Artist of the Week

Artist: Sanctus Real
Album: We Need Each Other
Song: Lay Down My Guns



I have to admit, when I first saw the title of this song I thought to myself, “I bet this is one of those silly anti-gun messages that some bands sing about.” But to my surprise, it is a really touching and powerful worship song. Before I go on, I need to give you some background about the song. As Sanctus Real was putting together this album, a song writer friend, Doug, sent them a file of lyrics, and on this file was the chorus “Lay down your guns, lift up your hands.” Matt Hammitt, the lead singer and song writer used this chorus, tweaked it a bit and wrote this amazing song. As you read through these lyrics, think about the war in Iraq, the things the soldiers have to go through on a daily basis. Some of them lose their friends over there, some even lose their own lives. This song is a tribute to the soldiers in Iraq, and also Hammitt is using the war in Iraq as a metaphor of our lives on earth. The last run through of the chorus says it best:
May this desert reach its end where my new life begins
And I'll abandon my defenses and live to love again
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

While we are on this earth, we have to uphold our defenses, Satan is attacking us all the time, he is on the prowl. We lift up our guns to defend ourselves against the enemy. But when we leave this earth and finally reach Heaven, we can lay down our guns and we will eternally be in peace where we can lift our hands to worship the Lord.

Enjoy the song.


Well I just need a place to lay my head
Forget the chain that hangs around my neck
These guns are not as heavy as the hearts they defend
I can't wait to get back home where I can find some rest

When I lay down my guns and lift my hands
Surrender to Love and live again
May this desert reach its end where my new life begins
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

And I have seen the devil in this place
And I lost myself when my friends found the grave
When you're this far from Heaven
It's hard to keep the faith
I'm barely holding on
I can't wait to

Lay down my guns and lift my hands
Surrender to Love and live again
May this desert reach its end where my new life begins
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

And I'm laying down these burdens
Taking off the weights
And I can't count the miles that I've walked to find my way
To lay down these guns
How I need to lay down these guns

Lay down my guns and lift my hands
Surrender to Love and live again
May this desert reach its end where my new life begins
And I'll abandon my defenses and live to love again
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

Lay down
Lay down
Lay down my guns