If you have been reading this site for any length of time you will know that I enjoy Christian music. I have listened to Christian music since the early 90’s and have been collecting almost exclusively Christian music since that time. I have had the privilege of meeting many Christian musicians and have been able to see that so many of them are passionate about sharing their faith with other people through their musical talent. I thought it would be fitting to examine some of the most popular Christian music, so I decided that each weekend I will look at the song that is at the top of the charts. With several charts to choose from I have elected to use the one compiled by CMCentral as I find it accurately reflects the songs that Christian music fans really like (and not just the songs the industry would like us to buy).
This week’s number one song is Dare You To Move by Switchfoot.
It is perhaps a bit ironic that the song that is now at the top of the charts was released four years ago as part of Switchfoot’s previous album, Learning to Breathe. The band decided to re-record the song and include it as part of their fourth album, The Beautiful Letdown. It seems that was a good decision. Only slightly altered from the original release, the song has suddenly garnered attention in mainstream radio and has brought Switchfoot to the verge of breaking out into the mainstream market.
Welcome to the planet,welcome to existence
Everyone’s here, Everyone’s here.
Everybody’s watching you now.
Everybody waits for you now.I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before…Welcome to the fall out, welcome to resistance
The tension is here, the tension is here
Between who you are, and who you could be
Between how it is, and how it should be.I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened…Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself
Where’re you gonna go, where’re you gonna go…
Salvation is hereI dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before
Dare You To Move speaks about the tension between saying we are Christians and actually living out what we say we believe. Every day the world is watching to see if we will walk the talk. We all fight with the tension between being who we are and being who we know we should be; between how life is and how we know God wants our lives to be. This song challenges us to get up, to lift ourselves out of our complacency and be the men and women He intends us to be. Though at times we may look elsewhere to find our way, deep inside we know that redemption and salvation rest with God. Were we to run we would find that our search would take us back to the place we started.
This song never uses the words God or Jesus, yet still speaks about spiritual truths. Sure it’s not quite up to the lyrical force of I Can Only Imagine, but it is still carries a solid message, speaking of redemption, forgiveness and salvation. With such brazenly Christian words it is a wonder that it has succeeded so well in the mainstream market.
A song with a good sound and good lyrical content, I am happy to see this song dominating the Christian charts while also having an impact on the mainstream. I hope this is only the first of many Switchfoot songs to make an impact in both markets.
