"This one is the songwriter's album for sure." Almost as an afterthought, Sara Groves concludes an in-depth conversation about her new recording, Fireflies & Songs. Well put. At the same time, it should be pointed out that Sara's parting descriptor is a testament to how the album was approached and recorded rather than a proclamation of Fireflies' superiority over her other widely-esteemed work. After all, this is Sara Groves we're talking about. Her renown as a potent singer/songwriter merely begins with her avid fanbase. With her two previous INO recordings, Add To The Beauty and Tell Me What You Know, Groves focused on a theme and wrote poetic commentary with songs about social justice and the impoverished. However, early in the pre-production process of Fireflies & Songs, INO Record’s president Jeff Moseley suggested that, "It's been a long time since we've heard from you," saying, "I want to check in with you. What's happening now in your life? What is life like for you as a wife, mother, daughter and friend?" Sara's songwriting has long been ubiquitously described as extremely "vulnerable," "honest," "transparent," "intimate" and "real."

The flowing, moody "Eyes Wide Open," meanwhile, is both confessional and declarative as Sara begins, "I’ve got layers of lies that I don’t even know about yet," and concludes, "When the lights come up on this town/When the thing goes down/... I wanna be telling the truth."

"I'm trying to be more confessional," Sara said as we started our conversation about "Eyes Wide Open," "and I hope these songs encourage other people to live confessionally."

Please tell me the background about writing the song “Eyes Wide Open.”

I based the song on 3 different experiences blended together. One is from reading the book Jacob Bayer and The Telephone, which is a short story about 3 men, in a town in Russia during the early 1900’s, who are fascinated by a telephone. The one man is a rabbi who says, “The phone is a gift from God.” Another man is a philosopher who says, “I can’t see God, but I can see a phone, so I’ll worship what I can see instead of what I can’t.” The third man is a scientist who says, “God is dead.” I think the story is very telling of our culture today, sometimes with the technology we invent, we actually feel like we might save ourselves. In the story Jacob Bayer compares the sunrise to the telephone and points out that we need to worship God and the majesty of His creation, not the "things we’ve made with our own hands." I've resisted the march forward into technology. I don’t have an iPhone, and although I hear they are great, I think they are a modern example of "worshiping the things we’ve made with our own hands."

What does the message of “Eyes Wide Open” mean to you personally?

I was in my car going to church and was listening to the song “Instead of a Show” by Jon Foreman and all of a sudden I started crying. I started thinking about my perspective on worship and my perspective may be different than God’s perspective. We might think we’re doing great, but if we saw ourselves with God’s eyes, we’d probably be surprised and disappointed. If God is in Heaven covering His ears, which is in the Amos Chapter 5 passage, I prayed God would tell me. When the lights come up, I need to be accountable to how I’ve lived my life. How I’ve let justice roll out of my life, how I’ve shared the gospel and not just forgiveness of sins but all of the gospel.

Did you base the song on any bible verses or do you have a life verse?

Amos 5:24 (New International Version): 24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

What is the take-away message for listeners about the song?

The other experience I based the song on is about race relations. I watched a story about Hank Aaron’s life and how he was mistreated as an African-American baseball player. So, this song is about how we "let justice roll down" from our lives, which is the title of a book by Dr. John Perkins and from the Amos 5 passage. One of the themes of the song is about our perceptions of technology, and whether we are "worshipping the things we’ve made with our own hands." Another theme raises the question: Is what we bring to God meaningful or is He "covering His ears"? Lastly, it also talks about justice and race relations.

Lyrics to “Eyes Wide Open”

I’ve got layers of lies that I don’t even know about yet / bathroom doors turned bill-boards / no place left untouched without the mumblin / tell me what I need, tell me what I want / worship the things that we’ve made with our own hands / in so deep I don’t even know it, I don’t even know it / rubbing these sticks till the air is thick / no spark no heart no inspiration / tell me what I need, tell me what I want / worship the things that we made / with our own hands / oh I’m gonna find the truth / even if it kills me / oh I gotta get a new view / the only way I know to / oh I gotta keep my eyes wide open / keep my eyes wide open / diggin in the dirt till it hurts / won’t come up for air don’t care / how long it takes me / I get tired want to just get by can’t I get by / but I can’t cuz there’s a / fire in my bones, fire in my bones / burnin in my bones / when the lights come up on this town / when the thing goes down / wanna be found when the lights come up on this / when the lights come up on this town / when the thing goes down / wanna be found tryin / when the lights come up / wanna be telling the truth

As usual, Sara’s songwriting is very layered and personal. There are many great messages in this song. The Amos 5 passage urges us to "let justice roll" from our lives. I immediately connected with this song in the challenge to think about whether I am prone to "worship the things we’ve made with our own hands," and I’ve thought a lot about whether I’m living my life so that "when the lights come up, I’m telling the truth." These are some great challenges to consider.