Flyleaf
New to the national scene, rockers Flyleaf is touring with P.O.D. and brings the vocals of Lacey Moseley to the public ear. With her clear sounds and their hard-rocking beats, this band is certain to grab the attention of rock-minded listeners. What happens when you examine the lyrics of Flyleaf’s songs? You might be surprised what you find, considering some of their future traveling mates, but maybe not.
The clarity of Moseley’s vocals is added to by the lyrics of “I’m So Sick,� as Flyleaf boldly proclaims that with thoughts from their heart, they’re on a mission to make them known. Recognizing that selfishness clouds her thoughts and feelings, she rages on about the dilemma facing her. “If you want more of this/We can push out, sell out, die out/So you’ll shut up/And stay sleeping/With my screaming in your itching ears,� promises Moseley. It seems that complacency is an everyday value the band just won’t accept, so the listener is forewarned that they can run, but if they listen, they’ll be forced to hear.
The story of Layla shames Moseley’s narrator into recognizing the good in her own life in “Fully Alive,� where the girl sung about is happy to love life and be fully alive—even if just for a moment. This self-examination continues in “Perfect,� where Flyleaf recognizes its “perfection in weakness� within the strength of the other. That strength is exhibited in “Cassie,� what I’ll assume is a tribute to the Christians killed at Columbine. The well-documented example of those who knew that claiming Christ would mean death, this high school student dies for believing in God. Flyleaf is setting the bar pretty high for itself—calling for something to believe in worth dying for, and accepting the responsibility for the consequences.
“I’m Sorry� alludes to some past incident that bears marks of trauma, but Moseley’s words bear signs of recovery and healing. Flyleaf’s terminology implies that like a snake’s skin, the past will be left behind—even as the pain of the past is the other’s now. And the working through of Moseley’s pain is accompanied by, if not facilitated by, forgiveness of the abuser. That seems to be appropriate only in light of “All Around Me,� where the love and passion that the singer feels for the other causes a personal experience that can only be described by those who’ve felt it for themselves. That personal experience extends back from the abstractness of the other/Spirit to “Red Sam’s� interaction with the beating that Christ took before his death.
Flyleaf’s response in worship in “Red Sam� continues in their reverence in “There For You,� as the understanding of incompleteness and lacking rise again in Moseley’s singing. Unable to be real and transparent in the ways that the other is, Moseley longs to speak back the words of love that the other says.
The final song, “Breathe Today,� serves as a summation, or a call to follow that Flyleaf wants to leave their listeners with, a challenge to move past the fake behavior and live in a real relationship.
Flyleaf rocks pretty well—and their message, crying for reality and responsibility deserves being heard. It seems that they might have something to say and hopefully folks will listen.
The clarity of Moseley’s vocals is added to by the lyrics of “I’m So Sick,� as Flyleaf boldly proclaims that with thoughts from their heart, they’re on a mission to make them known. Recognizing that selfishness clouds her thoughts and feelings, she rages on about the dilemma facing her. “If you want more of this/We can push out, sell out, die out/So you’ll shut up/And stay sleeping/With my screaming in your itching ears,� promises Moseley. It seems that complacency is an everyday value the band just won’t accept, so the listener is forewarned that they can run, but if they listen, they’ll be forced to hear.
The story of Layla shames Moseley’s narrator into recognizing the good in her own life in “Fully Alive,� where the girl sung about is happy to love life and be fully alive—even if just for a moment. This self-examination continues in “Perfect,� where Flyleaf recognizes its “perfection in weakness� within the strength of the other. That strength is exhibited in “Cassie,� what I’ll assume is a tribute to the Christians killed at Columbine. The well-documented example of those who knew that claiming Christ would mean death, this high school student dies for believing in God. Flyleaf is setting the bar pretty high for itself—calling for something to believe in worth dying for, and accepting the responsibility for the consequences.
“I’m Sorry� alludes to some past incident that bears marks of trauma, but Moseley’s words bear signs of recovery and healing. Flyleaf’s terminology implies that like a snake’s skin, the past will be left behind—even as the pain of the past is the other’s now. And the working through of Moseley’s pain is accompanied by, if not facilitated by, forgiveness of the abuser. That seems to be appropriate only in light of “All Around Me,� where the love and passion that the singer feels for the other causes a personal experience that can only be described by those who’ve felt it for themselves. That personal experience extends back from the abstractness of the other/Spirit to “Red Sam’s� interaction with the beating that Christ took before his death.
Flyleaf’s response in worship in “Red Sam� continues in their reverence in “There For You,� as the understanding of incompleteness and lacking rise again in Moseley’s singing. Unable to be real and transparent in the ways that the other is, Moseley longs to speak back the words of love that the other says.
The final song, “Breathe Today,� serves as a summation, or a call to follow that Flyleaf wants to leave their listeners with, a challenge to move past the fake behavior and live in a real relationship.
Flyleaf rocks pretty well—and their message, crying for reality and responsibility deserves being heard. It seems that they might have something to say and hopefully folks will listen.
15 Comments:
are you kidding! all of those songs are about God, and how he saves us from our sins! yes it may be about lacey's stugles, but it also tells how she looked to God for answers!
hi! Thanks for posting. Yes, I think if you'll read through the review again you'll see I'm not kidding! I do think that quite a few of Flyleaf's songs have Christian-related themes and even talk about God!
I think That What Flyleaf is doing with there talent is good we need more people like that to bring our hope up and not down,like some rock band that pull u down. and so what if there music christian,thats only a positive way of life and makes other listiners wake up from the lie the world has shown them
Thanks for posting! I agree that Flyleaf is definitely doing some good stuff. Hopefully more people will catch on to their message!
these lyrics hit home for me. hey, all us christians didn't come from christian homes and christian families. My before life is f'd up, broken home, drugs, prison, but jesus hugged me when i was unlovely and totally tranformed my life. I haven't see the inside of a jail in 10 years except for doin jail ministry sharin the hope i found. rock on flyleaf, rock on lacey. forgiven much love much, and we may not be as presentable as others, but GOD has a place in HIS Kingdom for us too. tell the peeps who feel unlovely about the jesus who forgives the unforgivable.
i love the art, the expression, the courage to reveal to the damaged side of personal life and grace experienced to reveal redemption. i need more artists like this.
wow so i pured my heart out about how meaningful it was for me to hear this powerful group. and how personal it is becoming for me.
ive just lost my only sibling due to heart failure. he was 25 his name was nigel moseley. we never knew any moseleys growing up im 24 by the way. to lose him. and to take to her song when it plays on the radio..helping me threw this terrible terrible tramatic time in my life. only to find out tonight her last name happens to be moseley also. since lossing my mom a few years back. who raised us on her own. to now lossing the only person i ever knew who shared my givin name. has really made me feel like i am so alone...aside from that he was the last spiritual person i had in my life. i have never felt more alive then i do now. knowing threw and threw how special life is. and how important it is to be able to have a network of friends around. only to find myself surrounded by people who want to treat me as tho i was the one who died.
thanks to you all for being yourself spreading the love and helping me threw my grief, its only been 3 months since he passed. i thought it would only be fair to let you all know how much your music has helped me in very real ways!! sorry im not better with words...and it was so long. but had to give some love back to you all. this is part of me learning to show grattitude while i have the chance...to keep this circle of love going!
also wanted to give a shout out to a band from my town. who also sings a lot about god. and that is evenessance!! have to check it out if you havent already. i also love p.o.d. one of the members is from here too weird how i just now thought of that. little rock truely rocks! lol
oops sorry meant to write give a shout out "about a band"!
WOW! Great comments, folks!
To Matthew, I think it's excellent that you've been giving back to folks in the same places that you were ministered to before. We need more examples of people who returned to where they were before and shone Jesus back through their lives.
To Moseley, it is amazing the power that music has in lifting us up out of those dark places and helping us see what it means to be full of joy. I'm sorry for the loss of your brother and I'm thankful for those people who met you where you were and loved you! Evanescence and P.O.D. rock hard and speak to the truth of Jesus' love in some of the same ways Flyleaf does! That's good music and a good Word all rolled up in one. Thanks for posting, y'all!
Oh My Gosh i love fly but i had no idea that they where a christian band . . . Wait they are a christian band right? cause if they are thats even better im trying to only listen to music thats good cause my old music helped me to develope some bad habbits like swearing and thinking that true love was something that it wasnt well anyway im glad you made this Blog otherwise i would have had no idea that flyleaf had such great messages thanks God Bless!
in Christs love,
Becca
oops my bad i put fly i meant flyleaf sorry
now i find out flyleaf is a christain rock band? seriously hot music but now i feel don't feel right, because i aint chritian (another monothesistic with simular teachings). so wth am i supposed to do? people can y'all give me some solutions? plz thx yall
-the indian guy from the south
Here at HJ, we don't see truth as being something that you can only have as a Christian. While believing fully in Jesus Christ, Flyleaf speaks to situations, emotions and experiences that have common meanings for everyone, whether you are a Christian or not. There are plenty of bands whose music speaks to me but who have very different political, social or religious beliefs than I do. I believe that God shines light into all those situations. Christians believe that Jesus is the one way to God (generally speaking) but Jesus himself sought out people who were not believers. It's an interesting conundrum, and worth considering. I wish you all peace and hope in your faith journeys! Keep reading, writing, and journeying together!
thx bro i see that they re not trying to convert me even if they are labeled as a christain hard rock band. k peace i ll still get my rock on with them.
I just listened to one of flyleaf's songs and liked it. So now I'm trying to learn more about them only to find out that all they sing about is God? Um...I'm not very religious and this band is starting to be a turn off for me. Should I still listen to them?
And sorry moseley, you must not be a big Amy Lee fan because she constantly says that no, her songs have nothing to do with God.
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