Theology and Secular Music Part 2: “The Moon Will Sing”

“The Moon Will Sing” by the folk band The Crane Wives isn’t really a Christian song, but if you just saw the chorus, you might think it is. “I shine only with the light you gave me,” sounds exactly like a Christian acknowledging their dependence upon God. Imagining the Christian life relating to God as like to the relationship between the moon and the sun is really a beautiful image. The moon has its own dignity, its own way of shining, its own beauty, but all of that is only because of borrowed light from the sun. But again, this song isn’t really a Christian song. Like many of the most popular Crane Wives songs, this is a folksy impression of regret and disappointment in human relationships. 

“The Moon Will Sing” doesn’t tell a clear story, but I’m sure we can recognize the images the poetry of the lyrics evokes. “All those empty rooms.” Maybe the narrator was looking to have a family, looking to fill her life with other people, but those days are behind her. “Ten years of dust and neglect.” The house is a mess. The world is a mess. She needs something that she isn’t getting. She isn’t literally imprisoned, but ten years is too long to be neglected. She feels trapped. “We could have had anything else, instead you hoarded all that’s left of me.” She had dreams. She wanted something in life. She wanted to do something, go somewhere, be someone important, but her partner took all that away from her. She is stuck in an inescapable path of obscurity with no one to remember or care. All she has is the moon to share her story. 

This is one of those tragic relationship stories where a breakup would be preferable. We can’t say clearly that this is some kind of abuse. Her partner isn’t necessarily cruel. The problem is simply that she can’t be who she wants to be. She’s stuck. It very well may be a loving relationship but one that confines her. Would it be right for her to leave and be on her own? Is the dream too far gone at this point? Is apathy really so much worse than facing the world alone? We might disagree on how we want this story to end, and those are the really challenging ones. There isn’t a clear bad guy, and love itself may be the problem that is holding her back from her dreams. She may feel only resentment now, but it is clear that she did deeply and genuinely love at some point. 

I already acknowledged that this isn’t a Christian song, and many happy Christians would shun such comparisons after listening to the lyrics in the verses. However, not all Christians are happy. I suspect that many Christians secretly feel that more than just the chorus describes their relationship with God. Our world is full of adults with broken dreams, turned cynical after childhood by a lifetime of disappointments. How many adults among us would be so much happier if they could have just finished college, published that book, had a perfect marriage, moved into their dream house, got that ideal job, or whatever else? I doubt anyone who has made it to adulthood can really look back on life without some deep nagging regrets. We are all haunted by past disappointments, by overbearing parents or teachers, by our own failures, by times when we wonder if we made the right choice. 

There is a long history of lament in the Bible. Many Psalms are open complaints to God. Often, this is because of some specific misfortune or illness. We might feel tempted to dismiss the ache of regret as a first-world problem. This feeling is really a product of our time. In the past, people didn’t have nearly as many choices as they do today. While this freedom is certainly a good thing in many ways, it also leaves us with the unique problem of agonizing over the path we took on some important choice for the rest of our lives. I can attest to this personally. Should I have left the Fisheries and Wildlife major to pursue music teaching? Should I have left music teaching to go to seminary? Every time I have a particularly hard day, will I be haunted by these questions for the rest of my life? Though modernity and the many choices that have come with it take away many of our reasons to complain, they provide us with this new one. 

I don’t think we can blame Christians for wanting to bring this new heartache to God. The sting of regret haunts us all when challenges arise. But then in some ways it is out of our hands. “I could have been anyone else before you made the choice for me.” Though this comes from a verse, it still sounds like it fits pretty well with God. God directed our paths. God drove us to become who we are. Maybe our failures, disappointments, and bad choices were all God’s design to build character for us. But if that is true, then why is God satisfied leaving us so unsatisfied? Why did God give us these dreams only for life to crush them? We could be angry with God over this, for disappointment and neglect, for dust and apathy, for keeping that fire from us. And maybe it is important for us to find the space to feel those feelings. God can handle our laments, our complaints, even our anger.

I’m not sure there is a good theological answer I can give to the feelings of disappointment that stalk us on the journey of life when the road darkens. I can’t provide the words that will make the feeling go away. We will have to continue to live with regret and sorrow over broken dreams. However, though we can’t fix these problems, God can give us space to speak about them. God can listen as we cry and complain, hurt by desires disappointed and life plans undone. God is strong enough to hear our lament, even if we are complaining about God. Even if we can’t live out all our dreams, even if we continue to feel like we are stagnating, stuck in the mud of life, we don’t have to weep alone. No one has made it through life unscathed. We can be honest together, and then, at the very least, it won’t be the moon alone that will sing our story.