Hard To Get
Danny Oertli Lyrics

You who live in heaven
Addressing God, who is believed to reside in heaven

Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Requesting God to listen to the prayers of human beings who live on earth

Who are afraid of being left by those we love
Expressing the fear of being abandoned by loved ones

And who get hardened in the hurt
Showing that hurt can cause emotional hardening

Do you remember when you lived down here?
Asking God if he remembers living on earth like human beings

Where we'd all scrape
Referring to the difficulties of living on earth

To find the faith to ask for daily bread
Asking for strength to maintain faith for basic sustenance

Did you forget about us
Questioning God's attention towards humans after he left earth

After you had flown away?
Using the image of flying away to refer to God's ascension to heaven

Well I memorized every word you said
Stating the commitment to remember God's teachings

Still I'm so scared I’m holding my breath
Expressing fear and desperation

While you're up there just playing hard to get
Using the metaphor of 'playing hard to get' to refer to God's perceived aloofness

You who live in radiance
Addressing God's divine and glorious nature

Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
Highlighting the human, mortal state in contrast to God's divine state

We have a love that's not as patient as yours was
Acknowledging that human love is not as enduring as God's love

But still we do love now and then
Admitting that humans are still capable of loving, albeit imperfectly

Did you ever know loneliness?
Questioning if God has ever experienced loneliness

Did you ever know need?
Asking if God has ever been in need

Do you remember just how long a night can get?
Referring to the metaphorical 'dark night of the soul'

When you were barely holding on
Suggesting that even God had moments of struggle and perseverance

And your friends fell asleep
Referring to the image of Jesus' apostles falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane

They don't see the blood
Others cannot understand or empathize with one's suffering and pain

Run with your sweat
Reinforcing the idea of blood, sweat, and tears in times of difficulty

Will those who mourn be left uncomforted?
Questioning if the bereaved will find comfort or be left to suffer

While you're up there just playing hard to get
Reinforcing the idea of God's aloofness or lack of attention to human suffering

And I know you bore our sorrows
Acknowledging God's role in bearing human sorrows

And I know you feel our pain
Recognizing that God is empathetic and compassionate towards human pain

And I know that this would not hurt me less
Even with the knowledge of God's love and care, pain still exists

Even if it could be explained
An admission that sometimes pain and suffering cannot be adequately explained or understood

And I know that I am only lashing out
Acknowledging that one's anger or frustration may be misplaced towards God

At the one who loves me most
Recognizing God's unconditional love for humanity

And after I have figured this song out
Acknowledging the depth and complexity of the emotions expressed in the song

What I really need to know:
Refocusing the lyrics to a fundamental existential question

Is if you who live in eternity
Questioning God's comprehension of human time and space

Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time
Contextualizing human prayers as temporal

We can't see what's ahead
Highlighting the uncertainty and fear of the future

And we can not get free
Expressing the sense of being trapped or stuck in one's current circumstances

From what we've left behind
Alluding to the past, both positive and negative

I'm reeling from these voices
Expressing the weight and chaos of one's inner thoughts or regrets

That keep screaming in my ears
A hyperbolic expression of the persistent nature of negative self-talk

All the pain of shame
Referring to the existential pain of feeling embarrassed or unworthy

And doubt, blame and regret
Listing other emotions that contribute to a sense of inadequacy and brokenness

I can't see how you're leading me...
Expressing confusion and doubt about God's guidance

Unless you've led me here
Offering a different way of perceiving one's current situation as evidence of God's guidance

To where I'm lost enough
Suggesting that being lost, in the absence of a clear path, can bring clarity or a new perspective

To let myself be led
Acknowledging the need to relinquish control and trust in God's guidance

And so you've been here all along I guess
Recalling the idea that God is omnipresent and always present, even if imperceptible

It's just your ways and you are
Acknowledging God's enigmatic nature and character

Just plain hard to get
Using the metaphor of 'playing hard to get' to refer to God's perceived aloofness