Put Down the Crown

The stadium is empty now
The echo has faded out
Did you close your eyes in the chorus?
Did you sing with a faithful shout?

It's so easy to drift on the ocean of sound
Where the water is warm and you never drown
But did you hear the words we placed in the track?
We gave you the throne, and you took it right back

Did you sing along to the atmosphere of me?
Did you feel the spirit, or just dopamine?
We built you a mirror and called it a king
A beautiful idol, a comforting thing
The melody healed, but the seed didn't die
Did you sing along to the lie?

And before you think I'm judging from above
I know that room
I know that blinding love
I know the back door and the parking lot outside
I waited by the fries with nowhere left to hide
I didn't leave because I saw it all so clear
I left because the mirror showed me here

Amos was weeping right there in the aisle
He saw the production, the lights, and the smile
He said, “Take away the noise of your beautiful songs”
But not for silence
Listen what comes next along
“Let justice roll like water, strong and free”
The test of the room is the river that leaves

Did you sing along to the atmosphere of me?
Did you feel the spirit, or just dopamine?
We built you a mirror and called it a king
A beautiful idol, a comforting thing
The melody healed, but the seed didn't die
Did you sing along to the lie?

No anger tonight, just a heavy regret
How quickly we praise what we ought to forget
We metabolize rhythm, we swallow the chord
We dress up our boundaries and call them the Lord

So play the tape back
Listen close to the line
Was I worshipping me?
I was
For years
That's how I know the song

The letters came
The warnings, too
They asked for the seed, but the seed withdrew

I built a fire from the words You sent
The heavy calls to just repent
They threatened the throne where Egon sits
So I tore the truth into little bits
I watched them burn, I felt the heat
I warmed my pride by the fire at my feet
A comfortable warmth in the dead of the night
Defending my boundaries, proving I’m right

But when the morning came around
I saw the soot upon the ground
I needed a savior to ease the blame
But one that wouldn't demand the same

So I built a pocket god of clay and ash
Swept from the ruins of my own backlash
I gave him a smile, but I left out the voice
A beautiful idol who gives me the choice
He fits in my hand, he’s totally tame
He blesses my ego and whispers my name
He’s perfectly safe, he won't question my creed
The ultimate answer to everything I need

I mixed the dust with a drop of my tears
Just enough sorrow to cover the fears
I sculpted the eyes, but I made them blind
So he wouldn't look at the mess in my mind
Isaiah was right, it’s a tragic charade
I burned up the cedar, and worshipped the shade
I kept the religion, but canceled the cross
And Egon is happy without any loss

But when the morning came around
I saw the soot upon the ground
I needed a savior to ease the blame
But one that wouldn't demand the same

So I built a pocket god of clay and ash
Swept from the ruins of my own backlash
I gave him a smile, but I left out the voice
A beautiful idol who gives me the choice
He fits in my hand, he’s totally tame
He blesses my ego and whispers my name
He’s perfectly safe, he won't question my creed
The ultimate answer to everything I need

He doesn’t flip tables
He doesn’t demand
He’s perfectly scaled to the size of my hand
I told him exactly what he has to say
“You're doing just fine
You're okay
You're okay”

Pocket God
Safe for Egon

I built a house of cards and called it holy ground
I dressed you up in grace and loved the sound
I burned the incense just to keep you in the room
I took a human heart and made a tomb
I thought I worshipped heaven, but I worshipped how I felt
I needed you to save me from the cards that I was dealt

But a pocket god will crumble in your hand
And a cardboard sanctuary cannot stand
I took you off the altar, I stepped out of the choir
I’m the guy who left the building, I’m the witness by the fire
No more singing to the shadows in the nave
I let you be a human, not the savior I would crave

I held the shadow when the real thing walked away
I thought the bleeding was the price I had to pay
We use the heavens just to regulate our mind
We trade the heavy truth for comfort we designed
I wore the cut, I felt the blade, I let the temple fall
And found that God was never mine to own or cage at all

I couldn’t sing the bridge, I couldn’t raise my hands
I finally understood the Maker’s true demands
You’re not the light
You’re not the cure
You’re just like me
I drop the idol in the dust to set us free
I don't need the atmosphere to make me feel secure
I trade the golden magic for the grey and for the pure

The smoke is clearing now
The cards are on the floor
I’m not building anymore
Just a witness in the grey
The coals still glow
Let's cook breakfast and start the day

The coals still glow
The morning has begun
I have laid the crown down
I'm learning how to follow

I built my answers high enough to hide
I called it wisdom when it kept You outside
Egon wore the crown, I called the kingdom mine
You said, “Follow Me”
I called retreat divine

I lay down the crown
I take up my cross
I held my life
And feared its loss
You said, “Follow Me”
I'll walk after You
The life I lose for You
Is found in following You

The little god is silent, I no longer write his lines
The crown is on the table with the claims I called divine
There is a human face where I had raised a shrine
I let that heart be human, the next step is mine

I lay down the crown
I take up my cross
I held my life
And feared its loss
You said, “Follow Me”
I'll walk after You
The life I lose for You
Is found in following You

Follow Me

I turn to You
The veil is taken away
Let my mind be made new
Shine Your light into my heart

I lay down the crown
I take up my cross
I held my life
And feared its loss
You said, “Follow Me”
I'll walk after You
The life I lose for You
Is found in following You

The crown stays here
The road begins
After You
One step