Josh Rouse (born 1972 in Paxton, Nebraska) is an American roots/melodic fol… Read Full Bio ↴Josh Rouse (born 1972 in Paxton, Nebraska) is an American roots/melodic folk singer. From his first album, Dressed Up Like Nebraska, in 1998, he has won critical acclaim.

Rouse lived in various places in Midwest America during his childhood due to his father's military career. Following his time at Austin Peay State University, he eventually settled down in Tennessee, where he met some local musicians and began recording. Signing to the Rykodisc subsidiary Slow River, in 1998, Rouse issued his debut album, Dressed Up Like Nebraska, to widespread critical acclaim; upon settling in Nashville, he was befriended by Kurt Wagner, frontman of the endlessly brilliant chamber country group Lambchop, and in the fall of 1999, the two singers/songwriters issued a collaborative EP, Chester.

Rouse's second solo LP, Home, appeared the following spring and was followed by Under the Cold Blue Stars in 2002. For his next record Rouse hooked up with producer Brad Jones and the resulting album in 2003, 1972, was both a homage to the soft rock sounds of Rouse's youth and an opening up and deepening of his sound. Before the release of his next album, Rouse's marriage ended and he moved from Nashville to Spain. This spawned 2004's Nashville, an example of his versatile musical talent, featuring a blend of Rock, Jazz and Ballad. It served as a farewell to both the city and his marriage; it was also his most fully realized record to date. This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005 (#80).

Rouse's next album, called Subtitulo, was released March 21, 2006 in which his move to Spain was evident.It marked a further finessing of his sound and a move towards the music of an early Paul Simon.

2007 saw a rather busy year for Rouse. He started off supporting John Mayer on a series of his Winter Tour dates. Not soon after, he released a joint EP with his girlfriend Paz Suay, under the moniker of She's Spanish, I'm American. At the end of July, Rouse released his 7th LP, Country Mouse, Cit y House. The record marked a detour from Subtitulo, offering a fuller, more instrumental sound, which appeared to divide both critics and fans. Rouse toured extensively worldwide to support the album.

He released "El Turista" in February 2010 and "The Happiness Waltz" in 2013.

www.joshrouse.com

Christmas With Jesus
Josh Rouse Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

And my conscience
Has it
Stripped down to a science
Why does everything
Displease me
Still I'm trying
And it's so very hard
To ask for a part

In your Christmas
And getting in
Is easy when you're
Friends with Jesus
With Jesus
With Jesus
With Jesus

He's coming
Inside me
Without reason
As I sit here
Waiting
For His signal

And I ask of the Lord
To spare me His sword
Of forgiveness
Cause it's so very hard
To ask for a part

In your Christmas
With Jesus

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Josh Rouse's song "Christmas With Jesus" have a deep and complex meaning. The singer is wrestling with his own conscience and trying to find a place for himself in the celebration of Christmas. He has analyzed his own thoughts and emotions to such an extent that he feels he has "stripped down [his conscience] to a science." Despite this, he still struggles with finding joy in the holiday season, and everything seems to "displease" him. Nonetheless, he is making an effort to take part in the festivities, but finds it difficult to ask for a place in "your Christmas."

The singer then goes on to express his desire to be in communion with Jesus. He describes his longing for the feeling of Jesus' presence inside him, even without a specific reason or signal. He then asks the Lord for forgiveness, knowing how challenging it can be to find a place in the celebration of Christmas. The overall message of the song seems to be an earnest attempt to connect with the spirituality of the holiday season and with Jesus himself, even if it may be difficult to do so.

Line by Line Meaning

And my conscience
The inner voice that tells me right from wrong

Has it
Has identified that I have some issues to resolve

Stripped down to a science
Understood every detail of my problems and made them apparent

Why does everything
I don't understand why every situation doesn't go as I want

Displease me
It makes me discontent and unhappy

Still I'm trying
I'm trying to change my mindset and behavior

And it's so very hard
It's a challenging thing to do

To ask for a part
To be involved in other people's lives positively

In your Christmas
In your life's celebrations

And getting in
To be included

Is easy when you're
It's uncomplicated to be involved when