Recently we reported on Switchfoot leaving Columbia Records, a major music label. Because many of us as Christians are proud of how Switchfoot did, we were discussing why this happened to Switchfoot. I noted that the problem was just that Switchfoot did not garner enough radio hits or a high enough level of sales to keep the mainstream label happy. (We'll see if Relient K can manage to get to the required level at Capitol Records over the next couple years.) However, I may have found something else that Switchfoot does that few others in their high-profile position pulls off. Check out these lyrics for "American Dream", off of their latest, Oh! Gravity.
When success is equated with excess
The ambition for excess wrecks us
As top of the mind becomes the bottom line
When success is equated with excessIf your time ain’t been nothing for money
I start to feel really bad for you, honey
Maybe honey, put your money where your mouth’s been running
If your time ain’t been nothing but moneyI want out of this machine
It doesn’t feel like freedomChorus:
This ain’t my American dream
I want to live and die for bigger things
I’m tired of fighting for just me
This ain't my American dreamWhen success is equated with excess
When we’re fighting for the Beamer, the Lexus
As the heart and soul breath in the company goals
Where success is equated with excess‘Cause baby’s always talkin’ ‘bout a ring
And talk has always been the cheapest thing
Is it true would you do what I want you to
If I show up with the right amount of bling?Like a puppet on a monetary string
Maybe we’ve been caught singing
Red, white, blue, and green
But that ain’t my America,
That ain’t my American dream
What strikes me is how this song goes against what most everyone in this country of America believes in and is living for. Many Christians give Switchfoot a hard time about not sharing their faith or talking about Jesus enough in their music, but it seems to me that they're too obsessed with typical "ministry" to see that these guys are busy preaching the Gospel for both Christians and non-Christians. Seriously, if you want some music that will challenge you to look deeper into yourself and Christ, take a good listen to Switchfoot. They have important stuff to say, much more than most that are proud of being "Christian".