Staircase

Written by: Derek Webb

Appears on: Guild 1

Lyrics:

What do you say to my brother
My friend, then you’ve said that same thing to me
It’s no big deal, she’s just my sister
No need to compromise on your crude philosophy

My friend did you know you are my brother
And I know that what you say is what you’ve heard
I’m where and wearying and I’m worn
I scream until I cannot hear a word

But somehow in this life there is a peace that comes on me
But I throw conviction to the wind and set my anger free
And how can I expect this house to stand on the mud I’ve laid
’cause I’m tripping, falling on myself and the staircase that I’ve made

and where’s the honor in that, where’s the honor in that
C’mon brother can you tell me
Where’s the honor in that, where’s the honor in that
I can hear my sister ask me
“If this was a perfect world
Would brothers and sisters still act that way?
‘Cause if this is righteousness
I’ll settle for mediocrity any day”

I guess my tongue of pride has had it say
Why do I get so defensive anyway
Dumb pride, dumb luck, which is the cause
And I wonder which of these sustains a greater loss

But somehow in this life there is a peace that comes on me
But we throw conviction to the wind and set this anger free
And how can we expect this house to stand on the mud we’ve laid
We’re tripping, falling on ourselves and the staircase that we’ve made

Oh who am I, and what is my family?
That days to come have even held a place for me
Can you hear me saying I will build a house for you
And you say, “First look to your neighbor’s house.
There is much work to do.” If not then…

See also: MusicBrainz.

One Response to Staircase

  1. Chris Hubbs says:

    From Derek’s intro:

    “Basically what this song’s about…
    This is like one righteous anger song that’s made it through the cut of all my tunes that I’ve ever written. This is like the one that I let stay and live. And, and the reason being is just because… I have a real problem with… Christians, especially, who consider themselves better or higher than other people. And, the way I mean that, mostly, is like… if I’ll be in a McDonald’s or just anyplace you go and have food where people are there doing service, like serving you… When people just totally talk down to the help, and down even look up at them, and never say ‘Thank you.’ And never acknowledge that they’re actually people who have lives who are there working and trying to do a good job, and are under pressure, just like they are in their jobs. And just, kind of, disregard for human feelings altogether. It just, it annoys me. But then, through writing this song, I realized all the ways that I do that. And just, that, as Christians, how do we ever expect… if we’re really going to affect people, we need to be doing it in all the little areas when we’re not on stage in front of an audience. So that’s what this song’s about. It’s called “Staircase”.”

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