"I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
Reviewed by: Josh Meares
Note: We focus on reviewing songs, and therefore cannot comment on the appropriateness of the album in its entirety. Please use your best judgment whenever purchasing or listening to music.
The Artist
Jason Mraz was born on June 23, 1977. He was raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Although in high school he was interested in musical theater, Mraz soon turned his attention solely to music and began performing in local coffee houses.
Mraz teamed up with Elektra producer John Alagia and released his first album, "Waiting for My Rocket to Come," in October of 2003. The album took off, largely due to his touring efforts and to the hit single, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)."
Since then, Mraz has developed a large, loyal fan base and has released several more albums, including "Tonight," "Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Bathroom" (2004) and his newest album "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" (2008).
The Album
Jason Mraz’s newest record "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" was released on May 13, 2008, and has reached number 3 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200. The album gets its name from a piece of art by Glasgow-based doodle artist David Shrigley.
The tunes are pop with clever lyrics and nice melodies. Mraz says, "What I love about mankind is that yes, we sing and we celebrate and we dance when we're foolish and we steal things. . . . It's hard to have a new idea in music, in fashion, the land we walk on. It's all recycled. I think to say we stole it is a lot more fun."
It is nice to hear a musician who acknowledges his debt to those who have gone before and who doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. Mraz says that the songs on this album are inspired by “moments of self realization, self empowerment and self improvement.” As you might expect, this album is positive and upbeat.
The Song
“I’m Yours” is the first single released from "We Sing, We Dance," but faithful Mraz followers will remember this song from its introduction in concerts several years ago. Though it has floated around on the Internet, “I’m Yours” was never released on an album until now.
This song is smoooooth. It feels like a combination of Hawaiian music and pop. It is a happy, relaxing song that is nice to listen to after a tough day at school. Mraz has a light voice which complements the "island vacation" vibe of “I’m Yours.”
Still, Mraz says this song was borne out of a time of spiritual searching and renewal for him. He took a year off from the music business; he didn't tour and he didn't record. Instead, he invested a lot of time studying various world religions. Now he feels like he has really found himself and a system of beliefs that he agrees with. But Mraz is not just on a spiritual journey himself; he wants others to follow his path.
Lyric: “Well open up your mind and see like me”
He has found his truth and if you "open up your mind," you will see like him. We can’t analyze anyone’s life philosophy through one song, but there are several important ideas floating around in "I'm Yours." While Mraz’s faith is not faith in Jesus Christ, he has found some worthwhile truths. For example:
Lyric: “I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror / And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer / My breath fogged up the glass / And so I drew a new face and laughed / I guess what I be saying is there ain't no better reason / To rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons”
That’s clear enough, isn’t it? Mraz realized on his spiritual journey that he was spending way, way too much time in the mirror. How many of us can relate with that? He cared too much about his looks and how other people perceived him. Now, he has rejected that vanity.
I like his imagery here, that of a funny face drawn in the fog on a mirror, a fog that got there because he was looking at himself too closely. That is a light-hearted way to point out the futility of vanity. That is a truth in total agreement with the Bible. Vanity is repeatedly condemned in the New Testament, and vanity is the reason Satan rebelled against God. So, I think we can agree with Jason that vanity is foolish.
But we shouldn't accept all of Mraz's beliefs just because we agree with one. There are two main points of disagreement Bible-believers should have with the philosophies spelled out in this song.
First, for Jason Mraz, God seems to be a non-existent or absent figure.
Lyric: “It's your God-forsaken right to be loved”
Mraz is saying that it is your right to be loved by someone because God has forsaken you. Isn’t that the exact opposite of the gospel of Jesus Christ? The gospel message is that God loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us, even though we didn’t love him OR each other.
But this idea makes sense to a lot of people. Why? Because we can’t see God! This world is a tough place, and sometimes it feels as if God isn't real. But Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen yet believed.” (John 20:29) God is real and He loves us more than we can ever understand.
The second idea that I find worrisome is that people naturally love one another.
Lyric: “Look into your heart and you'll find love”
That is such an attractive belief, isn’t it? Just look inside yourself, and you’ll find all you need. You will love others and they will love you. Is that the way the world works? Is love natural or supernatural? In the book of Ephesians, Paul says this about our "natural state" apart from Jesus Christ.
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts." (Ephesians 1:1-3)
The fate of all men apart from God is not love. It is "gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature" and following the ways of the great deceiver, Satan (aka, "the ruler of the kingdom of the air"). It is only when the Holy Spirit comes to live in us that we are truly able to love. And the Bible says that “they will know you are Christians by your love one for another.”
Now, if people just had to look inside themselves to find love, how would anyone be able to tell we are Christians just because we love people? They wouldn’t. The fact is, real Christlike love is a rare commodity, even among believers.
The bottom line is this: everyone you know has a system of beliefs, and almost every system of beliefs has some ideas that are true and others that are false, just like those of Jason Mraz. But we must take everyone's beliefs (including OUR OWN) to the Bible to see if they line up with the source of truth.
Questions
- Do you normally pick out things that you agree with in your friends’ beliefs or just the things you disagree with? Which do you think would be more helpful to your friendship?
- Do you think it is scary to tell your friends when you disagree with their beliefs?
- Do you feel like you know the Bible well enough to know which of your friends' beliefs are true and which are false? If you don't know the Bible that well, do you know someone who does?
- Do you believe God is real? Can you interact with Him?
- List the names of the five most loving people you know. Are they all Christians?
- Can people tell you are a Christian by your love?
- What is the last loving thing that you did?
- I mentioned that Mraz is completely right in his perception of the uselessness of vanity. What other things in this song do you agree with? What other things do you disagree with?
