No, “Oh! Gravity” isn’t a new way to curse… it’s Switchfoot’s newest album. I’ve been listening to the album for a few days and I thought I’d share some of my thoughts about the album here… If you are American and one of my peers then you already know who Switchfoot is, so skip this paragraph. For everyone else: Switchfoot is a band. The members are Christians (though they don’t bill themselves as a “Christian band”). Their music is usually found in the Alternative or Rock section, so chances are if this paragraph is news to you, then you wouldn’t like their music. That said, the lyrics in their songs have a lot of truth in them and that’s what I want to talk about now.

I could go on and on about most of the songs on the album and tell you how they relate to me and why this is my favorite album right now, but that would bore most of you. So I’ll just share my thoughts on two of them: American Dream and Faust, Midas And Myself. They are two very different songs but both have the same basic theme, here are the lyrics:

When success is equated with excess
The ambition for excess wrecks us
When top of the mind becomes the bottom line
When success is equated with excess

…

I want out of this machine
It doesn’t feel like freedom

This ain’t my American dream
I want to live and die for bigger things
I’m tired of fighting for just me
This ain’t my American dream

When success is equated with excess
When we’re fighting for the beamer, the lexus

…

Like a puppet on a monetary string
Maybe we’ve been caught singing
Red, white, blue, and green
But that ain’t my America,
That ain’t my American dream
Lyrics of American Dream by Switchfoot

This one’s about a dream
I had last night
How an old man tracked me home
And stepped inside
Put his foot inside the door
And gave a crooked smile
Something in his eyes
Something in his laugh
Something in his voice
That made my skin crawl off

He said I’ve seen you here before
I know your name
Yeah, you could have your pick
Of pretty things
You could have it all
Everything at once
Everything you’ve seen
Everything you’ll need
Everything you’ve ever had in fantasies

…

I woke up from my dream
As a golden man
With a Girl I’ve never seen
With Golden skin
I jump up to my feet
She asked me what was wrong
I began to scream
I don’t think this is me
Is this just a dream?
Or really happening, happening

…

I looked outside the glass
At golden shores
Golden ships and masts
With golden cords
As my reflection passed
I hated what I saw
The Golden eyes were dead
A thought passed through my head
A heart that is made of gold can’t really beat at all

…

I woke up as before
But the gold was gone
My wife was at the door
With a night robe on
My heart beat once or twice
And life flooded my veins
Everything had changed
My lungs had found their voice
And what was once routine
Was now the perfect joy
Lyrics of Faust, Midas And Myself by Switchfoot

I love these lyrics and although America is mentioned specifically we’re not the only ones with golden hearts. This is a huge problem in Ukraine too. Not a day goes by that I don’t see young people flaunting their feature-filled phones in the faces of “friends.” Still, I don’t want to remove any of our fault… maybe we have been caught singing red, white blue and green. I don’t know about you but I want to live and die for greater things.

Buy “Oh Gravity” from iTunes. I highly recommend it.