Born in Cleveland, Ohio,U.S., Tracy Chapman began playing guitar and writing songs as a child. She received a scholarship through A Better Chance that allowed her to attend Wooster School in Connecticut, and was eventually accepted to Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
Tracy Chapman helped restore songwriters to the spotlight in the '80s. The multi-platinum success of Chapman's eponymous 1988 debut was unexpected, and it had lasting impact. Although Chapman was working from the same confessional songwriter foundation that had been popularized in the '70s, her songs were fresh and powerful, driven by simple melodies and affecting lyrics. At the time of her first album, there were only a handful of artists performing such a style successfully, and her success ushered in a new era of songwriters that lasted well into the '90s. Along with 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M., Chapman's liberal politics proved enormously influential on American college campuses in the late '80s.
Official Website: http://www.tracychapman.com
Fansite: http://www.tracychapmanonline.com
Save Us All
Tracy Chapman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know Jesus loves me
In my heart I know it's true
I know Mary's little baby
Came into the world
Just to save me
But I don't know about you
My God can shake the world up
Plagues and famines
Frogs and locusts
Walking on water
Burning bushes
Rolling the thunder
And parting the waters too
My God is good in the kitchen
Make a good meal from bread and fishes
Feed the hungry, pour the wine
Everybody's welcome to have a good time
Sit at his table, enjoy the food
I know Jesus loves me
He says I should love you
My neighbor, not his wife
Don't covet, steal, kill or lie
My God's got a lot of rules
My God made creation
Six days work, one day vacation
Made a garden
Filled it with apples
Adam and Eve they walked around natural
Until they ate that one piece of bad fruit
I've heard that your Gods older
Buddha, Allah, Krishna
Manifest with many faces
Worshiped the world over in foreign places
I assume your God must love you
I know Jesus loves me
And my God is good and great and true
But if pride goeth before the fall
I hope someone's God will save us all
Save us all
And love the sinners too
But if pride goeth before the fall
I hope someone's God will save us all
Save us all
And love the sinners too
Tracy Chapman's song "Save Us All" is a reflection on religion and the different gods that people believe in. The lyrics contemplate the idea that everyone believes in their own god or gods, and that everyone's god is powerful and meaningful to them in their own way. The opening lines of the song express the singer's belief in Jesus and Mary, but also acknowledge that not everyone may share these beliefs.
The subsequent verses portray the singer's own god as being mighty and capable of performing miracles, such as parting the waters and feeding a group of hungry people with only bread and fish. The singer also speaks of her god's rules, which include loving one's neighbor and avoiding coveting, stealing, killing, and lying.
The final verse of the song brings up the idea that there are many different gods and religious beliefs in the world, and suggests that everyone's god must love them in their own way. The singer then expresses the hope that, regardless of one's beliefs, someone's god will save us all and love the sinners too. The song ultimately leaves the listener with the question of how we can all coexist and respect each other's religious beliefs.
Line by Line Meaning
One, two, three, four
The song starts with counting numbers, indicating something important is being said.
I know Jesus loves me
The singer believes in the love of Jesus.
In my heart I know it's true
The singer feels that her belief in Jesus' love is true.
I know Mary's little baby
The singer knows about baby Jesus.
Came into the world
Jesus was born.
Just to save me
Jesus was born to save the singer.
But I don't know about you
The singer is not sure whether others share her belief or not.
My Gods a mighty big God
The singer believes in a powerful God.
My God can shake the world up
The singer believes that her God can cause earthquakes and natural disasters.
Plagues and famines
The singer believes that her God can cause disasters like plagues and famines.
Frogs and locusts
The singer believes that her God can cause animals like frogs and locusts to cause destruction.
Walking on water
The singer believes in the miracle of Jesus walking on water.
Burning bushes
The singer believes in the story of Moses and the burning bush in which God spoke to him.
Rolling the thunder
The singer believes in the power of her God even over natural phenomena like thunder.
And parting the waters too
The singer believes in the story of Moses parting the Red Sea.
My God is good in the kitchen
The singer believes in a God who can cook delicious food.
Make a good meal from bread and fishes
The singer is referring to the miracle of Jesus feeding thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fishes.
Feed the hungry, pour the wine
The singer is saying that her God provides food and drink to those in need.
Everybody's welcome to have a good time
The singer believes that everyone is welcome to enjoy her God's offerings.
Sit at his table, enjoy the food
The singer believes that all are welcome to sit and eat at her God's table.
He says I should love you
The singer believes that Jesus teaches to love one's neighbor.
My neighbor, not his wife
The singer believes that one should love their neighbor, not their neighbor's spouse.
Don't covet, steal, kill or lie
The singer believes in the Ten Commandments.
My God's got a lot of rules
The singer believes in the strict morality of her God.
My God made creation
The singer believes in the God who created the universe.
Six days work, one day vacation
The singer is referring to the story of creation where God rests on the seventh day.
Made a garden
The singer believes in the story of God creating a garden for Adam and Eve.
Filled it with apples
The singer is referencing the commonly held belief that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was an apple.
Adam and Eve they walked around natural
The singer is emphasizing that there was no shame or guilt in Adam and Eve's nakedness until they ate the forbidden fruit.
Until they ate that one piece of bad fruit
The singer believes that the story of Adam and Eve's fall from Eden is due to their choice to eat the forbidden fruit.
I've heard that your Gods older
The singer acknowledges the existence of other religions.
Buddha, Allah, Krishna
The singer lists three religions that are older than Christianity.
Manifest with many faces
The singer believes that other religions have different manifestations or interpretations of their God(s).
Worshiped the world over in foreign places
The singer acknowledges that other religions are followed in various parts of the world.
I assume your God must love you
The singer assumes that followers of other religions feel loved by their own God(s).
But if pride goeth before the fall
The singer is referring to the idiom 'pride comes before a fall'.
I hope someone's God will save us all
The singer hopes that a higher power will save everyone.
And love the sinners too
The singer hopes that the higher power will love even those who have sinned.
Save us all
The singer is appealing to a higher power to save everyone.
And love the sinners too
The singer is emphasizing that even sinners should be loved and saved.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Tracy Chapman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lorena alvarez
One, two, three, four
I know Jesus loves me
In my heart I know it's true
I know Mary's little baby
Came into the world
Just to save me
But I don't know about you
My Gods a mighty big God
My God can shake the world up
Plagues and famines
Frogs and locusts
Walking on water
Burning bushes
Rolling the thunder
And parting the waters too
My God is good in the kitchen
Make a good meal from bread and fishes
Feed the hungry, pour the wine
Everybody's welcome to have a good time
Sit at his table, enjoy the food
I know Jesus loves me
He says I should love you
My neighbor, not his wife
Don't covet, steal, kill or lie
My God's got a lot of rules
My God made creation
Six days work, one day vacation
Made a garden
Filled it with apples
Adam and Eve they walked around natural
Until they ate that one piece of bad fruit
I've heard that your Gods older
Buddha, Allah, Krishna
Manifest with many faces
Worshiped the world over in foreign places
I assume your God must love you
I know Jesus loves me
And my God is good and great and true
But if pride goeth before the fall
I hope someone's God will save us all
Save us all
And love the sinners too
But if pride goeth before the fall
I hope someone's God will save us all
Save us all
And love the sinners too
Nicholas Shaw
The quality of our dreams are both a reflection of our thoughts and actions as well as a foreshadowing of the fate of our souls in the next life...A nightly, temporary karma that beckons us to change - for the good - so as to avoid a more permanent karma.
Complexity(🌎)+Beauty(🌷)
=Intent(❤️)
The Figure 8 Analogy:
An analogy on life, death, the dream-state and the symbolism intertwined within the human experience...
We human beings are not moving in the - abstract - motion of a straight line towards death (for instance, the numerical straight line of say 1-89), rather we are moving in the motion of a figure 8...The Figure 8 is a natural repeating pattern that is divided into two halves and is thus the perfect symbol to represent the human life cycle and our two primary states of existence that we are continuously moving in and out of -the awake state and the dream-state.
When we awake from sleep, we come full circle to when we fall back asleep (represented by the bottom half of the figure 8), and when we go into the dream-state, we come full circle to when we awake from the dream-state (represented by the top half of the figure 8). Upon death, the figure 8 of life untwines, but it is not the body untwining from the mind that this analogy represents. It's two states of mind untwining to form a larger state of mind...(8->0)...Because the awake state is really a state -of mind, with our body's physical reality "consciously" intertwined, and the dream-state is also a state -of mind, with our body's physical reality "subconsciously" intertwined. Therefore; upon death, these two states "of mind" untwine to form a larger state of mind...A state that has all the potentialities of the dream world (flying, telepathy, psychokinesis, etc) combined with all the actualities of the awake world(nature, form, bonds, etc). This I refer to as the "transitional analogy."
While conceiving this analogy I realized life and death must be perceived - from one point of view - as seperate entities(the transitional analogy(8-0), but must also be perceived - from another point of view - as inseparable entities(the symbolic analogy), both of which are ultimately linked by the dream state.
The symbolic analogy consists of the untwined figure 8 of life/the 'circle of death' - abstractly -overlapping the 'circle of life'/the earth, with the overlappment representing the dream-state (like the common area in a venn diagram) which implies that the dream-state is just as much a part of life as is of death - by which semi-explains precognitive dreams, prodromal dreams, "visitations" by deceased relatives, etc, for the dream-state has a foothold in the afterlife - and is based on the premise that "while our body sleeps, our dream-state symbolically represents the state that awaits upon our body's ultimate rest.
In other words, while we are lying down and -sleeping/dreaming, this natural process symbolizes where we go when we're ultimately lying down/dead -to a place "like" our dream-state...A state "of mind", with our body's physical bonds eternally engrained and intertwined.
👁~8~👁
Venita K. Bennett-Bonaparte
+Anthony D Thank you. As musicians We knew. "My God's gotta a lotta Rules."
Listen to the lyrics.
Much True Respect and Peace,
From 1Innovator 2Another©.
Positive Effectual Change Through Positive Music Through Our Creator Our Divine One, With The Universal Mystery System Under The Principals of Harmony©
Bless Up!
Venita K. Bennett- Bonaparte
Lady Venita©
Bonaparte International©
lorena alvarez
One, two, three, four
I know Jesus loves me
In my heart I know it's true
I know Mary's little baby
Came into the world
Just to save me
But I don't know about you
My Gods a mighty big God
My God can shake the world up
Plagues and famines
Frogs and locusts
Walking on water
Burning bushes
Rolling the thunder
And parting the waters too
My God is good in the kitchen
Make a good meal from bread and fishes
Feed the hungry, pour the wine
Everybody's welcome to have a good time
Sit at his table, enjoy the food
I know Jesus loves me
He says I should love you
My neighbor, not his wife
Don't covet, steal, kill or lie
My God's got a lot of rules
My God made creation
Six days work, one day vacation
Made a garden
Filled it with apples
Adam and Eve they walked around natural
Until they ate that one piece of bad fruit
I've heard that your Gods older
Buddha, Allah, Krishna
Manifest with many faces
Worshiped the world over in foreign places
I assume your God must love you
I know Jesus loves me
And my God is good and great and true
But if pride goeth before the fall
I hope someone's God will save us all
Save us all
And love the sinners too
But if pride goeth before the fall
I hope someone's God will save us all
Save us all
And love the sinners too
Isadore
This makes me cry because we all want the same thing. Love, joy, safety, food, water, connection. We just forget and only see the other side as the enemy. There is so much more that unites us than divides💙💜❤️
Katyousha
I'm muslim and I love Tracy Chapman. peace to all Chrisitians and Jews. We're all human at the end. Peace from a muslim brother.
T W
Bless you
BONNET Jean-Philippe
Jesus is dead on the cross for you. It's the truth! AMEN
Ralph Raucci
May God Always Watch Over You and Your Family.
From a Christian Brothers
Ralph in CT
R.H. Child of God
May God touch you and give you Peace, in JC!
Ben Leyden
Katyousha asalama laikum
Mike Bezalel
This song touches my soul.
Jilbo2001
Awesome, first time hearing this I really like it. thanks for sharing. I feel like I'm in church just sitting here listening to it. woo hoo Amen Sister Tracy!