When NEEDTOBREATHE’s Bear and Bo Rinehart set out to write the songs that appear on the band’s new album, The Reckoning, they felt something bigger awaited them. It wasn’t just commercial success either. The band’s last album The Outsiders hit No. 9 on Billboard’s Rock Albums chart, went Top 20 on the Top 200, saw the band sell out venues such as Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and Chicago’s House of Blues, and score an impressive number of placements in blockbuster films and numerous prime time television-shows.
With their reputation as a must-see live act built from non-stop touring, the Rinehart brothers, pastor’s sons who hail from the rural South Carolina town of Possum Kingdom, along with drummer Joe Stillwell and bass player Seth Bolt, were determined to create a statement-making album that truly captured the magic behind this genuinely appealing rock band.
Lyrically, all roads lead from the album’s title, which Bear says has several different meanings, one of them being the justification of accounts. “I like the idea that you put in all this work and at some point it comes to a peak -- that’s the reckoning time.”
What the band emerged with is a timeless-sounding album rooted in classic American rock and roll, unafraid to veer off into unexpected directions. Songs such as “Maybe They’re On To Us” address the paranoia of wondering whether people know too much about the band. “It also asks, ‘Are we still driven in the same way?’ We’re always questioning ourselves,” Bear says. Even the songs that may sound light-hearted on the surface, like “White Fences,” “Slumber,” and “Drive All Night,” explore serious themes. “’White Fences’ is about the American dream of growing up in a big house with a white picket fence, but when the dream is broken and things don’t pan out the way you planned, asking who’s going to fix it,” Bo says. “’Slumber’ is meant to be about how beauty is all around you but you just can’t see it because of the funk you’re in,” Bear says. “It speaks to something that we really care about which is giving yourself a chance.” And there’s “Drive All Night,” a galloping barnstormer that Bear sees as a statement on the false idea that one can run away from one’s problems.
With their intriguing melodies and bright choruses, the songs on The Reckoning are certain to translate in the live setting, something that is crucial to the band. “The worst thing that could happen is you get done playing and people don’t think about you again. We’ll do whatever it takes to force people to make a decision about our band, whether they love us or not. It makes for more passionate fans.”
Wasteland
NEEDTOBREATHE Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the cavalry comes
Yeah it feels like the great divide
Has already come
Yeah I'm wasting my way through days
Losing youth along the way
Oh if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Who can be against me
There was a greatness I felt for awhile
But somehow it changed
Some kind of blindness I used to protect me
From all of my stains
Yeah I wish this was vertigo
It just feels like I'm falling slow
Oh if God is on my side
Then who can be against me
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to get by
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to shine
All of these people I meet
It seems like they're fine
Yeah in some ways I hope that they're not
And their hearts are like mine
Yeah it's wrong when it seems like work
To belong all I feel is hurt
Oh if God is on my side
Yeah if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Who can be against me
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to get by
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to shine
Oh if God is on my side
Yeah if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Who can be against me
The lyrics of the NEEDTOBREATHE's song 'Wasteland' are a reflection of the internal struggles faced by the singer. The first two lines suggest that the singer accepts his mortality and is resigned to his fate. The phrase "the great divide" can symbolize a critical or decisive moment in one's life. The singer speaks about the time that has passed by and how they have felt like they have wasted away their time or not made the most of it. The line "losing youth along the way" suggests that the singer feels as though he's squandered his prime, and that he is quickly approaching his own end.
In the next stanza, the lyrics suggest that the singer is experiencing some kind of emotional pain. They describe a "blindness" they used to depend upon to protect them in the past. The singer wishes it was vertigo, believing that rather then the state of slow decline they are in, it would be more bearable in comparison. However, a ray of hope shines through when they question whether or not God is on their side, which serves as a source of comfort.
In the final stanza, the singer talks about meeting others who appear to be doing fine, but could also be hiding their own pain. The sense of the struggle to belong also comes through with the line, "it's wrong when it seems like work to belong, all I feel is hurt" The song concludes on a hopeful note, where the singer realizes that even though they are in a wasteland, a little light is all they need to make it through.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm the first one in line to die
When the cavalry comes
The singer feels like he's destined for a bad end, like he's at the front of the line when it comes to facing his fears.
Yeah it feels like the great divide
Has already come
The singer feels like he's already been split in half emotionally, like a great divide has already come and he's on the other side.
Yeah I'm wasting my way through days
Losing youth along the way
The singer feels like he's wasting his days without any real purpose or progress made, and in the meantime, he's losing his youth and vitality to time.
Oh if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Who can be against me
The singer believes that with God on his side, he can overcome any obstacle or adversary.
There was a greatness I felt for awhile
But somehow it changed
The singer used to feel like he had a great purpose or potential, but something happened to change that feeling.
Some kind of blindness I used to protect me
From all of my stains
The singer had a sort of ignorance that helped him hide from his flaws and mistakes, but he can't use that defense anymore.
Yeah I wish this was vertigo
It just feels like I'm falling slow
The singer wishes he had a more exhilarating reason for what he's going through, but instead, it just feels like he's slowly sinking deeper into despair.
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to get by
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to shine
Despite feeling like he's stuck in a barren, lifeless place, the singer finds hope in a small glimmer of light that gives him the strength and inspiration he needs to keep going and even shine.
All of these people I meet
It seems like they're fine
Yeah in some ways I hope that they're not
And their hearts are like mine
The singer meets people who look like they have it all together, but he secretly hopes they have struggles like him so he doesn't feel so alone in his pain.
Yeah it's wrong when it seems like work
To belong all I feel is hurt
The singer feels like he has to try too hard to fit in with others and it hurts him to think about how much work it takes just to feel like he belongs.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Bear Rinehart, Bo Rinehart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Erin King
I'm the first one in line to die
When the cavalry comes
Yeah it feels like the great divide
Has already come
Yeah I'm wasting my way through days
Losing youth along the way
Oh if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Then who can be against me
There was a greatness I felt for a while
But somehow it changed
Some kind of blindness I used to protect me
From all of my stains
Yeah I wish this was vertigo
But it just feels like I'm falling slow
Oh if God is on my side
Then who can be against me
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to get by
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to shine
All of these people I meet
It seems like they're fine
Yeah in some ways I hope that they're not
And their hearts are like mine
It's wrong when it seems like work
To belong all I feel is hurt
Oh if God is on my side
Yeah if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Then who can be against me
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to get by
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to shine
Oh if God is on my side
Yeah if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Then who can be against me
fidauciha
I'm the first one in line to die
When the cavalry comes
Yeah it feels like the great divide
Has already come
Yeah I'm wasting my way through days
Losing youth along the way
Oh if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Who can be against me
There was a greatness I felt for awhile
But somehow it changed
Some kind of blindness I used to protect me
From all of my stains
Yeah I wish this was vertigo
It just feels like I'm falling slow
Oh if God is on my side
Then who can be against me
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to get by
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to shine
All of these people I meet
It seems like they're fine
Yeah in some ways I hope that they're not
And their hearts are like mine
Yeah it's wrong when it seems like work
To belong all I feel is hurt
Oh if God is on my side
Yeah if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Who can be against me
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to get by
Yeah in this wasteland where I'm livin'
There is a crack in the door filled with light
And it's all that I need to shine
Oh if God is on my side
Yeah if God is on my side
Oh if God is on my side
Who can be against me
Buck H.B.
I've never listened to Christian music, nor am I a Christian myself... but man, this is a lovely song!
CHOCLODITE LENSMAN
Sounds like God is calling. Awesome.
Landon Smith
When it says “If God is on my Side, Who can ever be against me?”, I believe that is the greatest message that can ever be conveyed. The first thing that I thought of was when Peter walked on water.
Agape N
@CD Snider Questions don’t scare God. I pray that you have an encounter with Jesus — not the idea but the man (the reality).
Angela Mashburn
St John 6:44
No man can come to me,except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
K H
I pray you let Jesus in your heart and save your soul. If you think this song fills you with joy just wait to see what Jesus can really do! Praying for you!
Cardistry
"There is a crack in the door filled with light and it's all that I need to get by.."
This is so powerful
S&I Productions
"All of these people I meet
It seems like they're fine.
Yeah, in some ways I hope that they're not.
And their hearts are like mine."
Right in the FEELS
Kirk OBryant
Yessss!!!!!
JD Williams
S&I Productions The most poignant verse in the song. Just, wow. I love how deeply honest it is.