![]() ![]() Shortened version of "There, but for the grace of god, go I" meaning "It could have just as easily happened to me". Once a pagan tradition, now just common language although most people actually do knock on wood when they say it.Īnother common phrase - especially in Australia and especially amongst pilots. If you see something bad and say something like "I'm glad that hasn't happened to me" then a very common superstitious beleif is that you will jinx yourself ( and it will happen to you ) so you "Knock on wood" to touch something natural (earth magic superstition ) and it dispels the jinx. This is a standard PHRASE in english - at least in Australia and I think it came from England. Regardless of the inspiration, this song is as straight as it gets with lyrics means. I'm absolutely stunned at the misinterpretation of the meaning of this song, but I guess it does possibly make sense to older people. So now you know the REAL story behind this song. And the thing about being tested, it's what if God tested you like that? What would you do? Crumble? Fight? You never really know until you face it yourself. It's about life handing some someone some serious cr*p - and yet, why him and not you/me? What did my friend's brother ever do to deserve what he had to suffer through, and to lose the fight on top of it? What did WE ever do to deserve NOT to have to go through that? That's why it's "There but for the grace go I" - it's an old expression "There, but for the grace of God, go I." It's a tribute to the sheer luck that any of us exist - and continue to exist. And b/c Dickie knew my friends family for so long, this was as hard for him to watch as it was for the family. He fought the cancer for years and years and then went into remission for a long and then it came back and he passed away. His/my friend told me this song was written his (not Dickie's) brother who died of leukemia, who was a great guy all around. I know Dickie Barrett's best friend - they grew up together and are still friends. ![]() These lines are about the writer never having to face adversity, and how he's glad he hasn't because he's not sure how he'd cope, he might be a coward but he doesn't know because he's never been tested. Might be a coward, I'm afraid of what I might find out. Look at the tested and think but for the grace go I, I'd like to think that if I was I would pass, "I'm not a coward, I've just never been tested, I think song is about this writer's admiration for people who have survived through adversity and about him wondering if he was put in a challenging situation whether he could get through it. OK, I think a big comma needs to be noted in the lyrics of this song in the chorus line, it should read "I've never had to, knock on wood", and it talks about the western tradition of 'knocking on wood' (see en./wiki/…). I've never had to but I'd better knock on wood ![]() Never had to but I'd better knock on wood ![]() Look at the tested and think there but for the grace go I I'd like to think that if I was I would pass I'm not a coward I've just never been tested Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high ![]()
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