you say you always treat people like you’d like to be
i guess you love being hated for your sexuality
you love when people put words in your mouth
about what you believe
make you sound like a freak
‘cause if you really believed what you say you believe
you wouldn’t be so damned reckless with the words you speak
you wouldn’t silently consent when the liars speak
denying all the dying of the remedy
tell me, brother what matters more to you
tell me, sister what matters more to you
if i can see what’s in your heart by what comes out of your mouth
then it sure looks to me like being straight is all it’s about
yeah it looks like being hated for all the wrong things
like chasing the wind while the pendulum swings
‘cause we can talk and debate till we’re blue in the face
about the language and tradition that he’s coming to save
and meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a shit about
fifty thousand people who are dying today
Is there A Way I could Get The Chords To This Song Sir?
I downloaded Stockholm Syndrome from itunes but it did not have “what matters more”. where can I get it
As of 15 Jun 2011, you can still download “What Matters More” at http://www.derekwebb.com/home
Hey I don’t mean to judge hypocritically on Derek Webb at all. When he uses the words whore and bastard in another song they were fine, but why did he use the words damn and shit in here. I wouldn’t say he is automatically sinning just because he used those words. That would be stupid, but why did he use those words?
“And don’t teach me about truth and beauty, just label my music, and don’t teach me how to live like a free man, just give me a new law.”
I think this hits on a recurring theme in the relationship between the body of Christ and the rest of the world, and answers the question my brother Paul asked about the song. I think Derek Webb used the words damn and shit because he’s an artist, and a musician. Damned serves to demonstrate his frustration and emphasize his point, remind the listener that lack of compassion and empathy is just as damned as homosexuality, and fill in the necessary syllables in the line. As for “We don’t give a shit”… all I can say is it’s a much more emphatic and honest portrayal of the callousness Derek Webb is criticizing than “We don’t care” or whatever expletive free replacement one could write. And in this situation Derek Webb probably weighed the options and decided that his craft was more important to him than respectfulness. That’s just my guess though.
As far as I know the words shit and damn are not bad per se. Rather we (society) gives these words supraordinary meaning. As such they carry much more feeling than their synonyms. Take for instance the word love. We don’t really have different words that extract a degree for love “maybe we shouldn’t”. Anyway I digress. In the context of what Mr. Webb is writing the use of the words is quite appropriate. I may be wrong but some one saying “I don’t give a damn out you” basically translates into them saying “you are not even worthy of me wishing damnation on you”. I don’t know how others see it but I see it as a profound statement from the heart…not a good statement but a statement nonetheless.
I would like to applaud Mr. Webb for using words that allow us to hold a mirror up to the world we live in and look inside and see ourselves. We may not like what we see…and yet there we are.