Monte eventually left the band. But Barnabas went on to record some of the greatest Christian Metal acheivements of the early to mid 80's. They were highly controversial and took a lot of heat and criticism from several "Christian leaders". Barnabas broke a lot of ice for the heavy Christian music scene in terms of sound, appearance, and lyrical content. Their best known albums were "Approaching Light Speed", "Feel The Fire", and the lyrically controversial "Little Foxes". Known for their axe grinding guitar work and soaring female vocals, Barnabas were extremely talented. The final four members of the band were:
Kris Klingensmith - drums, percussion, lyrics
Nancy Jo Mann - vocals
Gary Mann - bass, keyboards
Brian Belew - guitar
The band broke up during the recording of "Little Foxes". Since then several of their albums have been rereleased...and a "following" of the band has been rekindled. Be sure to check out these Christian metal icons.
Northern Lights
Barnabas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Unseen by jaded eyes
Preferring more an insect's view of mundane, grindstone lives
This planet, once a paradise before the serpent spoke
And greed became the rope
By which the race would hang itself
Naked, without hope
With scant concern for cost
We fall before the god of pleasure
Jeopardizing without measure
The rarest gem of everlasting life
With staggering shortsightedness our golden calves are raised
Ignoring former days
Gambling with our heritage in this self-seeking age
The endless quest for freedom, much like the northern lights
So beautiful and bright
But far beyond the mortal's grasp
As witnessed by our plight
Too much casual violence
Too much casual sex
Too much casual unconcern
For what may happen next
The endless quest for freedom, much like the northern lights
So beautiful and bright
But far beyond the mortal's grasp
As witnessed by our plight
The splendour of redemption ignites the newborn heart
A spiritual upstart
Who cannot fathom what's to come Or what will be his part
Racing llike lemmings to the brink of holocaust
With scant concern for cost
We fall before the god of pleasure
Jeopardizing without measure
The rarest gem of everlasting life
The main theme of Barnabas's song "Northern Lights" seems to be the disillusionment with modern society and its values. The opening lines "Ionospheric splendour ignites the northern skies, unseen by jaded eyes" set the tone for the song. The northern lights, a natural phenomenon of beauty and wonder, serve as a metaphor for freedom and the unlimited potential of human spirit. The singer laments that most humans would rather live their lives on a mundane level, occupied with insignificant things like insects. The reason for this, according to the lyrics, is the fall of men after the biblical serpent deceived the first humans and greed became their downfall. The song argues that humanity is destroying itself with its selfish and shortsighted actions. The addiction to pleasure endangers the most precious gift of all, everlasting life.
The message of the song is a wake-up call to re-evaluate our values and actions in life. The endless quest for freedom is a beautiful dream, but according to the singer, it is far beyond the grasp of most mortals, as evidenced by our current predicament. The intense sadness and hopelessness that the song conveys is powerful and poignant. The lyrics speak of redemption, yet the singer admits that he cannot fathom what it truly means or what his part in it would be.
Line by Line Meaning
Ionospheric splendour ignites the northern skies
The beautiful lights in the sky are caused by the ionosphere and they light up the sky in the north.
Unseen by jaded eyes
People who are cynical and tired of life fail to appreciate the wonders that surround them.
Preferring more an insect's view of mundane, grindstone lives
Many people lead monotonous and boring lives without ever exploring the extraordinary parts of the world.
This planet, once a paradise before the serpent spoke
In the Bible's creation story, the world was perfect until the snake convinced Eve to eat from the forbidden tree of knowledge.
And greed became the rope
Greed is leading us to our downfall.
By which the race would hang itself
Our own greed is the cause of our downfall.
Naked, without hope
We are vulnerable and without hope.
Racing like lemmings to the brink of holocaust
We are blindly rushing towards our own destruction like the lemmings that commit mass suicide.
With scant concern for cost
We are not thinking about the consequences of our actions.
We fall before the god of pleasure
We are addicted to pleasure and sacrifice everything for it.
Jeopardizing without measure
We are risking a great deal without thinking about it.
The rarest gem of everlasting life
We are in danger of losing the opportunity for everlasting life.
With staggering shortsightedness our golden calves are raised
We are worshiping idols instead of thinking about our future.
Ignoring former days
We are ignoring our past mistakes and not learning from them.
Gambling with our heritage in this self-seeking age
We are risking everything that our ancestors worked for in our self-centered society.
The endless quest for freedom, much like the northern lights
We are all searching for freedom like we search for the beautiful northern lights.
So beautiful and bright but far beyond the mortal's grasp
The northern lights are beautiful but unattainable, like true freedom.
As witnessed by our plight
Our current situation shows that true freedom is difficult to achieve.
Too much casual violence
There is too much violence happening without people realizing the consequences.
Too much casual sex
There is too much sexual activity happening without people realizing the consequences.
Too much casual unconcern for what may happen next
People are not thinking about what will happen in the future.
The splendour of redemption ignites the newborn heart
The beauty of redemption is inspiring and makes people feel renewed.
A spiritual upstart
Someone who is just beginning to discover their spirituality.
Who cannot fathom what's to come
They cannot predict what will happen in the future.
Or what will be his part
They don't know what role they will play in the future.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind