No Heaven

I've been writing a rather lengthy post about Creation and related stuff, but it's not ready yet. In the meantime, maybe you want to ponder this song with me. I've heard No Heaven by DJ Champion many times on SONiC and I have also heard some people voice their dislike for the song. It has quite the catchy tune and I dig the beat, but I think some people have misgivings about the lyrics. I wonder if there are lots of Christians out there who don't like this song. Well, I want to just go over exactly what I think this song is talking about and what it seems to resemble.

Here's the lyrics:

No Heaven - DJ Champion

Oh lord (oh lord)...

Oh boy well I've told you
Well I told you but I thought you'd know
There ain't no heaven
Oh lord, there ain't no heaven
There ain't no heaven
On the county road

Don't talk about it
Boy oh boy, don't talk about it
Don't talk about it
If you do, I'll cry
Don't come around me
Oh lord, don't come around me
Don't come around me
If you do, I'll die

Oh lord, there ain't no heaven
Oh lord, there ain't no heaven

Down at the station stood my dear old mother
Oh well she keep on, keep on screamin' and a cryin'
"Oh lord I wonder what my son has done"

Oh lord, there ain't no heaven
Oh lord, there ain't no heaven
Oh lord

Did you bring me, bring me any silver
He didn't bring me, bring me any gold
Oh did you see me, workin' on South Carolina
Just to see me work on the county road

Oh lord (oh lord), there ain't no heaven
Oh lord (oh lord), there ain't no heaven
(Oh lord, oh lord)

There ain't no heaven (there ain't no heaven)
(Oh lord, there ain't no heaven)
Oh lord (oh lord), there ain't no heaven.

I didn't get these lyrics straight from the song, I got them off the internet. I might change some of the punctuation if I was copying it down though (I did change some of the lyrics that were way off after listening to the song a bunch). Our speaker here is talking to a boy. If you remove the refrains and read it like a complaint to someone else, it seems to work well. You can then read the focus as being on the bad circumstances that this person has been through, rather than assuming she is discussing the fact that there is no heaven. The speaker is observing what is happening around her and sees tragedy. She can't even talk about some of it, she sees a mother lamenting over what her son has done, and she has been working on the county road for what seems to be no pay. The refrain of "oh lord, there ain't no heaven" then becomes a lament telling us that there is no justice in the world. It really reminds me of the lament psalms we have in the Bible.

Check out Psalm 88

O LORD, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you.
May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength.
I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily upon me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.

You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?

Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
But I cry to you for help, O LORD;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death;
I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend.

I would say that Psalm 88 has the speaker beat if you are comparing problems. I think "No Heaven" can be read as directing the complaint towards God as well, but I guess that is where some may disagree with me. I enjoy the song, in fact I see more Christian discussion and overtones in it than most other music that I listen to. Remember guys and gals, theology is a discussion, and if you want to talk about God, you have to be willing to listen to what other people have to say. Even if that means listening to someone talk about how horrible God is. I mean, the Bible seems to have done that first. And really, I'm not just trying to "Christianify" a song that seems to be atheistic, I'm just trying to listen to the discussion.

Oh and make sure you send a comment my way. It's hard to have a discussion with yourself.