|
The Stories Behind the Songs on Single #21
Thu., Nov. 10. 2022 1:35pm EST
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the stories behind the songs on our 21st single of 2022:
ENTER SAMSON
This is actually the third time we've recorded a studio version of "Enter Samson" (the first two were in '94 and '99), and I made some lyrical alterations from the previous version, as I'd done in '99. The 2022 edition is the one that sounds the most like the Metallica's "Enter Sandman" instrumentally, vocally, and lyrically.
We revisited and revamped it to be part of an album-length rock opera about the life of the long-haired, strong-armed biblical antihero. As I was comparing our '99 version with Metallica's original, some lyrics didn't rhyme as well as I would've liked. Moreover, for the purposes of this project, I thought it would be best that Samson didn't give away the secret of his strength in the first verse, as he'd done in our previous versions.
My 11-year-old son, T.J., did the response vocals in the prayer section. We caught him just in time; his voice changed and got deeper in the weeks that followed. When I first asked T.J. if he wanted to do that part, he took the opportunity very seriously and found the original isolated tracks for the Metallica original on YouTube and made himself a loop of the part he would be doing, so he could practice getting the vocal pitch and inflections right.
Rich sang the harmonies throughout the song. We all recorded our vocals on August 17, 2022 at Jimmy's studio, where he'd done the drums in early July. Unfortunately, Jimmy and his wife, Eve, were in a severe motorcycle accident 10 days later, so he was in no condition to prepare the files for mixing until late October.
GAIN IN VAIN (CAN'T BUY ME)
Justice and avarice don't go well together; they're always going to clash. Unfortunately, that has seldom prevented humankind from mixing the two. The Old Testament is replete with warnings against bribery, including these two from Moses, the lawgiver of Israel:
"Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent" (Exodus 23:8) and "Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent" (Deuteronomy 16:19).
That theme continues in the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Prophets, including Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, and Micah. Even King Jehoshaphat gets in on the act, telling the judges he appointed:
"Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery" (2 Chronicles 19:6-7).
Although the New Testament only mentions the word "bribe" once (Acts 24:26), we see bribery occurring in The Gospels when the chief priests pay Judas to betray Jesus and when they pay the Roman soldiers to say the disciples stole Christ's body from the tomb (Matthew 26:14-16 and 28:12-15). And you know how those two instances turned out. Yet the practice continues and, in this case, practice does not make perfect.
|
