Brian wrote a serious song? How rare!

(click the title to hear it, of course)
The Path - By Brian Bridges
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On a rough dirt path with the sun beating down
I am trusting, sure that He knows His way around
I almost fall down, there are rocks strewn about
But he doesn't let me fall, like the spider in a spout
Like water in a drought, I seek him out
I hold on 'cause I know He's someone I can't live without
I give a shout anytime I think I'll fall
And He grabs me, pulls me high, and helps me walk tall
It goes on this way and I don't dare stray
I just lift my eyes up to his face, fix my gaze
Never looking to the left, never glancing to the right
I don't know what's out there, but I don't care, He's my life
When the sweat drips down, He gives me energy
When the tears drip down, He is a friend to me
When my fears grip down, He fights my enemies
And when I'm snared by a trap, He sets me free
So let me be, I just wanna walk this path
And know that if I don't look away, I'll be okay
I won't stray, I'll just stay in this place
Bound for glory in a never ending story

I hear my name called out, off to my left
And I turn my head just for a minute, "Who's that?"
It's a girl standing there just off the path
Her hair waves in the wind as she walks through the grass
She's beautiful, enticing, makes my heart pound
And I hear the sound of her lovely voice, calling me now
To walk over, she wants to tell me something
It won't take more than a second
I walk over, "Something I can do for you miss?"
"Just this," she leans in and gives me a kiss
"What was that for?" I ask but she doesn't reply
I find my gaze fixed deep into her dazzling eyes
It's all kind of a blur as she slips her soft fingers
Into my hand and lets her touch linger
Then she gives me a tug and gently pulls me along
And my heart melts as she softly sings me a song
We walk through the grass and I feel nothing but joy
Her touch is warm and she has a steady poise
And I feel giddy inside at the sound of her voice
I feel like a boy who just got a new toy
We walk a bit further now and then she turns around
And pulls me close to her, I can hear her breathing now
But there's no other sounds, it's just her and me
No distractions, she's the only one I see
"Kiss me" she says, but her voice has changed
I stare into her eyes and see a blood red flame
I back away and ask if she's feeling okay
But she laughs and holds me as I try to pull away
"Please, let me go" I half politely request
But she squeezes me and leans her head on my chest
I calm down instantly and forget all my fears
And wonder where she'd been hiding all these years
She tells me sweet things, but then my skin grows cold
When she looks up and asks me to give her my soul
I decline and tell her I just want to be friends
But she says if I say no, our love will end
And I don't want that, in fact I really don't care
Because all I want now is this embrace we share
So I forget that one guy, uhhh...what was his name?
And plus it was a hard path to walk just the same
Whereas here I am pleased by this girl holding me
So I tell her it's fine she can have it for free

That was the last thing I said before her skin turned pale
And her eyes burned with the fury of a stormy gale
I shoved her away and watched in horror
As if I'd opened up a door on the box of Pandora
She swore I would never ever escape her now
And I looked around but saw nothing but blackness...How!?
Is this happening, what is going on!?
Weren't we just standing in a field on a grassy lawn?
The ground was hard as stone and the air was cold
And the girl before me looked decayed and old
And the hatred in her eyes was like I'd never seen
And the expression on her face was all haggard and mean
She shrieks and reaches for me with bony hands
I back away but bump into what feels like a man
And I turn around I see him there, staring at me
Hatred in his eyes too, and he's bloody and rotting
I turn to run but find that I'm surrounded by them
They're everywhere, hateful eyes that stare, flesh ripped bare
Withered hair, decaying stench of death in the air
Starving as if they had no food to spare
And then the place lit up and I saw a sea of silhouettes surrounding me
And the flaming lights flashed as they began to scream
"All hate, all hate" every corpse was chanting
Thrusting their fists above their heads to a man standing
On an elevated plane above us all
With a group of winged soldiers standing tall
He leaned over a podium and raised up his hands
And the entire place errupted in the praise of his fans
He shot his eyes at me and pointed into my heart
And screamed, "He offered his soul! Minions, tear him apart!!"
And a mass of rotting hands suddenly reached for my chest
I wanted to scream for help but I was holding my breath
And when I finally found it in me and I was able to wail
The guy gave an order to stop and their hands all failed
But before I felt relief I felt new hands on me
It was the girl from before when she was pretty and clean
She held me close yet again, and I remembered her hate
But for some reason, in her arms, that seemed to drift away
And I was almost in a daze, feeling good once again
Even though I saw those dozen hands creeping in
And I began debating deep inside my mind
Whether I should cry out to God or just stay here and die
I don't know why, I knew nothing I'd done was right
I knew I should never have strayed my eyes or left my master's sight


But suddenly I found it in me and I shoved her away
And I screamed out to God as the hands grabbed at my face
And my throat, and my chest, and my arms, and my legs
And I screamed "Abba, Father!!" before my flesh gave way
Then the instant I screamed, there was a thunderous crack
And the sky lit up a flash of white in the black
All the dead men let go and fell down to their knees
Screaming mercy and things like, "Don't torture us, please!"
And the man at the podium shrieked out filth
But the anger in his eyes began to mingle with guilt
Even the tall winged soldiers were down on the ground
Wailing out the utmost hideous sounds
There was another crack and I spun around
The sky was on fire, there was rumbling in the ground
And then the shrieks of the masses could scarcely be heard
Above the deafening sound of my Father's own words
As he shouted my name with a terrifying roar
I was like a lost lamb that he'd been searching for
And then he appeared and I fell down with the crowd
And I covered my head with my hands like a shroud
But through my closed eyes, the light was blinding
And the whole earth shook beneath his fire and lightning
It all happened so fast, and I couldn't really see
But I could sense that bodies were flying all around me
There were screams of pain, and wails of hate
And a crash as the podium crumbled to its fate
The next thing I knew, I was completely consumed
Engulfed in love beyond that of the hate that had fumed
And everything felt so distant, though I could see it occur
It was as if I was dreaming, so I couldn't be sure
In here, things were calm like floating under the sea
Except instead of water, I felt his passionate love for me
And before I knew what all had just taken place
I felt my knees in the dirt and a hand on my face
It was the path once again and he raised up my head
But I shook him away and said I ought to be dead
I just couldn't look at him, I couldn't look at his eyes
I layed down in the dirt and just began to cry
My shoulders shook now as I felt my shame rise
This pain I had was from forfeiting my life
And disobeying my God
I knew I'd done wrong
And I didn't see how his love could be so strong
Through my tears I whispered, "I'm sorry, my Lord...
I know that you had the greatest things in store
But I left you for lusts of the here and now
Please forgive me, if you can, though I don't see how..."
And He said, "Yes, my son, that was foolish of you
And the price for that is death, what you say is true
But my love is stronger than that
You see I bought you back,
My son died in your place, the price is paid at last
Plus He's alive today, death couldn't hold Him down
So you're forgiven, everything is okay now."
And he took my shoulders, and raised me to my feet
And embraced me with love like you would never believe
Then he said, "Come now, son, follow me."
And we continued down the path and I knew, I was free.