Spoken – Through It All

Nashville, Tenessee-based hard rock band Spoken began their career in 1996.  They released ten albums, including:

• On Your Feet (1997)
• …What Remains (1999)
• Echoes of the Spirit Still Dwell (2000)
• A Moment of Imperfect Clarity (2003)
• Last Chance to Breathe (2005)
• Spoken (2007)
• Illusion (2013)
• Breathe Again (2015)
• IX (2017)
• Real Music (2020)

I am not aware of any prestigious awards given to this band.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Spoken-through-it-all-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Spoken and an unnamed woman are both running away as their lives of ease have been taken away.  They believe that by trusting in “You”, that they can face their brokenness and problems, prophetically stating that this woman would be restored.

The trouble I have with songs like this is that it’s generic, making it difficult to evaluate.  While some like songs that they could easily personalize, I find it frustrating that I cannot discern Spoken’s intended meaning.

Who is “You”?  I don’t know.  Spoken hasn’t told us.  We can infer the God of Christianity and conclude that Spoken’s solution is to trust God to “rise from the ashes”; however, it is not inherent within these lyrics, leading to possible idolatry.

What is it that they lost/will have restored?  I don’t know that either.  it could be material wealth or spiritual riches.  It could be a wanton lifestyle of sin or an abundant, close, intimate relationship with Jesus.

Score: 4/10

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

I will apply a two-point penalty to assume “You” and “You’re” means “God” in Stanza 6.  Under this assumption, it agrees with the Bible.

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

[Stanza 1]

Lines 1-5: Spoken previously ran away from their problems and did not fix their eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), but now they returned to face their foe.

[Stanza 2]

Lines 1 and 2: Figuratively references Spoken’s unnamed struggles in Stanza 1.  These lines show that they enjoyed what I interpret (perhaps incorrectly) as a lifestyle of comfort that’s been stripped from them.

Lines 3 and 4: Repeats lines 1 and 2.

[Stanza 3]

Lines 1-4: Spoken admits that they are broken people (Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Proverbs 21:16, Luke 15:11-24, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13, and 1 Timothy 5:6) and declares restoration.  From where do they turn to for help?  Stanza 6 answers this question.

[Stanza 4]

Lines 1-5: An unnamed woman figuratively sees an unknown, unnamed individual and interacts with them, recalling her past life where she had it all.  Spoken prophecies over her, that she will receive back what was taken from her.  Considering that I know nothing about this girl, I can offer no opinion about Spoken’s prophecy.

Lines 6 and 7: Repeats Stanza 2, lines 1 and 2.

[Stanza 5]

Lines 1-4: Repeats Stanza 3.

[Stanza 6]

Lines 1-4: God is the solution to Spoken’s problems.  When they fix their eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), everything else falls into place.

Lines 5-8: Repeats lines 1-4.

[Stanza 7]

Lines 1-4: Repeats Stanza 3.

Score: 8/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

They can interpret it any way they wish.  There is very little that is inherently comprehensible, that Spoken struggles and depends on an unknown entity for help.

Score: 2/10

4. What does this song glorify?

I don’t know.  It inherently glorifies God if we assume “You” is God.  It is idolatrous and does not inherently glorify God.  Therefore, I’ll rate it halfway.

Score: 5/10

Closing Comments

Spoken’s Through It All is frustrating.  If we assume “You” means God, its message is that Spoken trusts in God to push through their struggles that glorifies God.  If we assume “You” is anything else, it communicates sacrilegious language, that they put their faith in an idol to help them.  This does not bring God glory.  Both are valid interpretations based on the lyrics presented, making it easy for everyone to interpret as they wish.

I cannot recommend this for corporate worship.

Final Score: 5.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Through It All (listen to the song)

Artist: Spoken

Album: Illusion

Genre: Hard Rock

Release Year: 2012 (single)

Duration: 3:36

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.