This song has to be former bassist Adam Howell's best and most everlasting contribution to the band. From the mandolin intro to the pedal steel "I am an angel" outro, this is one of my favorite DBT songs and sometimes my favorite of all the non-Cooley/Patterson songs, Isbell's included. I'm jewish and even for me the lyrics are spot on for capturing the church, synagogue, religious, etc experience. IMO, I think that "All this hollerin' makes me wonder/Does a whispered prayer get heard?" is right up there with any lyric in the DBT catalogue.
Late for church again Never seem to be on time Hear the bells as they peal through the holler Doesn't sound like a friend of mine
A hundred eyes turn as I enter Face burnin' as I walk past pews I can tell they think I'm a sinner Hear them whisper while I'm watching my shoes
Only seat left is right up front I'm not a bit surprised Back is soft but the seat is hard Why can't they get it right?
Reverend Bob is pointin' his finger Mom and Dad follow every last word All this hollerin' makes me wonder Does a whispered prayer get heard?
Reverend Bob is preachin' out thunder Fire and brimstone pouring down Me, I'm wondering what's for dinner Waitin' for 12 o'clock to come round
Everybody's got their own Heaven They all find it their own way
I am an angel
Discuss...
Last edited by Clams on Mon May 31, 2010 7:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
this is favorite dbt song hands down. i grew up COC and this song nails it for me. it sends such a flood of memories of years gone by. from dad simply yelling "boy's!!!!! hurry the hell up or we're going the be late for church" yes, we got "cussed" @...COC's are weird. to my early to mid teen years, when i had discovered the much more fun & exciting path to hell. lot's of gossip in the COC as well, stories of my saturday night shenanigans would often beat me to church on sunday morning. those memories go hand & hand with "i can tell they think i'm sinner." i would walk in, some of the old ladies would try to bring the wrath of god himself down on me with their stares, while others just whispered. the old men would remind me about being washed in the blood of the lamb (i'm telling you, COC's are fucked up) and being reborn and forgiven. all the while i was "watching my shoes & waiting for 12 o clock to roll around." thank god for the drive-by truckers. amen >
I come to the song from several different angles. I was raised in the church, but my parents didn't go. I went on my own. I remember being that guy in the song. I was 25 years old and had just detoxed from dope that week. I got myself a thrift shop suit and went to the church I was baptized in. Didn't really fit in at my high fallutin' Presbyterian Church anymore. Everyone staring at me. I had hair halfway down my back.
Then I ended up in seminary. Long story, won't go into here. Graduated with honors. Earned a fellowship. Man, I loved seminary. Then I was ordained. Served churches for a decade and a half till I went out on disability. Now I go to a church in the same town I live in. I sit way in the back. Don't go in till the announcements are read and they are starting with the Call To Worship. Most people in the place don't know I am a minister and I like it that way.
I've been the guy singing the song, I've been the preacher in the song -- though I never preached hellfire and brimstone. Today I'm the guy who comes anonymously, sits in the back and prays real hard that the cancer doesn't come back. Does a whispered prayer get heard? God, I hope so because those are the only ones I'm praying these days.
I have nowhere else to go. There is no demand in the priesthood for elderly drug addicts
I grew up southern baptist - my parents don't go to church, but I made the decision to go on my own - but I can definitely relate to the song - except the people in the church I went to didn't just think I was a sinner, they knew it - I'm from a very small town - the preacher is also the mayor, and he's my 3rd cousin - he's backwards in the way that southern baptists are, but he's also one of the most stand-up men I've ever met. Such is the duality of the southern thing.
RevMatt wrote: Does a whispered prayer get heard? God, I hope so because those are the only ones I'm praying these days.
i think so, probably even the unspoken ones get heard, too. great story, RevMatt.
presbyterians NEVER sit in the front pews....it's as if there's kryptonite up there...i relate to a lot of that, too...i always was anxious to fly out of church to listen to Casey Casem's top 40 countdown that i had taped w/my little cassette recorder...remember they played that on Sun AM? probably still do ...
luv this song----glad there's finally a thread about it.
Smitty wrote: I'm from a very small town - the preacher is also the mayor, and he's my 3rd cousin - he's backwards in the way that southern baptists are, but he's also one of the most stand-up men I've ever met. Such is the duality of the southern thing.
wow....i'm picturing the preacher in footloose or something...great post
Great song. One of the songs that got me hooked on DBT.
My cousin and I used to have to go to church when I would stay at his place. We were about 12-14 yrs old, and would always go to early mass so we didn't have to go with his parents. A few times we sat in the "baby crying room" and the other times, we would trade off who had to go in, get the pamphlet(to ""prove" we were there) and get out. We then would go try and kick field goals at the local college football field until we thought church was over.
I was an alter boy until I was about 16(made it out unscathed, thank God). My parents made me go to church with them all the way through high school. We lived out in the boonies compared to where our church was, so I would just go with them to save gas money. Plus, they went to the latest possible mass on Sundays.
The meandering mandolin at the end of this song is like my own path, I love this song especially the lyric "Why can't they get it right?"
I am a Catholic by baptism I dreaded Sunday folk mass in the 70s only kind of liked mass in the cathedral because I could look at the stained glass my knees always hurt by the end... I was chosen to read something in front of everyone at first communion, I remember not understanding the words I was reading. Went to CCD classes but never finished
I don't know the bible and I don't have much interest
was a Unitarian for a while which led me to more earth centered practices...
Then a couple of traumas hit me over the last 4 years, I thought my whispered prayers would get heard, they didn't. I thought maybe those hundred eyes who who stare at me as I walk past them in the neighborhood do think I'm a sinner now. but that's their judgment, not very Christian if you ask me. I'm on the way to my own heaven, I've found my own way. and I am an angel.
Up until I was about 7 years old, I would attend Sunday School with my Aunt. It was a Pentecostal church with lots of speaking in tongue. The speaking in tongue and other antics, scared the shit out of me. Needless to say, I am not a church goer now and don't really know anything about the Bible. It's been awhile since I cast my shadow on a church house door.
“Excited people get on daddy’s nerves.” - M. Cooley
I am supposed to be catholic but when I was a young kid up until I was about 15 my parents made us go to babtist sunday school and vacation bible school. My parents didn't go they just made us go so they could have free time away from 4 kids. Every Saturday the chaperones from the church bus would come around to our house and bribe us to go to church. They bribed us with candy, contests and raffle prizes just to get us to go. Once this church even took us to an adult book store for a protest. I have since become an Atheist and can't stand anything that has to do with religion except for music. I am not talking about christian rock bands...can't stand them. That's why I find it kinda strange that some of my favorite songs by my favorite bands have religious subject matter. Late For Church is one of them. I have always thought that Cooley would do a great job singing it.
What I like about this song is "the duality of the Southern Thing." A much higher percentage of the population in the South attend worship services. It is part of the culture. In the gay community, the Metropolitan Community Churches (a predominately gay denomination) own their own buildings and property in cities like Atlanta. This is pretty much unheard of in the northeast where MCC congregations rent space and rarely have more than fifty members. While church attendance is higher in the south, no sign that southerners drink less, party less or get divorced less than the rest of us. Such is the duality of The Southern Thing. And no sign that the kids are any less bored with church than anywhere else.
I am working on a song from the preacher's perspective. We experience the best and worst of the church. People can run roughshod over us and we can't strike back. Sometimes this is rough. Had a situation a decade ago, a guy in the church catches his wife in an internet affair. I got called over there and did my job -- in that case talk to both of them and make a counseling referral. I was as professional as could be. To make a long story short, they were embarrassed with what I knew and stopped coming to church. Fine, that happens. But then they tell people the congregation that they stopped coming because they don't like my preaching and that they would come back once I go. Now, I can't defend myself and tell my lay leadership the real reason. I've just got to bend over and take it, say, "Well, know preacher bats 1.000, blah, blah, blah." I can't break confidentiality. But these people can threaten my job and family's livelihood.
I have nowhere else to go. There is no demand in the priesthood for elderly drug addicts
RevMatt wrote: While church attendance is higher in the south, no sign that southerners drink less, party less or get divorced less than the rest of us. Such is the duality of The Southern Thing. And no sign that the kids are any less bored with church than anywhere else.
church buses are specifically designed for rubbing boobies in the back couple of rows.
RevMatt wrote: While church attendance is higher in the south, no sign that southerners drink less, party less or get divorced less than the rest of us. Such is the duality of The Southern Thing. And no sign that the kids are any less bored with church than anywhere else.
church buses are specifically designed for rubbing boobies in the back couple of rows.
....and for singing AC/DC's TNT at the top of your lungs until the bus chaperone's wife starts crying.
sometimes, i get my peanut butter in my chocolate sometimes, i get my truckers with my hold steady sometimes, rock and roll means well... "everybody's got their own heaven they all find it their own way" and sometimes, heaven is wherever
after all these years, different experiences, influences, education, practice... what i have taken away from 'religion' :: allah,buddha,christ, zeus, mythology, science,satan, sin,religion, repenting, church,pray and penance, doctrine and dogma ... and as i try to tell my kids, there is no god or devil there is only good and evil. they live and breathe and fight and struggle in each of us, every day. i believe,i want and hope to do more good than harm. "make me an angel that flies from montgomery... ...just give me one thing that j can hold on to, to believe in this livin' is just a hard way to go" john prine via bonnie raitt
besides finding the answers to most of life's questions in song lyrics, sometimes,i also like to pepper my religious understanding by employing an in-depth analysis of Talladega Nights: The Wisdom of Cal Naughton Jr. if and when being good fails (and it has and will again), seek the understanding and forgiveness of those i've hurt and give that forgiveness to others (and myself). "I like to think of Jesus as a mischievous badger." *
and keep on seeking, keep on pushin' on. keep hope alive, fight for your right to party, keep on truckin', make your own heaven we are our only saviors "I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo T-Shirt because it says I want to be formal, but I'm here to party." * seriously, truer words, right?
we answer each others prayers if we listen close enough and follow the golden rule, the only rule: "treat others as you would have them treat you" whether it's walking past a pew or down the street or in church or 'on the rail' at a rock show especially with your words and actions.
"i like to picture Jesus as a figure skater. he wears like a white outfit, and he does interpretive ice dances of my life's journey." *
the recipe is not quite as simple as "all we need is love" sometimes religion is misunderstood,misconstrued or simply wrong for example, this exchange: "I'm El Diablo." (ricky bobby) " What does Diablo mean?"(cal naughton jr.) "It's like... Spanish for like a fighting chicken." (ricky bobby)
but if you take the love with a well balanced serving of patience,good health, faith, kindness, tolerance, humor and music and a dash of alcohol (if need be, and for me, it be needed), the awesomeness of children, fresh water, good food, a pet that loves you unconditionally... you have heaven here on earth. heaven is wherever and we are all gonna get there! amen
"i like to think of jesus, like, with giant eagles wings, and singin' lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd with, like, an angel band and i'm in the front row and i'm hammered drunk!"* (* or maybe it was said by dime in the gutter? just sayin')
yeah, you know it!
ps if you have not seen Talladega Nights, what the fuck is wrong with you???!!!!you are going to hell in a hand basket!
* all * quotes attributed to Cal Naughton Jr. (in an oscar worthy performance by John C. Reilly)
(please note:only parts of this analysis of Late for Church by the drive by truckers are for humor sake. it is up to the individual reader to judge for themselves which parts are sincere and which are sarcasm. but be careful with what has been said about judging...tsk tsk tsk. for shame
long enough for you? well, as lyle would preach...
"and the moral of this story children it is plain but true god knows if a preacher preaches long enough even he'll get hungry too"
While this song features great lyrics, what has always hit me was the way Adam & Patterson harmonize on the very simple line, "I Am an Angel". In my opinion, that one line is the most powerful of the entire song. I've always interpreted to meaning, "fuck what anyone else thinks, I'm a good righteous man" Most good rock music has an aspect of "fuck you" in it and in this tune it comes at the very end in a very subtle way. It's perfect.
OtisTheBulldog wrote:While this song features great lyrics, what has always hit me was the way Adam & Patterson harmonize on the very simple line, "I Am an Angel". In my opinion, that one line is the most powerful of the entire song. I've always interpreted to meaning, "fuck what anyone else thinks, I'm a good righteous man" Most good rock music has an aspect of "fuck you" in it and in this tune it comes at the very end in a very subtle way. It's perfect.
in my world, he is trying to convince himself that he is an angel. i hear doubt and uncertainty.
OtisTheBulldog wrote:While this song features great lyrics, what has always hit me was the way Adam & Patterson harmonize on the very simple line, "I Am an Angel". In my opinion, that one line is the most powerful of the entire song. I've always interpreted to meaning, "fuck what anyone else thinks, I'm a good righteous man" Most good rock music has an aspect of "fuck you" in it and in this tune it comes at the very end in a very subtle way. It's perfect.
in my world, he is trying to convince himself that he is an angel. i hear doubt and uncertainty.
tomatoe/tomato.
just my opinion.
Never thought of it like that - that's a good interpretation as well. I think Patterson says in the liner notes something to the effect of "not knowing what all that angel stuff was about".
I like the song, brings back memories as a kid going to church all of twice a year. But I would like it more if say Pattertson sang it, not a fan of Adam's voice.
For some reason I have become obsessed with this song as of late. Although I didn't dislike it before, I never really paid it much attention in the context of Gangstabilly or the entire DBT cannon; however, I've recently been stuck on it. I think the song is almost Cooley-esque in the way it says so much by saying so little but still leaves the listener wondering. Why is the singer late for church? What had he done the night before? Really I think this song would have fit well with the loose "story" in SRO of the singer from Beatauax Guillotine; it could have followed a story song about a wild Saturday night (Zip City???).
This is another song that makes me wish I'd gotten into this band earlier. I wish I could have seen/heard Howell sing this live.