Smalltown Poets achieved recognition with their eponymous first album, released on Ardent Records in 1997. This release earned the band the first of its two Grammy nominations (Best Gospel Rock Album) and numerous Dove Award nominations. Despite line-up changes, the band stayed active for more than ten years, releasing three albums on Ardent Records and one on BEC Recordings.
Smalltown Poets went on hiatus several months after their fourth studio album called It's Later Than It's Ever Been," but regrouped in the fall of 2010 to begin production on a Christmas album due out in 2011 (co-produced and mixed by former Smalltown Poets drummer Matt Goldman). In anticipation of that full-length release, the band released a Christmas single in December 2010 titled "In the Bleak Midwinter."
The full-length project, Smalltown Poets Christmas, was released on Nov. 1st, 2011, on the band's own Friendly City Records label and is available on iTunes, Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, and other online media outlets.
Clean
Smalltown Poets Lyrics
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And the tendency for independence runs through every vein
Self aware, bare before you at the water side
Afraid to take the step into the tide
Oh, I feel so obscene knowing I am only
Clean because you promised me
I'm clean, wash me, I am clean
Called apart never has meant loneliness
But it feels that way any day I'd rather not confess
So take away the part of me that forgets the price of grace
I have only one hope to erase every failure I have seen and I am only
Clean because you promised me
I'm clean, wash me, I am clean
And ready for the world
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you
Clean because you promised me
I'm clean, wash me, I am clean
And ready for the world
I'm clean because you promised me
I'm clean, wash me, I am clean
And ready for the world, ready for the world
Ready for the world, ready for the world
Ready for the world, I'm ready for the world
The lyrics of Smalltown Poets's song Clean speak of the human experience of being clothed in the common and profane, and feeling the tendency for independence running through every vein. The singer is self-aware, and feels bare before their audience, standing by the water's edge but afraid to take the step into the tide. The singer feels ashamed, feeling only clean because of the promises made to them by a force not explicitly named in the lyrics.
The song's refrain, "Clean because you promised me, I'm clean, wash me, I am clean" gives insight into the singer's mindset. They grasp onto external promises and constructs to feel purified, to erase every failure they've ever seen. They are called apart but never quite comfortable in their solitude. They feel lost and forgetful of grace, their hope lies solely in promises made to them. The singer repeats "thank you" eight times, thanking the unnamed force for their sense of cleanliness, and their readiness for the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Clothed in the common and profane
Wearing ordinary, everyday clothes and possessing earthly faults and defilement.
And the tendency for independence runs through every vein
Having a natural inclination to self-reliance and autonomy that permeates every aspect of one's being.
Self aware, bare before you at the water side
Fully cognizant of one's faults and standing vulnerable in front of you by the shore.
Afraid to take the step into the tide
Terrified to plunge into the water because of fear of the unknown and the possibility of failure.
Oh, I feel so obscene knowing I am only
Feeling dirty and impure and acknowledging that the only reason for my cleanliness is because of you.
Clean because you promised me
Pure because you assured me of my purity through your promise.
I'm clean, wash me, I am clean
I am free from defilement, cleanse me and make me pure.
Called apart never has meant loneliness
Being set aside has never equated to loneliness.
But it feels that way any day I'd rather not confess
Nevertheless, it feels that way on some days, and I would rather not acknowledge it.
So take away the part of me that forgets the price of grace
Remove the aspect of me that fails to remember the cost of your favor.
I have only one hope to erase every failure I have seen and I am only
I have only one solution to obliterate every mistake I have committed, and that solution is you.
And ready for the world
Prepared and equipped to take on the world.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you
Expressing gratitude repeatedly.
I'm clean because you promised me
I am free of defilement because you made a promise to me.
Ready for the world, ready for the world
Prepared and equipped to take on the world.
I'm ready for the world
I am fully prepared and equipped to take on the world.
Lyrics © SOVEREIGN MUSIC
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