Land of the Free

Below are the lyrics to a hidden track on Andrew Peterson's album Clear on to Venus called Land of the Free:

Little Elba how's the sun in South America
Does it shine upon the faces of the poor?
Do they see in it the brilliance of the place that's been prepared
And dwell upon the hope of what's in store
Or are they just like me do they only see
An opportunity to complain about the heat

And little Elba how's the rain in South America
Does it fall upon the roof tops of the sick
Do they thank the Lord for coming up with such a great idea
And dream about a place beyond all this
Or are they just like us do they gripe and fuss
About the rain and mud when they’ve had too much?

Cause I'm just a little jealous
Of the nothing that you have
You're unfettered by the wealth of
Of a world that we pretend that's going to last

Well I'm weary of the spoils of my ambition
And I'm shackled by the comfort of my couch
Well I wish I had the courage to deny these of my self
And start to store my treasure in the clouds
Cause this is not my home
I do not belong where the antelope and the buffalo roam

And I’m just a little jealous
Of the nothing that you have
You're unfettered by the wealth of
Of a world that we pretend that's going to last

They say God's blessed us with plenty
I say you're blessed with poverty
Cause you never stop to wonder
Whether earth is just a little better than the land of the free

So I hope you're safe and dry in South America
Cause I'm feeling pretty good in Tennessee
But may you never be so happy that you forget about your home
Your home in the land of the free

On the inside of a later album cover Peterson wrote this about the lyrics to this song:

"After my second trip to Bolivia with Compassion, I realized that in my songwriting fervor, I had misspoken. I don't believe, as the line in the bridge says, that little Elba and Hugo are "blessed with poverty". Poverty is a result of the Fall, and, though God certainly uses the worst Satan can throw at Him for His own glory and our good, poverty--true poverty--is an evil. It's an evil that we in the church are called to confront.

What I meant to say is that little Elba is blessed with simplicity. That's the aspect of life in the Third World that we Americans are lacking. Simplicity is what we sense is so glaring deficient in our American lives when we return from a mission trip. These days when I sing the Land of the Free, I sing this line: I say you're blessed with less than me."

May we fight the busy-ness that distracts us from allowing Christ to live through us bringing his Kingdom here -- now. May we embrace the simplicity of the Good News!