Switchfoot has been one of my
favorite bands for as long as I can remember. The first album on my pink iPod
mini in, like, 2004 was “The Beautiful Letdown.” And since those painful brace-face
middle school days, I have been a devout Switchfoot fan.
There’s
something deeply personal about all of Jon Foreman’s lyrics. Even listening to
that old album now, well over ten years later, I catch new pieces of truth,
beautifully worked into the rock sound. This music can bring me to my knees,
can send me to my feet, and can make my voice raw if I belt it out too loudly.
There’s
this one song off of the EP “Edge of the Earth” called “Liberty.” Initially, I
only really liked the song because I caught the Odyssey reference. And I love
Greek mythology, so that was an exciting moment for this nerd. But then I put
the song on repeat and listened.
In
this particular event about Odysseus, he and his crew were sailing by the
infamous island of the Sirens. It was legend that men swam straight to their
deaths because the Sirens so sweetly sang to them, promising to tell them the
secrets of their heart. They were beautiful. Their island was beautiful.
Everything drew these poor saps in, where they were promptly killed. Some
mythology says that the sirens ate them, but regardless, if you made it to the
island, it was probably because your body washed up on shore. RIP.
But
Odysseus was a smart guy. So he brings a ton of beeswax and tells his men to
stuff their ears with it so they would be safe. But Odysseus wanted to hear the
song and what they would tell him, so he tells his guys to tie him to the mast
and not let him out. In fact, he tells sailors to tie him tighter when he begs
to be freed.
He
thought it would make him wiser, that he would know himself better.
As
per usual for a human, he was desperately searching for answers.
The
lines in the Switchfoot song go like this:
Tie
myself up to the mast
Give
up a semblance of control
The
sirens sing, but I let them pass
Because
only you can free my soul
The semblance of control. The thing I am
constantly chasing and seem to hold onto for the briefest of moments before it
slips away. But it’s just a semblance. A fake. There is no reality to it.
Odysseus was still a slave to the sirens as he was floating by because they had
him enraptured. He “had control” because he was tied up to the mast, but his
nature was to run to the thing that he wanted but would eventually kill him. He
could not trust himself.
Are
we so different?
How
often have I toed that line between safety and danger, fighting to hear my sirens? It’s every day. Every
day I run to things that could destroy me, and God holds on tighter because he
sees that I’m swimming straight to the rocks.
Christ
is the rope tying me to the ship. I have no control. I have no power to stop
myself because the enemies are stronger and rise against me. But the Lord maintains his hold on me so I don't run headlong into
my destruction.
And
he gladly does so. No father wants their child to suffer at it’s own hand.
Or
be serenaded by cannibalistic beings.
