August Burns Red- Indonesia (Lyrics and Meaning)
August Burns Red's song "Indonesia" from their album "Constellations". This song, in a literal sense, is about a friend of Matt's who passed away in a plane crash in Indonesia. A terrible tragedy that cannot be logically explained. However, the song is also about how we have to trust in God no matter what the circumstance. We can't see the big picture, even if things seem like they have no purpose.
This is from an interview with ABR drummer Matt Greiner about the song:
"One of the songs, entitled "Indonesia", is about a friend of mine that passed away in a tragic accident. His name was David Clapper, father of four children, happily married for over 20 years, a missionary to a remote tribe in Indonesia. He owned a small single engine plane, which he'd fly injured folks in from their tribe to the nearest hospital, a four-hour flight away. He was returning one evening from the hospital after dropping off the latest patient that day and got caught in a terrible windstorm on the way home. The storm blew his plane into the side of a mountain where he was pinned beneath the plane and died shortly thereafter. I had jotted down something at church the night before finding out about the accident, and it was eerily similar to the story of the plane, the missionary, and the family left behind. "Indonesia" tells the story of a family who surrendered all they had to minister to a remote tribe, the story of a husband and father killed in a tragic accident, and most importantly, the story of a widower and four children that kept their faith in God, even when all seemed lost."
[...] You mentioned that you wrote something down in regards to that same plane crash scenario the night before. What do you make of that?
"It was a 24-hour worship and prayer service called Gateway that night the 'story' came to me. I was on my feet praying when I suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. I sat down and felt the need, the prompting, to write something down. I didn't have anything in particular in mind to write but nevertheless put pen to paper and started jotting words as they came to me. I drove home, went to sleep, woke up the next morning and was told of David Clapper passing away in a tragic plane accident. Instantly I thought of what I had written the night before, the first line of which is, "This plane's going down in flames, and this time there's no black box to capture your last words."
I think that God gave me a prophetic word that foreshadowed the news I'd hear the next morning. In addition however, I think He wanted to highlight how the family would react to the news of their father/husband passing away. My favorite line from the song is, "...the white on his flag brings colors to shame." It then goes on to talk about the cycle of life, how the earth will swallow the water and the clouds refill the oceans. David's family can't possibly understand why he died that day. But they also can't fathom eternity; they can't even explain their own chemical make-up. What's most profound is that they get it. They understand that they'll have to settle for now in not knowing why David passed away. They are still living in Indonesia where they've devoted their life to ministering to the tribe David died lending his own hand."
"How does a man wrap his mind around eternity, when he can't even explain his own composition? Don't you see it's bigger than you?" We cannot comprehend the greatness of God or his plan. God uses us for specific purposes on earth, and he can end our journey on earth. We don't have to understand why. Our purpose is not to question God, but to obey him at all costs.
"The earth will swallow the water. The clouds refill the oceans. The earth will swallow the water and spit out. The clouds will refill, refill the oceans." This is referring to the cycle of life. Like the water cycle, the cycle of life continues. There are unexpected tragedies, but the cycle continues. God's plan is greater than our earthly minds can comprehend.
Enjoy the video :)