This article is part of series looking at the lyrics of Reese Roper, specifically at the lyrics he wrote while in the Christian “ska” band, Five Iron Frenzy.

Last week we looked at the lyrics of Reese Roper of Five Iron Frenzy. We looked at the song “So Far, So Bad” from Five Iron’s last album The End is Near. This week we will concentrate on a song that was recorded during the All the Hype Money Can Buy sessions. The album, All the Hype… is, in my opinion Five Iron Frenzy’s lesser efforts. The songs on it were not as good as previous efforts and it did not have a lot of the stuff that made Five Iron so great. The songs on the album contained some of Mr. Roper’s worse lyrics and while it is an album that has its moments, it was lacking.

So with that in mind, it makes one wonder why they left a song like “Kamikaze” off the record. The song is about jumping into those situations that can change you with an outlook that you can come out better from the experience. So often as Christian’s we can get stuck in our ways, and look at everything with rose colored glasses. We want to stop challenging ourselves and never move outside our little circle of like minded Christians. We do not want to do anything that can challenge our beliefs and when something does we cover our ears, close our eyes, and run in the opposite direction instead of confronting and learning from the experience.

The song “Kamikaze” talks about this issue in a way that hypes one up to do just the opposite of what many Christians normally do. With lines like “I am so slow to commit, I have wasted years on fences” while they seem introspective, they are something every Christian has dealt with at one point or another.

Kamikaze
by Five Iron Frenzy
From the Album “Cheeses…”

i’m going in (1,2,3 and go)
like a kamikaze (like geronimo)
a leap of faith (and i finally feel alive)
3, 2, 1 i’m going in

i don’t know if it’s just me
but it seems that things aren’t changing
every day is pretty much the same
with a little rearranging
if i do nothing i can’t fail
no blistered hands, no broken nails
killing time, i’m paralyzed
with faded dreams and hollow eyes
i’ve been waiting for a revelation
for a moment of clarity
conflicts and convolutions
ricochet inside of me
there comes a time for throwing caution to the wind
i feel the pulse again

i’m going in (1, 2, 3 say when)
like a flaming arrow (soaring in the wind)
a leap of faith (and i finally feel alive)
3, 2, 1 i’m going in

i am so slow to commit
i have wasted years on fences
is is really true the shoes don’t fit?
is it only my defenses?
what if i don’t measure up,
don’t listen well, don’t smile enough?
alone and unknown up ’till now
need to change direction somehow
i’ve been open to persuasion
wanting someone to take the lead
it’s alittle disconcerting
signing up for eternity
there comes a time for throwing caution to the wind
and so my life begins

i’m going in (1, 2, 3 say when)
like a flaming arrow (soaring in the wind)
a leap of faith (and i finally feel alive)
3, 2, 1 i’m going in

i’m going in
i’m going in
i’m going in