Mike Roe, independent artist and front man for the aforementioned The 77's, came out with the Safe As Milk album in 2000. I don't know much about Mike Roe, but if his lyrics say anything about the man, he has deep-seeded struggles, inner turmoil, confusion, and intermittent pain... actually, that sounds a lot like me.
I first heard It's For You on a live album, then picked up the "uncurdled" version (as he calls it). Even though this song came out in 2000, it still falls in category of the brutally honest songs released from mid-80's to mid-90's. For obvious reasons, this "uncurdled" version didn't make it to Christian bookstore shelves.
It's For You
it's a fishbowl fry
it's small potatoes
its some tough tomatoes
when the shit hits the fan
from the fire to the frying pan
so go on, stake a claim
but the lease is a little lame
'cuz the land is a little locked
to any borders or boundaries
it'll leave you in a quandary...
it's a wake-up call
'cuz the thrill of it all
isn't worth the punch
drunken binges only blow your lunch
yes you shot your wad
when you named yourself "God"
but your nickname is "chump"
blowing chunks out your mouth
wisdom out your rump
it's a belching gas
it's a treacherous trip
on a mountainous pass
it's a warning
it's a block
you're the cock 'o th' walk
but you can't walk your talk
it's for you and you and you
it's a freeze-frame still
full of whiskey and bitter pills
it's a catwalk crawl
through one barroom brawl after another
(it's a mother)
so don't look down
'cuz you won't like the drop
it's fun while you're flying
but it's bad when you're lying there
bleeding and dying
it's for you and you and you
it's a bath of sin
with no way to clean up
and no way to win
it's a hardened heart
that attacks when it stops
and you can't make it start again
yes, you're laboring under the law
with all of your foibles
and all of your flaws
you can cut 'em all loose
and save yourself from the hangman
there's no need to be damned
but do you give a dang, man?
whether fortune and fame
or rank poverty
we all rank just the same
'cuz every knee has to bow
to some god of some kind
which one will you choose now?
is it you and you and you?
Once you get past the realization that yes, in thought or in print, Christians do say 1 or all of the 5 words you can't say on television, and look deeper into the song, you will note that the last verse sums up the song nicely, and is a reference to Phillipians 2:10,"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,".
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