"MEANT TO LIVE"/"THIS IS YOUR LIFE" - Switchfoot

MEANT TO LIVE (acoustic version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72FkCoJfhgU (original version)

VERSE 1
Fumbling his confidence
And wondering why the world has passed him by
Hoping that he's bent for more than arguments
And failed attempts to fly, fly

CHORUS
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside

VERSE 2
Dreaming about providence
And whether mice or men have second tries
Maybe we've been living with our eyes half open
Maybe we're bent and broken, broken, oh

CHORUS

BRIDGE
We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than the wars of our fathers
And everything inside screams for second life, yeah

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live (we were meant to live)
We were meant to live

THIS IS YOUR LIFE

VERSE 1
Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead

Yesterday is a promise that you've broken

Don't close your eyes

Don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now

And today is all you'll ever have

Don't close your eyes

Don't close your eyes

CHORUS
This is your life

Are you who you want to be

This is your life

Are you who you want to be

This is your life

Is it everything you've dreamed that it would be

When the world was younger

And you had everything to lose

VERSE 2
Yesterday is a kid in the corner

Yesterday is dead and over

CHORUS

Don't close your eyes

Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

This is your life

Are you who you want to be

This is your life

Are you who you want to be

This is your life

CHORUS
You got everything to lose

____________________________________________________________________

Switchfoot is often referred to as a "Christian band", mostly due to their involvement with the Christian rock scene in their early days. But the band has shunned this label. "For us, it's a faith, not a genre", says Jon Foreman. "We've always been very open and honest about where the songs are coming from. For us, these songs are for everyone. Calling us 'Christian rock' tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them. And that's not what we're trying to do. Music has always opened my mind—and that's what we want". Duly, Jon's lyrics steer clear of preachiness, exclusive declarations of faith, or even any mention of Jesus Christ; instead questioning the status quo, probing existential issues through "Socratic dialogue" in which he answers questions with more questions, exploring frustrations, or simply being inspirational. This approach has resulted in them often being described as a "thinking person's" band. Jon's poetry is acclaimed by fans and critics alike for its heartfelt honesty, which is evident in his appraisal of the human condition, and in his willingness to not just embrace his faith, but to express doubt as well.

As a result, the band's fan base transcends different beliefs and lifestyles. "As a musician I guess the only thing I would ask from a listener is to put the CD in, close your eyes and forget about all the peripherals," says Jon Foreman. "I guess that's a dream that may not happen in my lifetime, but I listen to music from all sorts of people and I think there is an open-minded individual who will be able to listen to music of all types." Though they hold this position, they have not alienated their Christian fans. As in their indie days, they are still distributed to Christian retail outlets through Sparrow Records, thereby being featured on Christian radio and charts, and presented Dove Awards, despite having been signed to Columbia Records, a mainstream label. "[Signing to Columbia was] a realization of something that we'd wanted to be from the beginning," Jon explains. "When we were signed to re:think Records [an indie label], the goal was to get the music out to everybody. [But] when Sparrow [a Christian label] bought re:think Records, it was evident that our music wasn't going to be in the hands of everybody. As a Christian, I have a lot to say within the walls of the church. But also, as a Christian, I've got a lot to say just about life in general ... So to be able to be on Columbia and on Sparrow felt like the realization of the two sides of what we had to say. It's a dream come true to be able to have songs that are outside of the box."

Following the release of The Beautiful Letdown, the band temporarily stopped playing at Christian festivals and doing interviews with Christian based organizations, as they found the speculation about their faith to be distracting from the music. Three years later, Switchfoot began going back on this policy, headlining at large Christian-based music festivals, and relenting to be featured on the June 2006 cover of CCM Magazine, after declining the opportunity for years. Yet in many ways they used the opportunity to describe their split from the CCM industry. This has caused some, such as Spin writer Andrew Beaujon, to take the view that "their lyrics often have two different meanings, one meaning for a Christian audience and one meaning for the rest of us. They try to relate to two different groups of people at once".

(Taken from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchfoot#Switchfoot_and_Christian_music)

There's so many debates over what's Christian music and what's not. But what it truly comes down to is not the label or even genre of music. So what/who is it really about? Haha, listen to Switchfoot and decide for yourselves.