After being the target of a very aggressive driver on the highway, I followed my "assailant" to the discount tarp store he was in such a hurry to get to. Upon discovering that the driver was easily in his 70s, and had his equally aged wife in the car, I felt it was appropriate to confront him about his dangerous driving - as a heated debate over acceptable driving techniques devolved into an argument about age and authority, I brought the focus back to the danger of irresponsible, aggressive driving. The man's wife then piped up and said "Well, the Lord is our protection!" I asked who was protecting me and the others around them, and if he had caused an accident, would it have been the Lord's fault for slacking off in his protection duties? Understanding that the argument would go nowhere, and that I did not confront this man because of differences in philosophy, I told him to drive more courteously and went on my way.
After considering the statement "The Lord is our protection", I thought about how many people who have used that phrase have met a grisly fate. The definition of "Lord" is completely subjective. One person's "Lord" may be philosophically opposed to another who calls their deity by the same name. And further, many who place themselves subject to "the Lord" sorely misrepresent the "Lord" they think they serve.
So the majority of this song is a play on words, and not an attack on any person or set of beliefs. It is an observation, cleverly disguised through linguistics as a factual assertion about a particular religion.
lyrics
If the Lord is your protection you're gonna be surprised to find the Lord is not on your side.
You've got it right! Don't get me wrong,
But I'm just as right as you've been and you're just as right as I've been all along.
What to bless? (Hallelujiah!) and what to curse? (Oh, God damn!)
What is left and what is right? What is black and what is white? Oh my God!
If the Lord is your protection you're gonna be surprised to find the Lord is not on your side.
With the Lord as your protection,
Don't be surprised. Lord, He's gonna let you down.
But you'll say "Oh no, He's got a promise!"
Oh but admit it. Admit it, you're harboring some deep deep doubts.
If the Lord is your protection you're gonna be surprised to find the Lord is not on your side.
Well, He's gonna choose who he answers, He's gonna choose who he saves.
He's gonna choose who starves, and who's around to live another day.
Everybody's got a different "Lord". Everybody's got their own way.
But everybody thinks that they know just what Ol' Lord, he's got to say.
If the Lord is your protection you're gonna be surprised to find the Lord is not on your side.
credits
from Get Down To Business,
released November 20, 2009
Branden Mann : Vocals and Guitar
Tommy Ufkes : Drums and Vocals
Bill Clements : Bass Guitar
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