Don't Keep Me Up Here: Notes on “The Ground” – track four from the CD "because there’s nothing outside," companion piece to the book, "god in chains"

Don't Keep Me Up Here: Notes on “The Ground” – track four from the CD because there’s nothing outside, companion piece to the book, god in chains:

  An Imagined Jesus is the voice telling the story in this song. An imagined Jesus (aren’t they all?!) who is tired of people placing him up there in the sky, pretending that he wasn’t really a man, but some god “out there” who put on a man-mask for theological purposes only…in other words, the belief is that there was nothing blessed or holy about Jesus’ humanness, because there is nothing blessed about “human” at all- and, while you’re at it, throw the earth in there as well.  

As you might guess, I believe differently.   My experience of human is that, yes, we are sometimes terrifying, AND that we are equally if not more beautiful; And the planet? Well, I have only experienced the “holy” and “blessed” here, in a million different ways.  I don’t know if it exists anywhere else.  I’d be afraid to miss something if I insisted that the “divine” was only, truly “out there” in some other place that isn’t here, and that can’t be found in humanity.  I understand someone feeling that way, but it simply is not my experience.

And so, we have these characters in the song, each wishing they were somewhere else besides here. And we have Jesus saying “Don’t keep me up here” with those earth- and human-hating beliefs.

The whispering at the top of the track is a prayer I learned in my childhood, The Act of Contrition.  It’s a truly terrifying homage to the hatred of one's humanness… “Oh my god I am heartily sorry for having offended thee…etc…etc...”

I have a memory of going to confession during catholic mass once when I was a kid. Up above the priest’s door the sign said "Fr. Harnett," which was the absolute worse thing for my siblings and I to see up there.  Father Harnett was something like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons: old and balding and eternally grouchy…It was no small act of bravery for me to enter that confessional.  Now, I was a good kid- I knew my prayers well, including the aforementioned god-I’m-a-piece-of-shit recital called the Act of Contrition. The problem was that just at the moment Father Burns asked me to say the stupid prayer, they broke into song outside in the church.  It was a song I liked- and, like today, my musical ear will easily take me away if entertained by a pleasant melody.  The best I could do was offer up to Father Burns, who obviously had no similar musical ear, nor a sense of humor, some kind of hybrid of the Act of Contrition and Hosanna In the Highest! I don’t remember his punishment- probably that I had to go home and say the prayer 200 times before I would be forgiven...
...and also, that I would remember displeasing Father Harnett for the rest of my life!

On the recording, the prayer-whispering was sent through a tape delay effect so that by the second half of the song it has fed back on itself so much that it has become the beautiful/ugly distortion you hear on the quiet verse and chorus.  Quite fitting, I think!

The chord changes on the chorus were suggested by my good friend, Danette Christine- I think it lifted the song to a more “divine” place than it was before…

The Ground

i know a girl named suzie who channels wisdom from the dead

they sit around mulling over the questions rolling ‘round her head

and the ghosts say “suzie your troubles soon will be gone

along with the hundred haunted memories you don’t want”

and there’s always marshall who dreams about moving up

in the office at midnight sipping on a bitter cup

haven’t seen him in a year now he’s got so many things to do

if you’re gonna get to heaven on earth you gotta push on through

all of these people who want to fly

i can’t blame them so did i

now that i’m up here on this cloud

i just want my feet back on the ground

for sweet maria life has been awful cruel

man if i was in her place i don’t know what i would do

when i drop by to see her i can tell she’s always crying

she’s watering the greener pastures swimming ‘round in her eyes

all of these people who want to fly

i can’t blame them so did i

now that i’m up here on this cloud

i just want my feet back on the ground

i just want my feet back on the ground

i just want to love and lose and hurt like you

i swear there’s nothing wrong

i just want live and die see through your eyes

i swear there’s nothing wrong

there’s nothing wrong

but for you there is a kingdom floating high above your head

and ‘cause you got faith now you’re gonna go there when you’re dead

and then you’re gonna be perfect you’re gonna be without sin

i can hear a billion voices crying “jesus won’t you let me in”

all of you people who want to fly

i can’t blame you so did i

you got me up here on this cloud

i just want my feet back on the ground

i just want my feet back on the ground

don’t keep me up here

don’t keep me up here

don’t keep me up here on this cloud

i just want my feet back on the ground

c 2012 Inkling Music/Strong Left Hook Music, all right reserved

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