Weezer and Beer

Sometimes when I am driving I like to put the iPod on shuffle and just see what happens. I have more than 4000 songs in there so every once it a while it feels good to be surprised by a song that I haven't heard in a while. Sometimes I get surprised by a song I didn't even know I had or have never heard. Often I'll hear a song that hits me just right. Yesterday was one of those days.

I had to make a thirty minute drive and needed some unexpected music, so I flipped the iPod to shuffle and got on the road. It was a great trip because every song that came on just happened to be a really good one (yes I have crummy songs on my iPod). The highlight came when Say It Ain't So by Weezer came on. I love Weezer. One of the main reasons I love them is that their lyrics are so real and raw. Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer and primary songwriter, is so transparent in his lyrics that it feels like I'm reading a page out of his very private journal. There is nothing more powerful to me than a song that can transport me into the very heart of an artist, and Say It Ain't So is one of those songs.

It is a song about being raised in the home of an alcoholic step-father and is brutally raw. I found myself getting completely absorbed in the song, almost as if it were the first time I was hearing it, and what I heard was terribly sad:

Dear daddy, I write you in spite of years of silence
You've cleaned up, found Jesus
Things are good so I hear
This bottle of Stevens awakens ancient demons
Like father, step-father
The son is drowning in the flood

Ephesians 5:18 says, "Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life." That is a clear command not to be drunk. Many Christians make the case that alcohol is okay as long as you are not getting drunk. If you are not out of control, it is okay in moderation. That is a legitimate and detailed argument that I cannot punch any holes in, but a friend once made an argument that carried more weight with me.

He was raised in a home where both parents were alcoholics. In explaining his childhood, he described drinking binges happening late into the night. He described cleaning up empty bottles and vomit while his mother lay passed out on the couch until late in the afternoon. He described the pressure he felt trying taking care of his alcoholic mother while still getting ready for elementary school every day. After painting this picture of his childhood, he said, "I've seen the damage that alcohol can cause in a family. I've seen the incredible pain it can cause. Knowing that there are other people out there like me who have suffered under the chaos alcohol can create, how could I possibly tell anyone that alcohol is okay? How could I possibly tell someone who went through what I went through that it is okay?"

Alcohol has a reach that extends beyond those who drink it. It is a thief that perpetually robs the families of those who get trapped in its grasp. How long can a person play with fire and not get burned? How long can a person play with fire without his children thinking it is safe for them to play with it?

Say it ain't so...