Inland

I have been listening to the songs on Jars of Clay’s album Inland since 2014, shortly after it came out. Some of my favourite songs on the album (I have previously written about some of these) include “After the Fight,” “Reckless Forgiver,” “Loneliness and Alcohol,” and “Fall Asleep.” (The amazing video for Fall Asleep can be seen here.) But one song on the album really did not catch my attention until recently: the title track, "Inland." Now I wonder why I did not spend more time reading the lyrics of this song. They are truly brilliant lyrics that speak of the spiritual journey in which we are all engaged. It speaks of faith, abandoning safety, heading further in, holy ground, and the earth of which we are made. Within the song there is an underlying voice that keeps inviting, calling, and comforting: “come on home to me” and “I'll always be here by your side.” The song is a marvellous invitation into the journey of faith. Listen to the song here.

Inland  

There are no streets to walk on
No maps you can rely on
Faith and guts to guide you
Wander til you find you
Only raw desire
A match to give you fire
You have to trust your heart 

You don’t believe in oceans
You, you were a sailor
Who burn your ship and walked on
Far away you walked on
You keep turning inland
Where no man is an island
It's where you're supposed to be 

Woah oh oh-oh-oh
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
You keep heading inland
No man is an island
Come on home to me 

Afraid of your convictions
They said the land will change you
Steady your confession
Your course make no corrections
When you are a stranger
Hold your tongue and wager
Love will set you free
Until it sets you free 

Woah oh oh-oh-oh
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
You keep walking inland
No man is an island
Come on home to me 

Just follow your desire
Leave it all
You're leaving all
Just burn it in the fire 

Everything you once knew
Everyone that knew you
Remove the shoes you came on
Feel the earth you're made from
Pack up all your questions
Just keep heading inland
Come on home to me
Yeah come on home to me 

Woah oh oh-oh-oh
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
You keep walking inland
No man is an island
Come on home to me 

(I'll always be here by your side
I'm always standing next to you
When the darkness hits the light
We can stand against the tides
I'm always standing next to you
I’m always standing next to you
I'll always be here by your side)

Words and music by Charles Lowell, Daniel Haseltine, Matthew Odmark, Nathan Barlowe, and Stephen Mason
^©A Side Music