Song Meaning
These lyrics open with a striking image: someone "Chewing on the word of God," actively internalizing spiritual guidance. There's an immediate sense of longing for restoration, like "A tree replanted back in Eden." The scene is one of profound, personal spiritual engagement.
Yet, this isn't a simple, serene process. A deep internal conflict emerges with the phrase "Garden under-harden hardened heart." It suggests a heart that resists softening, even as it yearns for growth and renewal. The speaker addresses a divine creator, expressing a complex relationship with conventional worship, finding it hard "to be at home / With all this praise-talk."
The repeated "chewing" motif is particularly potent. It's not passive reading but a visceral, active consumption, a desire for the divine word to "change my words." This hunger for transformation culminates in a powerful plea: "Make me ever change me to your art." The speaker wants to be molded, reshaped into something beautiful and intentional by a higher power.
Ultimately, these lyrics are effective because they capture the messy, often difficult, but deeply personal work of spiritual transformation. The blend of ancient Edenic imagery with the raw, active language of "chewing" and the nuanced struggle of a "hardened heart" makes the desire for renewal feel authentic and earned. It's a journey from internal resistance to a hopeful planting of "Garden seeds to give the heart a start."