Call me a leper
I am not sure what this means.
The rest of the song lyrics are below and I’ll leave those for later discussion.
“You are lost and disillusioned”
What an awful thing to say
I know this show doesn’t flatter
It means nothing to me
I thought I might help them understand
What an ugly thing to see
“I am not an animal”
Subtitled under the screen
When I tried to tell my story
They cut me off to take a break
I sat silent five commercials
I had nothing left to say
Talk show host was index-carded
All organized and blank
The other guests were scared and hardened
What a sad parade
What a sad parade
Happy to do so!