Under The Blood

'Sell a mirage' says the voice of the cunning
Button-down yes-men market it well
'Sell a mirage and the hordes come running'
Cheap grace rains like pennies from hell
In the cool flame flickers some psychopath stickman
Weeping to the cameras, begging for trust
But the seeds lie here, in a proud heart
Needing your covering under the blood
Under the blood, under the blood, a cover under the blood
Under the blood, under the blood, there's a refuge under the blood

Shutter the room, there's a light penetrating
Stickmen tremble and cover their eyes
Shutter this room, there's a judgment waiting
Cheap grace rains down, quite a surprise!
In the stained-glass ghetto there's a hired hand
Setting up a table in rememberance of no one at all
And if I'm that man, could Your mercy bring me
Back into communion?
Under the blood, under the blood, communion under the blood
Under the blood, under the blood, can You reach me?

Under the blood, there's a light in the hollow
Under the blood, where you lead I will follow
And the blitzkrieg drones
And the bleeding Earth groans
And your comforter heals me, whispering hope
You're alive in the soul of a sinner

Taylor says, "One of the few tracks I recorded that 'never escaped' until 1988's The Best We Could Find compilation, it takes on what Bonhoeffer called the 'cheap grace' mentality so prevalent in modern Christianity. This song never quite achieved its full potential, and I mostly blame my own compositional and arranging missteps (although a better cellist might have saved the string section). But I think the lyrics merit special attention. They were fuelled by one recurring image in particular - that of a disgraced evengelist weeping tears of repentance for a televised audience, yet refusing to step down even temporarily as head of his ministry empire. Too easy of a target? Indeed it was, which is why each verse ends with three long fingers pointing back at me."
(Taken from liner notes to "Now The Truth Can Be Told")

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