It feels like this year is fast tracking past us as we enter March of 2023! It only feels like last week was New Years for me. During the month of March, the Church is in the season of Lent where we reflect on the final weeks of Jesus’ life on earth before He gave His life for us on The Cross for us and our sins. During this time it is also common practice to give up something, maybe a habit or action, to help remind us that Christ gave his life for us. I really like the way Pastor Drew explained Lent as we are “dead to sin and alive in Christ”. I was in-between song choices to review for this month until Taylor Powell suggested that I review the song that her, Pastor Drew, and Sarah Kahl did a beautiful performance of on February 26th called “Ashes of Eden” by the band Breaking Benjamin. You may recall that this is one of the bands that Taylor, Pastor Drew, and I went to see perform at the Civic Center last year.
“Will the faithful be rewarded
When we come to the end?
Will I miss the final warning
From the lie that I have lived?”
Breaking Benjamin is a rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Some classify them as a ‘religious band’ due to some of their songs having spiritual ties, such as this one, although the band themselves haven’t classified themselves as a religious band. When researching this song I found that the lead singer, Ben Burnley, doesn’t give a straightforward meaning about this song, but he would rather have the band’s listeners pull their own meaning out of the song; I’d imagine that this same idea is applied to the band’s overall sound as well.
“Stay with me, don’t let me go
Because there’s nothing left at all
Stay with me, don’t let me go
Until the ashes of Eden fall”
The lyrics of the song initially sound like a love song, but with a closer analysis we deduce that this song is a call to God. The mood of the song even ties into the theme of Lent of being in a reflective state with its light and airy feel. After listening to the song again I realized just how good of a job Taylor did when she sang it and how well Sarah and Pastor Drew did playing it.
“Don’t let go, don’t let go
Don’t let go, don’t let go
Don’t let go, don’t let go”
Of course, I had to do the YouTube test to find out if there was a music video for the song, and there was! The only thing is the video was somewhat confusing as it didn’t align with my idea of the song. The video started out with an astronaut floating through space and it seemed as though they had fallen off the spaceship they were on. Another astronaut tries to rescue them but their cord that attaches them to the spaceship isn’t long enough or strong enough so it severs, sending both of them hurtling into the earth’s atmosphere’s gravitational pull. If you’ve ever seen any sci-fi movie or have done your astrophysics homework, you’d know that this was a very dangerous height for an astronaut to fall from due to the air causing friction between it and the speed of the falling pair of astronauts. They end up bursting into flames while holding onto one another. By the time they reach earth they are only ashes raining down. I needed an explanation so I took to the article I mentioned earlier with Ben Burnley, the lead singer. He had more of an explanation for the video which was that it was a science fictional take on Adam and Eve. The astronauts falling to earth takes place millions of years before the ending of the video (which I’ll leave as a surprise) happens. I ended up enjoying the video as I have a strong belief in the ending of the video as it kind of explains how energy never dies.
“Why can’t I hear you?
Stay with me, don’t let me go (don’t let go, don’t let go)
Because there’s nothing left at all (don’t let go, don’t let go)
Stay with me, don’t let me go (don’t let go, don’t let go)
Until the ashes of Eden fall (don’t let go, don’t let go)”
I really enjoyed Taylor’s version of this song welcoming the Lent season. There are other versions, including an acoustic version, that I was able to find online by other artists. I even enjoyed checking out the video and the curiosity it gave me to find out more about it. I hope this song helps you get into the vibe for Lent and helps you get into a reflective state and I hope you’ll join us in worship at Church of the Cross, online or in person, this Lenten season.
“Heaven above me, take my hand (stay with me, don’t let me go)
Shine until there’s nothing left but you”
References:
“Breaking Benjamin – Ashes of Eden (Official Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 14 July 2016
Contributors, HowStuffWorks.com. “Meteors Burn up When They Hit the Earth’s Atmosphere. Why Doesn’t the Space Shuttle?” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 9 Nov. 2022.
Songfacts. “Ashes of Eden by Breaking Benjamin – Songfacts.” Song Meanings at Songfacts .