This week we are looking at the song “Could be a Lot Worse” by Vigilantes of Love. This song continues our series on the songs by Bill Mallonee. As always, the songs by Bill Mallonee and Vigilantes of Love can be found at the Bill Mallonee Mp3 Store. The songs sold in the Mp3 Store are of high quality (320kbps Mp3) and are DRM free so they can be put onto any portable player and should play on any computer that can play mp3 files.

The song “Could be a Lot Worse” is off the album Audible Sigh, the second to last album to use the Vigilantes of Love moniker. The more noticeble alt-country tinge does not detract from the lyrics or rock-ish vibe the song wants to give off. In fact, that tinge is what makes the song work in its best possible way. As usual, Bill spins some of his best work when looking on the dark side of things. The odd thing is that while this song is about looking at life and saying “it could be worse” it shows hope in lines like “Gonna die a failure, but the happiness awake. You can go to sleep in hell and wake up at Heaven’s gates.”

Christians in general live off the idea of hope. We believe in hope because hope and faith are what, in the end, redeem us.

But the lyrics are not the only thing that shine here. The music greatly compliments the lyrics, especially with those splash cymbals that perfectly accent the some of the smaller words like “kiss”, “hope”, “love”, and “faith” done in such a way that one could be made to think that Bill might have wanted the focus there on purpose.

Overall, I think that Bill was trying to speak to the common man here but to also himself. No stranger to issues (especially when it came to dealing with his record company), he might have been trying to tell himself that “it could be worse” but that is something we will probably never know for sure.

Lyrics after the jump…

Could be a Lot Worse
by Vigilantes of Love
From the Album: “Audible Sigh”

a kiss for the miles to drive
a prayer for when it rains
one shot of perspective
a couple more to kill the pain

when all the best metaphors
are hitting too close to home
when all the best metaphors
are bleeding from your bones

i’m gonna die a failure
but to happiness awake
you can go to sleep in hell
and wake up at heaven’s gate

think of all that we miss today
that lay right before our eyes
think of all that fades away
in the hard-pressed compromise

[Chorus]
and this is dangerous terrain
we’re attempting to traverse
it’s a crying shame
but it could be a lot worse

so you proceed with caution
though you’re mumbling in the dark
and that one shot of perspective
has finally hit your heart

faith she’s a whistling train
running hard in the dark
and hope is like a thing untamed
gonna lay to waste your heart

love’s a little bit of God
there for all to know
love’s the everlasting arms
that never do let go

[Chorus]