In many of indie rock group Lovedrug’s songs there are distinct religious undertones. Many of these are unmistakable Scriptural allusions. These references are most evident in three of the band’s song lyrics, crafted by singer/songwriter Michael Sheppard. The three songs are “Ghost By Your Side”, “The Monster”, and “Down Towards the Healing.” Although each has different subject matter,the songs have a common thread running through them.
Eerie guitar riffs give “The Monster” a sinister twist from the beginning of the song. The lyrics too are haunting and speak of monster "drooling over your tasty arm." The spectral nature of the song makes sense when the lines are scanned for their meaning. On one level, the song could be talking about some horror movie with a ogre devouring people. Upon deeper examination, however, another meaning can be seen. The song recounts the Massacre of the Innocents and the flight of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus to Egypt. The “screaming form the cellar” hints at demonic forces crying out because of the Child born to bring them down. The final lines of the song contrast Jesus to Satan, or the Monster, by saying that Jesus will have an “exorcism show” such as the healing of the Gadarenian Demoniac. This image is contrasted with the Monster knowing not how to heal, but “burn in hell.”
“Down Towards the Healing”, like “The Monster”, deals with Christian themes, but presents them in a totally different way. The lyrics of the song is the writer addressing God and it is in the first person as opposed to third person in “The Monster.” Michael Sheppard laments in “Down Towards the Healing” the he feels that he let God down:
“I wanna make you happy
But I’ve fallen, I’m sorry
I thought my wings could hold me up
With angels, not demons.”
Basically he is apologizing to God because he wants to do good but he has messed up. He believed his faith, or wings, would hold him up away from sin, but instead he has crashed down with creatures in opposition to God.
“So sad now we have become-
The children trapped in the mazes.
I'd give my soul to the one who has the courage
To find me and free me now.”
This quartet also shows the writer’s falling from God. The speaker is trapped and would give his life to whoever could pull his soul out of the mess he is in.
The writer’s voice in “Ghost By Your Side” very different from the dread in “The Monster” and the regret in “Down Towards the Healing. “Ghost By Your Side” is an upbeat song with an uplifting melody that is a paraphrase of the promise that God will not forsake His own
“If you dive into the ocean then I
Will be the wave around you tonight
And if you're sinking, then oh, it's alright
Because I will be the ghost who is at your side.”
These lines form the chorus contain a reference to Matthew 14:26-33. Peter walking on water and then sinking. According to Luke’s Gospel, the disciples in the boat saw a figure walking on the water and believed it was a ghost.
“Because love means going this far
Even when the ending is only the start.”
These lines are another paraphrase of Jesus when he said that He would die but rise again. “Going that far” for love meant death, but then resurrection. Though it signified the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth, it was also the beginning of a new era of faith. There is one line in particular that Sheppard phrases so poetically the fight to keep this faith- “I’m getting no reception on my heart radio”. What the writer is saying is that he can’t see where he is going, but Jesus says He will be with you “in life and death” and will be the “Good Phantom” that lead us home. All these lines also reference the Holy Spirit-- the Ghost by your side.
Michael Sheppard’s well crafted lyrics are inspiring and meaningful. On the surface, some of the spiritual references may seem to allude to a generic deity but on closer examination, there is a richer backdrop to the tapestry of Lovedrug’s music.
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