Big Tent Revival – Two Sets Of Jones’

Big Tent Revival is an American Christian rock band that ran from 1991 to 2000 with a crowdfunding-backed album released in 2012.

They released six albums, including:

• Steve Wiggins and Big Tent Revival (1993)
• Big Tent Revival (1995)
• Open All Nite (1996)
• Amplifier (1998)
• Choose Life (1999)
• The Way Back Home (2012)

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Big-tent-revival-two-sets-of-jones-lyrics.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Big Tent Revival tells a hypothetical story about two couples, both with the last name of Jones.  One couple were were believers who founded their marriage on the Son of God.  The other couple did not.  Both literally and figuratively, the latter couple’s house and marriage fell to shambles, resulting in divorce.  The former thrived with Jesus as their solid rock.  The point is for us to ponder the crutch we use to uphold our worldview and whether or not it will hold us up or come crashing down.  Is it Jesus or something else?  That is the question we must all answer.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Yes, yes it does.

This song does not contain a Verse/Chorus/Bridge structure.  Therefore, I assigned stanzas to each paragraph.

[Stanza 1]

Lines 1-4: Big Tent Revival introduces the names of the main characters of this song: Rothchild Jones, Evelyn Jones, Reuben Jones and Sue Jones.  The males were randomly paired with the females specifically for this tale.

[Stanza 2]

Lines 1-4: Rothchild Jones was a poor man who married Evelyn Jones, a woman of independent wealth.  They lived on the beach. Meanwhile, Reuben and Sue had little money, but they depended on Jesus to provide for their needs (Genesis 2:15-16, Genesis 9:3, Genesis 22:8, Exodus 16:1-36, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 34:10, Psalm 81:10, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 107:9, Proverbs 10:3, Malachi 3:10, Matthew 6:25-30, Matthew 7:7-8, Matthew 21:22, John 14:13-14, John 14:26, John 15:1-10, John 15:16, Romans 8:32, Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 9:8, and 2 Corinthians 12:9).

[Stanza 3]

Lines 1-4: In the literal sense Matthew 7:24-27 came true for both Jones’.  Rothchild and Evelyn’s beach house was totally destroyed while Reuben’s house was not.

[Stanza 4]

Lines 1-4: Rothchild’s father-in-law is proud of that his son-in-law accomplished, yet, Matthew 7:24-27 is coming true in the figurative sense.  Their marriage was not founded on Jesus Christ, leading to much tension.  The father prioritizes work over his presence with his wife as she gives birth.

[Stanza 5]

Lines 1-4: Meanwhile, Reuben studys God’s Word while he is with his wife.  He works hard to provide for his family (1 Timothy 5:8) and was there with his wife when his son was born.  God provided for their needs through the generosity of Reuben’s co-workers.

[Stanza 6]

Lines 1-4: The whole point of this song is to ask us about the foundation of our life.  Is it the solid rock that is Jesus (Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 22:47, Psalm 18:31, Psalm 28:1, Psalm 62:2, Psalm 94:22, Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Ephesians 2:20, 2 Timothy 2:19, and 1 Peter 2:6) or something else that won’t last?

[Stanza 7]

Lines 1-4: This is the epilogue to this tale.  Rothchild and Evelyn got divorced and Evelyn is shaking her ex-husband for every penny she can get out of him.  Big Tent Revival hopes that these two people can find Christ.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers will easily comprehend this song’s message.  Big Tent Revival explicitly states it in plain English on Stanza 6.  It is a question that those who don’t know Jesus must answer: Will they continue to live apart from Christ, with their lives in disarray, or will they cling to Jesus, who will give them stability?

This message could potentially fall on deaf ears because there are plenty of examples of secular couples with great marriages without Jesus as their foundation and Christian couples who go through a nasty divorce who supposedly believed in Jesus.  Still, the question Big Tent Revival asks is a good one to pose towards those who don’t know Him.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus as the solid rock that shows the difference between one marriage that is alive and another that is dead.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Big Tent Revival’s Two Sets Of Jones’ is a good one.  One Jones’ is a secular couple whose marriage ended because Jesus was not at the center.  Another couple thrived because He was.  This song asks us if He is the center of our lives, bringing Him glory.  Unbelievers should have no issues interpeting this song similarly, even if they have reservations about its application in secular circles.

This song is great for a lesson during a church service, but not so much for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Two Sets Of Jones’ (listen to the song)

Artist: Big Tent Revival

Album: Big Tent Revival

Genre: Country

Release Year: 1995

Duration: 4:33

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