Choosing just one song to feature from Switchfoot was pretty tough. I’ve listened to their music for most of my life and I enjoy their entire catalog. I’ve always admired the transparency of their lyrics, as well as their willingness to tackle spiritual and social themes.
“Dirty Second Hands” is from Switchfoot’s sixth album, Oh! Gravity. (2006). This song deals with two things we often count as our worst enemies – time and ourselves. Lead singer Jon Foreman describes the song:
“The machine, the clock, our own hands. The dirty second hand of time is always ticking, bringing us and all that we have worked so hard to achieve closer to the grave and the second hand store. In my fight with depression, lust, pride, and boredom, I have found that the biggest challenger is often within me. The very machinery that I loathe and have fought so hard to defeat stares back at me from the mirror. This mechanism is always ticking. And in my spiritual life I have found that this is a part of me that has to die every day if I am to be truly alive.”
Many people spend decades working for material things. These things could be taken from us in a heartbeat, yet we spend most of our lives trying to gain them while time works against us. Does any of it have value in the end? What are we really living for? Why are we our own worst enemies?
What are your thoughts?
Between the Notes 