While leading worship at a Christian youth camp, the father of one of the children videotaped Watson's performance and sent it to a Nashville industry rep. His debut LP, Workin' in the Final Hour, followed in 1980. A series of albums like 1982's New Lives for Old, 1984's Man in the Middle and 1985's Giants in the Land followed before his breakthrough record, the Grammy-nominated Watercolor Ponies, appeared in 1987.
Watson also notched well over a dozen Dove Award nominations, and launched a number of CCM chart-toppers including "The Class of '95," "Be in Her Eyes," "A Beautiful Place." "Walk in the Dark," "More of You," "It's Time," "Home Free" and "Almighty."
In 1995 he signed to Warner/Alliance to issue Field of Souls; The Way Home followed three years later. Appropriately, his song "For Such a Time as This" was used as the theme for the 1999 season premiere of CBS's popular series Touched by an Angel, reflecting Watson's own growing popularity in the secular music arena. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
God in a Box
Wayne Watson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They've got it all figured out
Little room for mystery
Little room for doubt
Got no time for questions
Everything is black and white
That's right
They're studyin' the word
If you ain't heard out version
Brother, you ain't really heard
It's our darlin' revelation
Everything is crystal clear
Cool and collected
Nothing left to learn, nearly perfected
Lord, have mercy on our arrogant souls
Before we were us
It was You alone, I know
God ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in, oh, no
He won't be contained
By some shiny, wrapped-up view of Him
God ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in
Lord, we know everything You're up to
Know just what to expect
Who You're gonna nail
And who You're gonna protect
So come on, line 'em up, sign 'em up
All our little ducks in a row
So, come on, tell me
Who's got all the answers
God is not puppet on a string, no, no
He ain't no carnival prancer
Come on, open up the doors
For the strong and mighty King
Whoa, God ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in, whoa, no
He won't be contained
By some shiny, wrapped-up view of Him
God ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in, whoa!
So, come on, tell me
Who's got all the answers
God is not puppet on a string, no, sir
He ain't no carnival prancer
Come on, open wide your doors
For the strong and mighty King
God ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in
Whoa, no, no, no
God ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in
Whoa, no, no, no
God ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in
He ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in
He won't be contained, no
He won't be contained
By some shiny, wrapped-up view of Him
Whoa, God ain't gonna stay
In the little box I put Him in
The song "God In a Box" by Wayne Watson critiques the tendency of religious individuals to create a neat and tidy understanding of who God is and how He works. The first few lines of the song describe the kind of people who have "got it all figured out," and who have "little room for mystery" or "doubt." These people believe everything is black and white, and have no time for questions or ambiguity. The second verse describes another group of people who follow the word of God strictly, but presume that they already know everything there is to know about Him. Watson's lyrics suggest that although these individuals may feel confident in their beliefs, they are limiting their understanding of God and potentially missing out on something more meaningful.
In the chorus, Watson repeats the phrase "God ain't gonna stay in the little box I put Him in." By using the metaphor of a box, Watson expresses that humans are trying to impose their own limited and narrow perspective on who God is. He believes that this view of God is "shiny, wrapped-up" and "nearly perfected" but it is inherently false, since it doesn't leave any room for God to be who He is. Instead, he implores listeners to "open wide your doors" and let the "strong and mighty King" show you who He is.
Line by Line Meaning
Down on the corner
In this specific group of people
They've got it all figured out
They believe they understand everything about God
Little room for mystery
They do not have any desire to explore the mysteries of faith
Little room for doubt
They do not have any doubt about their beliefs
Got no time for questions
They do not want to ask, or answer, any difficult questions
Everything is black and white
They believe that there are only two sides to every issue
That's right
They are certain their understanding of God is accurate
A little further down the highway
In another group of people
They're studyin' the word
They are studying the Bible
If you ain't heard out version
If you have not heard our interpretation of the Bible
Brother, you ain't really heard
Then you have not really heard the true message of God
It's our darlin' revelation
Their interpretation of the Bible is their cherished belief
Everything is crystal clear
They believe they understand everything about God perfectly
Cool and collected
They are calm and confident knowing the truth
Nothing left to learn, nearly perfected
They believe they have achieved the pinnacle of knowledge and understanding of God
Lord, have mercy on our arrogant souls
The songwriter asks God for forgiveness for being overconfident in their knowledge of God
Before we were us
Before we had our current understanding of God
It was You alone, I know
God was the only certainty before they had their current beliefs
God ain't gonna stay
God will not remain
In the little box I put Him in, oh, no
In the narrow understanding I have of Him
He won't be contained
God will not be limited
By some shiny, wrapped-up view of Him
By presenting God as a simple and easily understood concept
Lord, we know everything You're up to
They claim to know everything about what God is doing
Know just what to expect
They believe they can predict how God will behave
Who You're gonna nail
They assume to know who God will judge harshly
And who You're gonna protect
They assume to know who God will show favor
So come on, line 'em up, sign 'em up
They want to categorize people by their beliefs
All our little ducks in a row
All people to be in alignment with their specific beliefs
So, come on, tell me
Asks the people who believe they have a complete understanding of God
Who's got all the answers
Asks who can exactly explain God
God is not puppet on a string, no, no
God is not being controlled, nor easily explained
He ain't no carnival prancer
God is not a trivial subject, and should not be portrayed as such
Come on, open up the doors
Invite people with a willingness to listen
For the strong and mighty King
For the powerful leader that is God
Whoa, God ain't gonna stay
God will not remain
In the little box I put Him in, whoa, no
In the narrow understanding I have of Him
So, come on, tell me
Asks the people who believe they have a complete understanding of God
Who's got all the answers
Asks who can exactly explain God
God ain't gonna stay
God will not remain
In the little box I put Him in, whoa!
In the narrow understanding I have of Him
God ain't gonna stay
God will not remain
In the little box I put Him in
In the narrow understanding I have of Him
Whoa, no, no, no
Several more repetitions occur with little variance in meaning
He won't be contained, no
God will not be limited
He won't be contained
God will not be limited
By some shiny, wrapped-up view of Him
By presenting God as a simple and easily understood concept
Whoa, God ain't gonna stay
God will not remain
In the little box I put Him in
In the narrow understanding I have of Him
Contributed by Addison Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.