So, Robbie Williams has a new single out today, called Bodies. He performed it on last night’s X Factor to positive acclaim from the audience.
Interesting lyrics. The key message is ambiguous and contradictory, but is focused on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The end of each verse is variations on:
And your Jesus really died for me
I guess Jesus really tried for me
…with an “outro” of:
Jesus didn't die for you, what do you want?
(I want perfection)
Jesus didn't die for you, what are you on?
Oh Lord
(Jesus really died for you) Ohh
(Jesus really died for you)
(Jesus really died for you) Ohhhhhhh
It’s not clear to me who is meant to be taking the two halves of what appears to be a dialogue: is it Robbie versus the world, or the church versus Robbie?
This isn’t Robbie’s first involvement with Christianity. He courted controversy in a stunt with Derren Brown in 2006, and he has a tattoo of the crucifixion.
To be honest, I don't think it matters which way the dialogue is intended. The truth of the Christian message of salvation through faith in the free gift of Jesus’ crucifixion is powerful. If it is true, then accepting it is of paramount importance to your (eternal) life. If it is not true, then the Christian faith is worthless, although a lot of the important moral guidance is still good.
Ignoring the question, however, is logically a crazy path to take, yet most of the population (at least here in the UK) seem not to even consider their eternal destiny. If quizzed, most people would profess that there’s probably someone up there, but they’re “not religious”.
If this new song with its overt yet unresolved message triggers at least one person to consider the Christian message, then it’s a great asset for the church in taking its mission to the people.
Update: Having heard RW perform this at the Royal Albert Hall as part of Children In Need, I found the “outro” of Robbie and the choir singing “Jesus didn’t die for you” to an audience of thousands of fans highly disturbing. Whilst my comments above are still valid, I really do not like this song now.
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Image of Robbie Williams by catzi, available on Flickr under CC attribution licence.
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