Davey’s penchant for overly identifying with religious themes is well-documented in the body of lyrics he has produced to date. (Some examples that jump to mind: casting himself as the morning son/sun/star, i.e., Lucifer; themes of the fallen/falling [angels and also in love–‘fallen angels’ ((i.e., the damned)) and ‘falling in love’ are often conflated in his writing, just sayin’]; ongoing grappling with concepts of sin, salvation, faith, heaven, and hell.) I think he expresses his deepest insecurities and fears using religious language because he hasn’t yet resolved the conflict between what he thinks, what he believes, what he was taught, and what he knows about himself. Almost every album has a song about his disdain for religion, yet he spits Christianity metaphors faster than Switchfoot. Which begs the question: why is he still railing so hard against a religion he gave up on decades ago, if it isn’t an ongoing, unresolved conflict?
I could–and probably will–write whole posts just about his conceptualization of himself as an innate sinner, as a fallen angel, as the morningstar; about his whole dynamic where he writes himself and Jade as angels. Here, I want to focus on Javey Heaven.
Javey Heaven (noun):
The beautiful, golden, glowing space where the Javeys were happy together, where Davey could see the glimmer of salvation through their love, and knew without a doubt that this was true, this was forever, this was worth damnation. Obviously tainted by nostalgia as he looks back on sepia-toned absolution. Now, used as shorthand for their relationship and what was lost, what Jade cost them.
Tonight, In the Whispers 