To Forgive

[Image: 'On The Fritz' Front Cover]

Sections:

Lyrics

I saw a man
He was holding the hand
That had fired a gun at his heart
Oh, will we live
To forgive?

I saw the eyes
And the look of surprise
As he left an indelible mark
Oh, will we live
To forgive?

Come, find release
Go, make your peace

Follow his lead
Let the madness recede
When we shatter the cycle of pain
Oh, we will live
To forgive?

Come, find release
Go, make your peace

I saw a man
With a hole in His hand
Who could offer the miracle cure
Oh, He said live
I forgive

Oh, He said live
I forgive

I saw a man
With a hole in His hand
Who could offer the miracle cure
Oh, He said live
I forgive

Oh, He said live
I forgive

Oh, He said live
I forgive

Oh, He said live
To forgive

Recorded Appearances

Albums

Compilations

Promos

Bootlegs

About The Song

From Crosswalk Syndicated Radio Interview, Crosswalk, Q2(?) 1985:

That one image really struck me, and it said so much to the world. It occurred to me that in many cases--I mean you've got this cycle of violence in Lebanon, in India, in northern Ireland, and when it comes down to it, the only possible solution for that is forgiveness, because otherwise the retribution and the cycle of revenge just keeps going. And here was a picture of the Pope shaking hands with a guy who tried to kill him. Regardless of who the Pope is--and some cynical people would say, you know, "well that's his job" or something like that--it was a very, very powerful image.

From Cornerstone 1985, July 1985:

Were any of you guys here at the Odeum when we were here a couple of months ago? I told you guys we'd try something new. I actually don't know how to play the guitar, but I have learned how to put one on, so this is a new thing for me. When I did this new album I decided I wanted to do one song that's kind of unique for me, something I'd never tried before, something a lot of people didn't think I could do. I decided to stretch out and write a positive song on this new album. This is called "To Forgive."

From Clone Club News Flash Winter 1986, Winter 1986:

It's true. I've broken with tradition. I've written a positive song.

It all began with a simple magazine cover. I don't recall ever being so moved by a photo as when I saw the image on the cover of Time Magazine of the Pope in a prison cell forgiving the man who tried to assassinate him. That single photo ended up being the inspiration for "To Forgive".

A very nice lyric, right? So imagine my surprise when I started pulling out of my letterbox some of the most heated reactions I'd ever received, all concerning this innocuous song...

Dear Mr. Sunshine,

As a card-carrying Clone Club charter member, you've got a lot to answer for. You may think that one positive song is no big deal--that we'll all just overlook this brief lapse into niceness. But one leads to two, and two leads to four, and next thing you know you're writing songs for Marie Osmond.

Am I over-reacting? I don't think so. Enclosed is a petition signed by one hundred formerly loyal fans demanding a public apology by July 1, or we will eat our membership cards.

Love in Jesus,
Lisa Plum
Birmingham

To The Guy Who Reads Steve Taylor's Mail:

I played "To Forgive" for my pastor and he liked it. I want my money back.

Roger Browning
Houston

What can I say? Letters like these require a long, hard, painful re-examination of goals and motivations. And that's exactly what I plan to do upon completion of my new autobiography "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and its companion booklet "The Power of Positive Being".

From Who Does Not Want To Be a Clone?, Campus Life, January 1987:

"To Forgive" contains a lot fewer words than many of my songs, and yet it communicates a real important ideal of forgiveness. I like the sound of the song--big guitars and big drums. And the example that it uses is a strong one.

I got the idea from the cover of Time, picturing the pope in a jail cell shaking hands with the man who tried to assassinate him. There is so much hope wrapped up in that one picture. People can argue that he's the pope and he has to do that. Perhaps there's some validity to that. I don't know.

But if we can get beyond the cynical things and see what that picture says: the power of forgiveness. It is the only hope for so many situations in the world: Northern Ireland, the Middle East, India, South Africa. All these different places. You can get very depressed thinking that these cycles of revenge and violence will never be broken. And yet through forgiveness they can be broken.

From Now The Truth Can Be Told Liner Notes & Song-By-Song Essays, Now The Truth Can Be Told Insert Booklet, August 23rd, 1994:

Inspired by the simple, eloquent photo seen by the world of Pope John Paul II standing in a prison cell, forgiving the man who tried to assassinate him.