THOUGHTS ON THE NEW DARK AGES

Now can you hear the call in our rambling land?Susurrations that can expandBeyond all hope of lightAnd plunge us into unrelenting nightA pall, a truth and reasonIt feels like hunting seasonSo avoid those lines of sightAnd we'll set this rightWelcome to the New Dark Ages

On a regular day, I was listening to this song and these lyrics jumped out and assaulted me. The song (just as many other songs by BR) begs us, the listeners to go in to a world that we all know exists but no one really talks about or perhaps it is really hard to put words to all the fucked up things that happen in the world. And this is the genius of Bad Religion’s writers Brett Gurewitz and Greg Graffin.

The words almost sound as if they came from a Geoffrey Chaucer book written in old English but sang with a furious angst.

It’s a prophecy of the shit that’s gonna go down, of the consequences. It’s a warning but no one of difference is listening, right? No one of difference is listening. And there’s nothing we can do but slam dance the night away with sweaty strangers until our problems are forgotten and lost in the madman that is inside of us all.

The lyrics continue:

Now come ye children, one and allLet's heed Ezekiel's callAnd bide until the word is good and ripeAnd get plucked clean out of sight

In the old testament (yes, I had to look it up), Ezekiel the prophet, warns the people of Israel about the consequences of their disobedience to God’s commandments and that God would bring judgment upon them. The song continues:

The world will be erasedOur kin will be immaculate, ejaculate in spaceBefore the King of king's loveHe'll snatch us from aboveBrothers, help me sing itWelcome to the new dark ages

Gurewitz’s mastery of the language and tone is what is immaculate. He repeats the same idea (that God will come for you one way or the other) but with different words and with a more powerful impact the second time around.

The song continues and Gurewitz plants the final seeds:

So how do you sleep?There's nothing to keepThis is deepBecause we're animals with golden rulesWho, who can't be movedBy rational views

This is deep.

The song ends with:

Welcome to the new dark agesI hope you're living rightWelcome to the new dark agesAnd the world might end tonight

New Dark Ages was written by Brett Gurewitz who is one of the main writers of Bad Religion and founder of Epitaph Records.

Such a powerful song. Go out and get inspired, this is from the music album New Maps of Hell by Bad Religion and these are my thoughts on the writers of punk and the impact that words have.